Davis Cup: Hong Kong to face Finland in play-offs armed with insider knowledge
Coach of city team starring Coleman Wong spent 3 years with the Nordic nation, who are highest-ranked team in World Group I play-offs
Hong Kong’s Davis Cup team will not have to go far to get the inside track on their next opponents, Finland, with head coach Steven Host having spent three years with the Nordic nation.
The two sides have been thrown together in the draw for the World Group I play-offs in February, with Hong Kong hosting a tie that could see the team return to that level for the first time in 30 years.
And officials hope Host’s experience, coupled with that of adviser Federico Ricci, could give them an edge against the top-ranked team in the play-offs.
“Host coached the Finns’ national team from 2015 to late 2018, so he knows their players well,” Michael Cheng Ming-git, president of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association, said.
Ricci, meanwhile, spent 12 years in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, working with several high-profile players, including Emil Ruusuvuori, Jarkko Nieminen and Harri Heliovaara.
Ruusuvuori and Heliovaara were part of the Finland Davis Cup team that lost to Austria and Bulgaria in February and September, respectively.