D Cuppers take doubles vs Kiwis

LAPU LAPU CITY, CEBU , Philippines   â€“ Treat Huey and Francis Casey Alcantara overpowered Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell of New Zealand, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, in the doubles as the Philippines stayed alive in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group II promotional tie at the Plantation Bay Resorts and Spa here late Saturday.

The win cut the Kiwis’ lead to 1-2 following loses by Ruben Gonzales to Michael Venus, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0, and Johnny Arcilla to Jose Statham, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, in Friday’s opening singles matches.

“Nino (Alcantara) and I have been playing well together and we showed it in this match,” said the 28-year-old Huey, ranked No. 28 in the world in doubles and No. 13 in tandem with Great Britain’s Dominic Inglot.

It was the second win for Huey, a quarterfinalist in last week’s US Open in New York, and Alcantara, who plays for US NCAA Division I school Pepperdine, following their 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Thailand’s Pruchya Isarow and Nuttanon Kadchapan in a historic 4-1 win by the Filipinos over the Thais last April also here.

“It’s important that we get this win because it kept us alive,” said Phl’s non-playing team captain Roland Kraut.

Like in the doubles, the first reverse singles match yesterday was halted due to heavy rains with Statham, New Zealand’s No. 1 player leading Gonzales, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-1, 2-3.

Treat and Alcantara went 2-0 up early, capped by a down-the-line forehand return by Alcantara before the Kiwis charged back to level it at 3.

But the Phl took command again as Daniell made a double-fault, enabling the hosts to regain a 4-3 lead.

The Filipinos then took a 5-3 lead on a long return by Daniell and the set.

Egged on by the big crowd, Huey and Alcantara took the next three games, the first clinched by a Sitak’s wide forehand return and the last booked by Huey’s deceiving drop shot that gave them a 3-1 edge.

But Sitak and Daniell struck back again to knot the count at 3.

But heavy downpour forced the organizers to stop the match for 10 minutes. At resumption, Huey and Alcantara won the next three games and the second set before breaking Sitak and Daniell once in the third to complete the sweep.

In the reverse singles, Gonzales fought hard to wrap up the first set with three match points but Statham countered by holding serve before forcing a tiebreaker, which Gonzales dominated, 7-2.

Gonzales roared to a 3-1 start only to stumble as Statham turned it around and took the second set by breaking the Filipino on the 10th game with blazing forehands.

Statham imposed his will in the third but Gonzales regained his bearing and rhythm to seize a 3-2 lead in the fourth set before organizers halted the match again due to heavy rains.