RP Davis Cuppers bow to Chinese

The Philippines fell into a deep 0-2 hole against China in their Davis Cup tie yesterday and faced a terrible must-win situation in today’s doubles at the Ynares Socio-Cultural Center in Pasig City.

Johnny Arcilla, the country’s No. 1 player, was the first to fall, losing a four-setter against Lu Hao, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3). He was followed by Joseph Victorino, RP’s No. 2 who bowed to Yu Xin Yuan in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

Arcilla dictated the early tempo as he raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set. But he blew it all with numerous unforced errors. He was never the same again despite stretching the match to four sets and a length of two hours, 58 minutes.

Arcilla trailed in the final set, 1-3, and still managed to grab the upperhand at 4-3. But he couldn’t really pull it off in the tiebreak, which Lu wrapped up with a service winner that left the small but appreciative crowd just as tired and exhausted as Arcilla.

"Johnny lost it all, mentally, in the first set when he blew that 5-1 lead. Losing that kind of a lead was a big blow to him. And winning after that kind of a deficit was a big boost to the Chinese," said RP coach Martin Misa.

With his back against the wall following Arcilla’s loss, Victorino tried hard but failed. He was overpowered by the taller, heftier Yu who probably expected a tougher time against the second-best Filipino. The match lasted an hour, 40 minutes.

Lu and Yu, a pair of lefties coming off the junior ranks, are certainly not the best in China. They are ranked sixth and third, respectively, with their top two players competing in Europe in preparation for their stint in the Athens Olympics in August.

"Sumakit ang katawan ko. Bugbog sarado (My body aches. It was a terrible beating)," said Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) vice president Manny Misa after the pair of setbacks that gave the Filipinos the intricate task of winning today’s doubles just to stay alive.

Arcilla will team up with Adelo Abadia, our third-best, against Yu and Xu Ran in today’s doubles scheduled at 1 p.m. If the Chinese wrap it all up, tomorrow’s reverse singles will be a no-bearing affair.

The winner of this Asia-Oceania Zone Group 2 tie will advance to the semis. The loser will face their fellow loser in the ongoing Kuwait-Hong Kong tie for the right to remain in Group 2 next year.

Notes: Despite the presence of a Chinese interpreter, local mediamen had a difficult time conducting post-game interviews with the visiting team. Almost every question had to be repeated a number of times before it is even fielded to the players. A Filipino scribe who insisted on knowing what the Chinese coach’s game plan was drew a very funny answer from the interpreter. "Their plain is to go back to China after this match." ... The RP team, managed by Jean Henri Lhuillier, is trying to avenge its 0-3 loss to the Chinese in Wuhan, China, last year, but will need a much bigger crowd support to do it. The YSCC stands were near-empty yesterday. Worse, the Filipino crowd was even warned by the Malaysian chair umpire for jeering and heckling while play was going on.