The Philippine Davis Cup team that will face Chinese-Taipei is in high spirits after the draw which team manager Jean Henry Lhuillier described as “very even for both teams” which reflected team captain Cecil Mamiit’s assessment of the tie as “fifty-fifty.”

Treat Huey who is a doubles specialist bur has done well in singles in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group I playoff  will face Yang Tsang Hua in the opening singles while the Philippines No.1 Mamiit  who is ranked No. 513 in singles will play Chen Ti who is ranked higher at 423 in the second singles on opening day .

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.

The matches will be 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.

Lhuillier 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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