Davis Cup tie

Favored Thais wary of Pinoys court, fans

MANILA, Philippines — While it expects to hurdle host Philippines in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group II tie this weekend, Thailand remains wary of its chances on the slow shell-clay court of the Philippine Columbian Association.

“To be honest, we expect to win,” said Thai spearhead Sonchat Ratiwatana during yesterday’s event launch at the PCA in Paco, Manila. “But anything can happen. We played them on hardcourt in the (2017) SEA Games and it wasn’t easy. The clay court is not our forte. So I would say there’s a 50-50 chance.”

Sonchat’s twin, Sanchai, admitted that the visiting squad is not used to playing on shell-clay courts but sees a good, exciting match with the Filipinos starting Saturday.

“We expect a good tie. And that will be good for tennis fans here,” said Sanchai.

The Thais lead the Filipinos in their head-to-head DC tie, 4-3, including a 5-0 rout last year.

Other members of the team are Jirat Navasirisomboon, Palaphoom Kovapitukted and Wishaya Trongcharienchaikul.

Aware of the Thais’ power and experience, Phl non-playing captain Chris Cuarto has urged all tennis stakeholders to rally behind the team composed of young and veteran campaigners.

“Despite the issue of leadership, I hope all tennis leaders and fans will come and support our team,” said Cuarto. “We are not playing for Philta (Philippine Tennis Association) or for other camp, we are playing for the country, so I hope everybody will back us up in this fight. We need your support.”

Despite the so-called homecourt edge and crowd support, Cuarto sees a tough outing for the hosts.

“They (Thais) are professionals, shell-clay courts may not be their kind of surface but they travelled a lot and they played in big time tournaments. So the surface is not a guarantee for us to win,” said Cuarto.