On a sensational Sunday in Seoul, South Korea dismantled Belgium’s 2-0 lead within the 2023 Davis Cup Qualifiers by profitable the doubles and each singles. It is the primary time the nation has overturned such a deficit within the historical past of the celebrated crew occasion.
The hero of the day was World No. 237 Seong-chan Hong, who stored his cool to defeat Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-6(4) within the deciding fifth rubber. Even when nerves have been an element for Hong, who’s 122 locations beneath the Belgian within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, he held agency to finish a well-known victory for his nation.
“I tried to show my strengths as much as I could and tried to frustrate my opponent,” mentioned Hong after the match. “As soon as I started, I thought it was working well today. The atmosphere was good before the game. Of course, I was very nervous, but I was also very excited. After the match point, I thought I showed it.”
THEY’VE DONE IT!!!
Korea, Rep make a dramatic comeback from 2-0 all the way down to clinch the tie in opposition to Belgium and qualify for the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage 🇰🇷 #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/46pjNRsaj5
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 5, 2023
The decider was wanted after Belgian No.1 David Goffin failed in his bid to wrap up the tie, with Soonwoo Kwon coming from behind to take the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, serving up 11 aces within the course of.
“It was not an easy game, but I think I could win thanks to the fans who came to see the game today,” Kwon mentioned. “In the first set, there were a lot of errors because I had too many thoughts,” he added. “But from the second set, I tried to find composure and played well as I thought about the practice game with Goffin.”
The day’s drama began from the primary ball as Ji Sung Nam and Ming-Kyu Song threw the whole lot at their doubles opponents in a bid to get Korea on to the scorecard.
Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, who’ve performed collectively within the competitors since 2018, have been put underneath strain from the start by a duo ranked some 100 locations beneath them. The match was dominated by serve, with the Koreans prevailing 7-6(3), 7-6(5).
South Korean captain Seung Kyu Park was filled with reward for his gamers.
“I am so grateful and proud of the players for not giving up and doing their best until the end,” he mentioned. “It’s so good that I don’t know how to express it. The players made history as a team with the coaching staff. It’s like a dream to advance to the finals for two consecutive years and I don’t know if this is real.”
This story options contributions from DavisCup.com
Source web site: www.atptour.com
