South Korea beat Taiwan in Davis Cup tie

Taipei: Exhaustion took its toll of Taiwanese veteran Chen Ti in the first-round Davis Cup play-off Sunday, giving South Korea a 3-1 victory and sustaining its Asia/Oceania Group One status.

Chen, ranked 244th, and his partner Peng Hsien-Yin had managed to beat South Korea`s Chung Hyeon and Lim Yong-Kyu on Saturday.

That gave Taiwan a fighting chance in Sunday`s reverse singles despite a 0-2 loss in the opening singles.

Taiwan decided to bet on Chen, replacing Hung Jui-chen who was representing the island in the Davis Cup for the first time but was routed by Lim in the singles 6-2, 6-2, 6-0.

But a fatigued Chen had to abandon the match against Chung Hyeon while trailing 0-3 in the fifth set after a tie at 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 3-6.

Taiwan will meet New Zealand in a play-off next month to decide who will be relegated to Group Two.