Asia/Oceania Group I spot within reach

Filipino-American Treat Conrad Huey and new doubles partner Francis Casey Alcantara gave the Philippines a 2-1 lead over Thailand in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II second-round tie on Saturday at the Plantation Bay Resort & Spa in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

Huey and Alcantara survived a third-set tiebreak in squeezing out a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over the Thai pair of Pruchya Isarow and Nuttanon Kadchapanan in the doubles.

Alcantara is a known doubles specialist after winning the 2009 Australian Open boys’ junior doubles crown with teammate Cheng-Peng Hsieh of Chinese Taipei.

The Philippines can wrap up the Group II tie with a win by either Ruben Gonzales or Johnny Arcilla in the reverse singles, which is being played at press time.

Gonzales takes on 207th-ranked singles player Danai Udomchoke while Arcilla battles Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul.

The Philippines opened with a 1-0 lead after Gonzales won the opening singles match against Trongcharoenchaikul, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 3-0 (ret.).  The 27-year-old Terre Haute, Indiana-born netter completed the comeback win when his Thai opponent retired in the third set.

Udomchoke, who holds a 39-16 record in singles play, leveled the score for the Thais after he defeated Arcilla, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, in the second singles.

The winner of the second round Group II tie will face New Zealand in the third round on September 13 to 15. The winning nation in the third round will then be promoted to Group I in 2014 while the losing team will remain in Group II.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bishop Hagemoen challenges pilgrims to be Prophets of the New Millennium

Papal visit hopes to repair relationship with Indigenous Peoples

A letter to Tatay