Phl, Thailand in 1-1 draw

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Team Philippines and Thailand fought to a 1-1 draw, setting up the stage of an exciting second round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II tie witnessed by a sizeable crowd last night at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.

With that, the doubles event scheduled at 6 pm today will be crucial for both squads.

Ruben Gonzales won the first singles for the country, but Thailand’s no.1 player Danai Udomchoke fought hard to even the battle going into the second day of action.

Thailand’s Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul retired in the third set due to leg cramps that paved the way for Gonzales to seal the first single at 6-7, 6-4, 3-0.

The 6-foot-4 Trongcharoenchaikul may be a first-timer in the Davis Cup, but he put up a good fight, posting 4-1 before Gonzales stepped up his game to wrest upperhand. The game was tied twice until it reach a tie-breaker that went in favor of Trongcharoenchaikul at 7-6.

Gonzales, however, showed great fighting spirit and made sure he gets the second set.

With the momentum still on Gonzales’ side, the US-based player zoomed to a 3-0 lead when Trongcharoenchaikul was already feeling the pain on his leg.

The Thai leaned on the fence, tried to continue playing only to sit down again when his leg cramps worsened, prompting their non-playing team captain Tanakorn Srichaphan to call it quits.

The Thai vistors, however, swiftly bounced back, with Danai Udomchoke blasting Johnny Arcilla in four sets,  6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-2.

Arcilla’s gameplan was to keep the match long. It worked but did not yield positive outcome on his end as Udomchoke, rated No.207 in the world, hung on tough to steal the second singles.

Udomchoke also felt some leg pains, but fought hard when it mattered most. He made the most from his vast experience and maturity to fend off a spirited challenge by the girtty Arcilla.

“Now we’re even. Things like this (cramps) happens on long matches especially the Davis Cup. It’s going to be an exciting game for sure tomorrow (today),” said Srichaphan.

Thailand has no plans of changing their lineup as they want to give their two other players Nuttanon Kadchapanan and Prutcha Isarow the needed exposure.

For his part, Phl skipper Roland Kraut is still unsure of what’s their next move will be.

“We still have to discuss it if we’re going to let Treat Huey and Nino (Francis Casey) Alcantara play the doubles. We have until an hour before the match to change our players. However, what we really need right now is the full support of our fans.We need to win it,” said Kraut. (FREEMAN)