Huey blows off chance to win D Cup tie

LAPU LAPU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – Treat Huey blew a two-set lead in the deciding reverse singles and absorbed a heart-breaking 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 setback to Michael Venus as New Zealand pulled off a 3-2 decision in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group II promotional tie at the Plantation Bay Resorts and Spa here Monday.

Ruben Gonzales stunned fancied and NZ No. 1 Jose Statham in a thrilling, marathon five-setter, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 1-6, 7-5, 8-6, in the first reverse singles match Sunday to send the Huey-Venus match into a do-or-die duel.

Huey, a last-minute replacement to Johnny Arcilla, appeared headed to completing the host country’s fightback from 0-2 down in the first day (singles) when he took the first two sets. But the talented Fil-Am, who teamed up with Francis Casey Alcantara in routing Artem Sitak and Marcul Daniell in Saturday’s doubles to keep the Philippines’ hopes alive, lost steam in the third and never recovered.

The Kiwis, who swept the first singles matches Friday on wins by Venus over Gonzales, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0, and Statham over Arcilla, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, thus moved up to Group I of the competitions next year.

The Filipinos will stay in Group II and wait another year for a chance to get another shot at Group I.

“We fought to the very end,” said Phl’s non-playing team captain Roland Kraut.

The final day had all the trimmings of a classic duel with both matches ending up in marathon five-setters lasting around 10 hours, including a two-hour break in the middle of the fourth set of the Gonzales-Statham duel due to heavy rains.

A near fistfight also ensued between Philta vice president and Phl Davis Cup team administrator Randy Villanueva and New Zealand non-playing skipper Allistair Hunt, who got into a shoving and shouting match after Gonzales defeated Statham.

After bowing to Gonzales, a frustrated Statham hit one of the linesmen with the ball, eliciting jeers from the crowd and leading to a shouting match first between Villanueva and the NZ therapist, then Sitak and then Hunt.

Cooler heads intervened and prevented the incident from getting out of hand. After the commotion, organizers had to cordon off the players and officials areas. They also beefed up security around the area with policemen and security personnel.

The day before, members of the team said one of the Kiwis also threw the ball at them after the game.

Villanueva, who flew to Malaysia yesterday, apologized for his actions in the incident.