Mamiit plays with pain but sucks it up

It’s tough to play with tendonitis in the knee but crack Fil-Am netter Cecil Mamiit is coping in a bold bid to lead the Philippines’ hunt for a first Asian Games medal in tennis in 40 years.

In 1966, the Philippines bagged two silvers and three bronzes in tennis at the Bangkok Asiad as Jesus Hernandez, Federico and Raymundo Deyro, Augusto Villanueva, Delfin Contreras, Pat Yngayo and Desideria Ampon combined forces for medals in men’s singles, men’s team, mixed doubles, women’s doubles and women’s team. No Filipino has since captured a medal in tennis at the Games.

Mamiit, Eric Taino, P. J. Tierro and Johnny Arcilla, however, are determined to end the medal drought in Doha. But accomplishing the feat won’t be easy.

Mamiit lost his first two singles matches in team play. He dropped a 7-5, 7-6 decision to Mohammed Ghareed in the Kuwait tie and a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 thriller to Lu Yen Hsun in the Chinese-Taipei series. The reigning Southeast Asian Games champion bounced back to crush Rajeev Rajapakse of Sri Lanka, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round of singles action and teamed with Taino to scuttle Hee Seok Chung and An Jae Sung of Korea, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6, in the men’s doubles preliminaries.

"The conditions have been a bit rough for me," said Mamiit in an e-mail to The STAR. "Against Ghareed, I was trying to get my groove but we were exchanging blows. It was a long two-hour match for only being two sets. My injury is minor but it needs a lot of care. With the medical help here, I’m very lucky to have them and utilizing them as much as possible. It’s going to be a long two weeks in Doha so I want to do my complete best. It’s only tendonitis. Unfortunately, it’s in the area that I use the most — my knee. The last couple of days, I’ve been nursing it so it wouldn’t flare up. My game is still getting to top form. I’m feeling a lot better because of the help of my teammates and coaches Martin Misa and Johnny Jose."

Mamiit, 30, is entered in the team event, singles and doubles.

The first blow came in the team play where Chinese-Taipei eliminated the Philippines.

"We had a hard series against Chinese-Taipei," said Mamiit. "I had the opportunity to put them into doubles play but came up short. I had support from the Philippine Sports Commission Olympic ambassadors. I won the first set but my opponent raised his game making it a close fight."

Mamiit said even without injured Thai star Paradorn Srichapan, the battle for the singles gold is a grueling affair. He is seeded sixth.

"My biggest competitors are Lee Hyung Taik of Korea, Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, Lu Yen Hsun of Chinese-Taipei, Soeda Go of Japan, Wang Yu of China and Rohan Bopanna of India," he said. "These guys, I’ve seen play and they all can play. I would say that any of us will do well. I’m starting to play better each day. We have a good shot than most countries."

At presstime, Mamiit was engaged in a singles match against Toshihide Matsui of Japan. He was scheduled to team with Taino against Chen Ti and Yi Chu Hwan of Chinese-Taipei in a doubles match late yesterday.

Mamiit said his partnership with Taino should produce positive results.

"Eric and I teamed up this year and we were successful in winning a Challenger tournament," said Mamiit. "So we know what we are capable of doing. I highly respect him and we feed off of our energy. We were more experienced than Kuwait so we were able to thrash them in doubles. We’re going to do our best in doubles. All the events are based on how good a draw we have. It would have been nice to probably play Japan or Korea in the quarters of team play instead of Chinese-Taipei but we had to play whom we had to play. It’s the name of the game."

Mamiit said he wakes up early to start the day at the Athletes Village and has been busy practicing, playing the matches and making new friends.

"I’m trying to meet other athletes from the Philippines," said Mamiit. "I’m trying to show support. I’ve been hanging out with the medical staff and they are so cordial to take care of me."

As for teammates Tierro and Arcilla, Mamiit said they’re coming along and working hard. Tierro and Arcilla won their doubles assignment in the Chinese-Taipei tie.

"They’re eager to learn," said Mamiit. "They’re great friends and teammates. We all work well as a team."

Mamiit will fly to Manila after the Asian Games and leave for Los Angeles on Sunday.