Monday, February 12, 2007 RP advances in Davis Cup By Frank C. Calapre Sun.Star Correspondent
MANILA—True to his word, Cecil Mamiit repulsed the challenge of Aqeel Khan, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, giving the Philippines with a 4-1 win over Pakistan yesterday to advance into the semifinal round of the 2007 Asia-Oceana Zone Group II Davis Cup Tie at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center here.
The 30-year-old Mamiit, ranked no. 190 in the ATP, played a steady baseline game all throughout as he never gave the world's no. 525 Khan a chance to gain the lead in the two-hour, 14-minute match.
With the result, the RP squad, bannered by Fil-Ams Mamiit and Eric Taino, made it to the second round of group II for the first time since 2000.
The last to reach the semis were Joseph Lizardo and Bryan Juinio but lost to powerhouse Thailand seven years ago in Bangkok.
"I really had to avenge the loss of my best friend Eric (Taino) and it was great. I love the crowd, I love the enthusiasm, It's really great to be here playing for my country. I 'm proud to be a Filipino," said the Los Angeles-born Mamiit, whose father Cesar is from Alaminos, Laguna.
Dominance
Patrick John Tierro followed suit with an easy 6-3, 6-0 win over Yasir Khan, the youngest of the three Khan siblings, to complete the dominance of the Filipinos, whose highest finish so far was in the finals of the Group I Tie but lost to Sweden in 1991 here in Manila.
"The victory of Cecil is what we really envisioned when we discussed our game plan last night. He had a very good start and everything went through smoothly already," said RP team captain Martin Misa.
The Philippines, which was dropped to Group III in 2005, will be facing tough New Zealand or Pacific Oceana in the semifinal round in Auckland, New Zealand in April. Pakistan, on the other hand, will fall to group III in 2008.
Serious
"At least, our victory now proved once and for all our seriousness to get tennis back on its feet. We hope we can sustain the momentum," the New Jersey-born Taino said.
Both Mamiit and the 31-year-old Taino, ranked no. 472 in the world, are leaving for the United States today to resume action in the ATP Tour as part of their training and exposure in preparation for the New Zealand Davis Cup.
"We have still to assess our New Zealander opponents, but I'm sure it's going to be much tougher so we’ll prepare more," said Mamiit. The fourth member of the team is Johnny Arcilla, who is the doubles partner of Tierro.
Pakistan's lone win was courtesy of its top player Aqeel, who defeated Taino, 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5, in the second singles match on Friday. Mamiit leveled the count, 1-1 with a victory over Jalil Khan, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1, in the first singles. The RP team then gained the upper hand by winning the lone doubles match, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
