RP Cuppers fall to Uzbeks in doubles

The Philippines dropped the doubles match yesterday and was left with the difficult task of sweeping today’s reverse singles in its Asia-Oceania Group 1 Davis Cup tie with Uzbekistan.

Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino, the same pair that brought Philippine tennis back up on its feet, blew away some golden opportunities and lost to Uzbeks Dennis Istomin and Farrukh Gustov.

Uzbekistan split the first two singles matches with the Philippines, and, with yesterday’s doubles win, moved up 2-1, needing only one win today to clinch the tie and stay in Group 1.

The Pinoy doubles pair, bronze medal winner in the 2006 Asian Games, lost three set points in the opening set, and wasted a 4-1 lead in the fourth set en route to a 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 loss.

The Pinoy crowd that braved the intense heat and filled half the stands at the Philippine Columbian Association indoor courts pushed Mamiit and Taino all throughout the three-hour 45-minute match.

But the world-ranked Uzbeks – Istomin at No. 156 and Gustov at No. 259 – just couldn’t be denied of the doubles win that got them closer to the World Group qualifiers in September.

Even if the Philippines loses this tie, it will still remain in Group 1 if it beats the loser of the ongoing tie between Kazakhstan and Taipei, which also split the first two singles matches the other day.

“Things have changed but we have to fight back. It was a tough match so right now we have to look forward to the singles tomorrow. And if we start off right then we go into the fifth match,” said Mamiit.

He opens up the third and final day with a match against Istomin, who challenged former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, 7-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, in the second round of the Australian Open last January.

This should make Istomin, 21, and 6-foot-1, the favorite in his match against Mamiit, formerly ranked No. 72 in the world, one who has beaten the likes of Andre Agassi, Mark Woodforde and Michael Chang.

The 31-year-old Mamiit will count on this experience when he plays Istomin and hopes to stretch the tie to a deciding fifth match, probably between Taino and Gustov, who stands around 6-3.

“We’re still alive. We’ll try to stay positive and hopefully the crowd also stays positive. We’re still alive and in the third day,” he said as he looked forward to the 10 a.m. match.

“We’re still alive. You can never say die. You just have to be confident. The tie isn’t over yet. But we need the crowd tomorrow,” said RP non-playing team captain Manny Tecson.

The crowd that watched the doubles match was small but noisy, and with the help of six young men playing percussion instruments up in the stands made it look like a Davis Cup tie.

Mamiit and Taino took a 6-5 lead in the first set but blew a couple of set points even if Istomin started to show his frustration by smashing his racket to the ground twice during the set.

The first-set tiebreak was long and exciting, ending at 12-10 for Uzbeks. The first set lasted an hour 20 minutes, the result giving the visitors the confidence they needed the rest of the way.

At 7-5, the second set actually looked easy for the Pinoy pair, and in the third it was the tandem from Uzbekistan, a former member of the Soviet Union, that breezed to a 6-1 win.

The match looked headed toward a fifth set when the Pinoys took a 4-1 lead. But a spate of errors, mostly unforced, allowed the visitors to tie the set and send it into another tiebreak.

It didn’t last long this time as the Uzbeks raced to a 5-1 lead. They were threatened at 5-4, but wrapped it up with a passing shot by Istomin, and Mamiit could only look over his left shoulder.