The Philippines No. 1 singles player and team captain Cecil Mamiit ground out a win against Chen Ti of Chinese-Taipei to even the count at 1-1 on the opening day of the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 Davis Cup tie against Chinese-Taipei after doubles specialist Treat Huey lost a heartbreaker to Yang Tsang Hua in a grueling 2 hour 30 minute match 3-6/6-7/6-7.
Mamiit whose tremendous physical conditioning is one of his assets lost the first set 3-6 but came storming back to take the next by an identical 6-3 score to set-up what appeared to be a classic.
Philippine delegation head and former juniors standout Randy Villanueva said however that Mamiit “outhustled and out-ran his opponent and made him sweat for every point before Chen-Ti cramped” in the sixth game of the third set with Mamiit leading 4-1 forcing him to quit after a 2 hour 20 minute struggle.
Mamiit has been a tower of strength and an inspiration to tennis fans ever since he suited up for the country along with Eric Taino who has since stopped playing competitive tennis. But the tennis gods looked favorably on the Philippines and and along came Treat Huey, a solid doubles player who has the added advantage of being a lefty like Taino.
Although doubles is his forte, Huey has also played some big singles matches for the Philippines and is expected to improve since he is still comparatively young.
With the doubles turning out to be crucial Mamiit and Huey are likely to take the court against Chinese-Taipei, replacing the original nominees Fil-Am rookie Ruben Gonzales and veteran Johnny Arcilla in the 4:00 p.m. match on Saturday.
With his win Mamiit notched his 15th singles victory since he joined the RP team in 2006. The Philippines needs to win the tie against Chinese-Taipei to maintain its position in Group I because a loss would send the squad into a final playoff match against the losing team between South Korea and Uzbekistan who are both formidable teams.
The Davis Cuppers were in high spirits after the draw on Thursday which team manager Jean Henry Lhuillier described as “very even for both teams” which reflected team captain Mamiit’s assessment of the tie as “fifty-fifty.”
However, Treat Huey who is a doubles specialist but has done well in singles in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group I playoff lost his opening singles match to Yang Tsang Hua in a 2 hour 30 minute grind 3-6/6-7/6-7 although Mamiit who is ranked No. 513 overcame Chen Ti who is ranked higher at 423 to set up a crucial doubles match on Saturday. .
Yang is ranked No. 295 in singles and 162 in doubles while Huey who made the main draw at the recent Wimbledon men’s doubles with partner Somdev Devvarman of India is ranked 773 in singles and 125 in doubles.
In the match played at the Yang Ming Tennis Center in Kaohsiung which is an outdoor facility and has a hard acrylic surface and seats just over 4,200 spectators. Huey was up in the second set tiebreak 4-1 and 5-2 but eventually let it slip away and lost 7-5 with Yang stringing five points in a row to clinch the set.
The third set was also another grueling battle which Huey lost on another tiebreak 5-7.
RP delegation head and former junior standout Randy Villanueva told insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Huey “worked hard in every single point and made the match really close. Just lack of the breaks in the tiebreak made the difference and allowed Chinese-Taipei to take a 1-0 lead.
Lhuillier had earlier said he expects the games “to be really close with both teams very familiar with the court surface and the weather in Kaohsiung which is very similar to the weather in Manila.”
The team which also includes Johnny Arcilla and newcomer Ruben G onzales who, according to RP delegation head and former national youth standout Randy Villanueva “is very excited and very focused in training” since they arrived in Taipei on Sunday.
Gonzales who is ranked 906 in singles and a much higher 639 in doubles is also providing Mamiit and Huey good practice in singles and especially in doubles, partnering with Arcilla against Mamiit and Huey.
He said the team workouts have been “very good so far especially with Mamiit deciding on what things to do for the drills and practice.” Villanueva said he feels the team is “focused, determined and preparing well.”
For the first time the Philippines has a physical therapist / trainer, Narlon Dagatan from the Philippine Center of Sports Medicine with the Davis Cup team and “everyone agrees he is an asset” because as a result the “recovery time of the players is quicker with the trainer handling the stretching, taping and massaging the players when needed.”
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