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By Emil C. Noguera, Correspondent
WITH Uzbekistan’s impressive record both on
clay and hard courts, the Philippines will be facing a daunting task
in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 relegation tie on April 11
to 13.
The Uzbeks won five of nine ties played on clay
court and were victorious 16 times in 24 stints on hardcourt,
leaving officials of the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (Philta)
puzzled on which court to choose.
RP non-playing team captain Martin Misa said
they are still studying on which court to use that Filipinos will
slightly gain advantage.
“We are still studying that matter,” said
Misa. “We will also ask the players what surface they want.”
Possible venues of the tie which will determine
the fate of the RP Cuppers are Philippine Columbian Association (claycourt)
and the hardcourts in Cebu and Subic.
“We want to maximize our advantage in choosing
the perfect court for us,” explained Misa. “ Right now, we are
planning to send our players abroad to gain more exposure, most
especially our local players.”
Fil-American Cecil Mamiit will fly to Bangkok on
Friday while Fil-Am Eric Taino returned to the US to continue his
training.
Philta hopes to send US-born Patrick John Tierro
and Johnny Arcilla in India for training, pending the approval of
the Philippine Sports Commission.
World’s No. 183 Denis Istomin will banner
Uzbekistan, which absorbed a 2-3 loss to India in their tie. Other
members of the team are Farrukh Dustov (No. 245), Sarvar Ikramov
(No. 699), Murad Inoyatov (No. 855) and Vaja Uzakov (No. 905).
Japan, led by world’s No. 201 Go Soeda, scored
a 5-0 win over the Philippines, which must beat Uzbekistan to remain
in Group 1. A loss will send the Filipinos back to Group 2 next
year.
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