RP Cuppers left out in the cold

WUHAN, China – Team Philippines will return home on schedule after all. But the Filipinos will be bringing home bad news as they failed in their bid for a semifinals berth in the Asia-Oceania Group II BNP Paribas Davis Cup competitions.

Fared against a superbly-conditioned Chinese squad and an unforgiving 4C temperature at the Yong Tian Tennis Center indoor courts here, the Filipinos absorbed sound beatings in the first two singles and doubles of the best-of-five matches tie to hand the coveted berth to the hosts.

Chinese No. 2 Zeng Shao-xuan started the hosts’ onslaught with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 drubbing of top RP singles bet Johnny Arcilla after which veteran Zhu Ben-qiang made it 2-0 for China by routing Joseph Victorino, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1.

Zeng returned later in the afternoon and teamed up with doubles specialist Xu Ran to clinch the tie for the hosts via a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Arcilla and Michael Mora III.

"Definitely, we lost to a better-conditioned team," conceded both non-playing captain Johnny Jose and coach Martin Misa while refusing to blame the weather which caused the tie to be delayed for two days and which made the Filipinos more anxious with the prospect of missing their flights back home and the problems of rebooking.

"It was cold, yes, but both teams are playing in the same venue so they felt cold too. But Zeng and Zhu gave their best and although our players tried to put up a good fight, their (Chinese) tenacity, eagerness and the resolve to do good before their countrymen made them play better than us," Jose noted.

The loss sent the Philippines tumbling down into a relegation duel with Kazakhstan in a tie to be hosted by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) on April 4 to 6. The loser of this tie will be demoted to Group III next year.

For a while, it looked like the Arcilla-Zeng match will go down the wire as the two protagonists slugged it out in the first two games, the first going into three deuces before Zeng held for a 1-0 edge.

But to the amazement of everyone, Arcilla, after getting even at 1-1, suddenly lost his touch — from his serve to his groundstrokes — and the Chinese juggernaut went to work.

"Biglang nangapal ang kamay ko. Nasira ang tiyempo ko tapos ayun, talo nang bigla," lamented Arcilla, the best bet of Jose and Misa to give the Philippines its first point in the tie, after the one hour and 29 minutes match.

It was basically the same in the second singles as Zhu, a veteran of countless Davis Cup matches, hammered in aces and service winners against Victorino, who could score only 27 points against the Chinese No. 1 who completed the rout in just 61 minutes.

The Filipinos looked better in the doubles as the left-handed Mora held all but two of his seven serves to give the Chinese a semblance of a fight.

"Ganyan talaga. ginawa na namin ang lahat ng kaya namin pero talagang malakas ang mga Chinese. Preparado talaga sila at gamay nila itong court samantalang tatlong beses lang kami nakapalo dito dahil hindi nga ito ang dapat na venue," Victorino said.

The tie was originally set at the outdoor courts of the nearby Wuhan Sports Complex but a steady drizzle and inferior equipment to dry the court forced the ITF referee to order a change of venue.

And with the clinching doubles win by the Chinese, neutral referee Hiroyuki Yahata of Japan, after consulting with the two captains, decided to call off the reverse singles, set to be played Monday, to allow the Filipinos to return home as scheduled.

It was the third victory by the Chinese in five meetings against the Filipinos in the Davis Cup competitions and this propped them up to a semifinals tie against Taiwan in April.

The champion in this zone, which also include Lebanon, Iran, Hong Kong and Tajikistan, will be promoted to Group I next year. Earlier, Lebanon. Hong Kong and Taiwan won their first round ties over Iran, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, respectively.