Davis Cuppers see it even vs tough Thais in Group II

MANILA, Philippines - Even with the presence of Thailand’s world No. 210 Danai Udomchoke, host Philippines still feels good about its netters’ chances in their Davis Cup Asia Oceania Zone Group II semifinal tie on April 5-7 at Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Lapu-lapu City.

Philippine Davis Cup administrator Randy Villanueva said crowd support and familiarity with the clay court, not to mention the top condition of Treat Huey, Ruben Gonzales, Johnny Arcilla and Francis Casey Alcantara, will serve the Pinoy Cuppers in good stead against Udomchoke and company.

“I would say itong laban na ito (this tie) is very even. Our advantage is if the crowd shows up in Cebu and the venue is full, we have a sixth man. If we pack the venue, it will be a big boost,” said Villanueva.

“We’re more familiar with the clay court,” he added, referring to the court where Phl played three times before and won a breakthrough 3-2 victory over Syria in the opening round last February. “We’ve been playing there a lot and finally we got our first success against Syria and we’re looking forward to win against Thailand.”

Huey, who currently holds a doubles ranking of 27 after a confidence-boosting runner-up finish in the recent BNP Paribas Open doubles play, will lead the Phl crew along with world No. 826 Gonzales. Phl-based Arcilla recently won two local tournaments while Alcantara carries a winning average in US NCAA Division I with Pepperdine.

“Everybody’s in tip top shape,” said Villanueva.

Udomchoke, who reached as high as 77th in the world rankings back in 2007, brings experience to a young side composed of Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul, a first time Cupper, and Nuttanon Kadchapanan and Pruchya Isarow, both on second appearances after their 4-1 win over Kuwait.

“Danai is their top bet. They will count on him in the two singles. For our part, we can depend on all of our four players in the singles and they can all play doubles, too. I would say this is one of the most balanced Phl team that we have,” Villanueva said.

He said Udomchoke may be favored in the two singles he’ll likely play in but Huey and Co. enjoy the edge in doubles and other matches against the relatively younger Thais.

“Granting Danai is strong in singles, those are only two singles matches and even if he plays in the doubles, we still have the edge because we have Treat Huey,” he said.

“If you compare our four players to Danai’s teammates, I would say we still enjoy the edge,” the Philta official added.