Cuppers out to start strong on home turf

MANILA, Philippines - Whatever the result of today’s draw, top Filipino netter Cecil Mamiit said the key is to start strong and impose their game against their New Zealand rivals to have a good chance of gaining early advantage in their Davis Cup Oceania Group II final tie starting tomorrow at the PCA center courts in Paco, Manila.

The pairings for the opening singles will be determined in a draw set at 10 a.m. today at the Century Park Sheraton Hotel.

New Zealand is likely to field in Daniel King Turner, 25, and Jose Statham, 22, against Mamiit and fellow Fil-Am Treat Conrad Huey.

“We see and play each other on the tour so I know their game. We have the home court edge and we have to take advantage of that by playing aggressive tennis. If we can do that, we have a pretty good chance of going up right on Day One,” said Mamiit.

“We’re familiar with the surface and we’ll not be cautious. It’s up to them to make the adjustments,” Mamiit added.

Team Pilipinas will have a new supporting cast in the returning Johnny Arcilla and newcomer Elbert Anasta.

Arcilla and Anasta replaced Patrick John Tierro and Francis Casey Alcantara, who suited up for the team against Hong Kong and Pakistan earlier this year but begged off this time due to previous commitments.

Tierro is finishing his academics as a graduating student at La Salle while Alcantara is training and competing in juniors events in the United States until October.

Despite the change in roster, Philippine Tennis Association vice president and Davis Cup coordinator Randy Villanueva is confident the RP netters can sustain their charge and repeat their 4-1 conquest of the Kiwis in their home turf in Auckland in 2007.

At stake in the RP-New Zealand rematch is promotion to Group I play next year. The Philippines last made the Group I play in 2008 but slid back to Group II following losses to Japan (0-5), Uzbekistan (2-3) and Kazakhstan (0-5).

Mamiit and company are hopeful of a return stint in Group I though ranged against higher-rated rivals from New Zealand.

“They’re a younger team. But we’re more experienced and we can use that as an advantage,” said Mamiit, 33, with a 19-7 win-loss Davis Cup record.

Turner and Statham are New Zealand’s top two players, ranked No. 343 and No. 395 in the world, respectively. Turner has a 17-7 Davis Cup slate while Statham holds a 10-2 Davis Cup mark.

In the last RP-New Zealand tie, Statham was beaten by Mamiit, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6, in the opening singles before whipping Arcilla, 6-2, 6-4, in a non-bearing reverse singles tiff.

Turner partnered with Simon Rea in the doubles, beaten by Mamiit and Eric Taino.

The Kiwis, however, are riding the momentum of 5-0 wins over the Malaysians and the Indonesians going to this tie.

The Philippines, meanwhile, started with a 4-1 win over Hong Kong before tripping Pakistan, 3-2.