Gonzales halts cramps-hit foe: Udomchoke chokes Arcilla; Thais tie Phl

LAPU LAPU CITY, Philippines – The Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippine Davis Cup team split the opening singles with Thailand last night, 1-1, with Ruben Gonzales beating cramping first-timer Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul in the first rubber only to watch Johnny Arcilla get decimated by top-ranked Danai Udomchoke in the second match last night.

Gonzales struggled against the highly charged serves of Trongcharoenchaikul but got a lucky break when the teenage Thai had to quit because of cramps which the Thai blamed on the pressure of playing for his country in the Davis Cup for the first time and the hot and humid conditions at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

Trongcharoenchaikul complained of cramps in both legs in the second game of the third set and asked for medical timeout. But as soon as he sat on the bench, he winced in pain as cramps shot up to his abdomen, forcing non-playing captain Tanakorn Srichapan to throw in the towel at 6-7 (8-6), 6-4, 2-0 (ret).

But Udomchoke, ranked 207th in the world and former Asian Games singles champ, redeemed the Thai side with an emphatic 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, win over Arcilla in the second match that was delayed for 30 minutes by power outage.

The Philippines will try to get the upper hand in today’s doubles at 6 p.m. with Treat Huey and Francis Casey Alcantara listed to play against Nuttanon Kadchapanan and Pruchya Isarow.

The 17-year-old, 6-foot-3 Thai went out firing from all angles in the first, pushing the 27-year-old Phl top man on the defensive most of the time in the scorching claycourts under in one of summer’s hottest days.

``I was really sorry for him, it’s a tough decision for them to make,’’ said Gonzales of Trongcharoenchaikul, who was given medical attention for 20 minutes inside the court.

``But I was ready to go the distance,’’ added Gonzales, who in the first set, was obviously trying to engage the Thai in an all-out shoot-out instead of slowing down the pace which has always been the team’s game plan on the soft and slow surface.

Instead, the Thai broke him early on for a 2-1 lead which gave him the confidence to drill in points from corner to corner. Gonzales broke back in the eighth game for 4-4 only to watch Trongcharoenchaikul fire crosscourts from the baseline to break him back, 6-5.

Refusing to just wilt before the big throng of Filipino fans who trooped here, Gonzales broke again to force a tiebreak.

``I had several chances in the first set which obviously failed to materialize,’’ said Gonzales. ``He was serving very well and playing very good.’’

Trongcharoenchaikul stormed to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak, but Gonzales, leaning on his vast experience, fought back to even take set point, 6-4. But there was was no stopping the raging Thai, scoring winners to rack up four straight points and wrap up the first set with aplomb.

Trying out a different tack, Gonzales tried to salvage pride by breaking in the third game of the second set en route to a trouble-free frame, giving life to the big crowd that included celebrities and tennis officials.

And in the third set, Gonzales handily broke in the first game as Trongcharoenchaikul started to feel pain as he refused to chase easy shots. At 30-0 in the second game, the Thai walked to a corner shaking his legs.

Srichapan, who was part of the Thai Davis Cup team that lingered in Group 1 for nine years, approached him but told him to go on. Gonzales finished the game with the Thai standing still, forcing his bench to call for medical timeout.

But soon as the lanky netter sat, he grimaced in pain complaining of cramps in his abdomen which didn’t take long for the Thai side to decide to just retire him.