Similar to last year, Chinese Taipei outlasted the Philippines in the first two singles matches to open their second round of the 2016 Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group II tie, Friday at the Philippine Columbian Association.
In the first singles match, Ruben Gonzales of the Philippines lost to Chinese Taipei’s Ti Chen in four sets, 2-6 6-2 2-6 2-6.
After going on serve for the first four games, Chen swept the last four to clinch the opening frame. Trailing 2-5, Gonzales could not arrest his serving struggles in the first set, while Chen finished the rallies with perfectly-executed passing shots.
It was a different story in the second set as Gonzales’ serving finally clicked. The Philippines took an early break of serve and never looked back. Gonzales unleashed seven aces and service winners in the period, including back-to-back service aces to close out the set and equalize.
Chen then took over in the last two sets and took the opening singles match for the Taiwanese. In the third, TPE’s top-seed picked up from where he left off in the first frame, and frustrated Gonzales with a variety of short and long shots. This continued well into the fourth set, as Chen used a 3-0 advantage to win the match. Fittingly, Chinese Taipei ended the match with another forward passing shot.
Team captain Karl Santamaria rued Gonzales’ execution as the primary culprit of the loss. He shared, “Last year, we tried fought with them toe-to-toe stroke for stroke, but it did not work. So, we tried to change the game. At first it worked; there were chances to go ahead, but it boiled down to execution.”
Despite the loss, team patron Jean-Henri Lhullier said: “I’m still confident of our chances despite Gonzales’ loss. Chinese-Taipei’s number 1 player is really good, but I like our chances in Niño’s match against their number 2 player. The goal for day 1 is to win at least 1 match and hopefully get the lead in tomorrow‘s doubles match with Huey playing.”
Nonetheless, it was not meant to be.
Francis Casey Alcantara led 2 sets–1 in the second singles match after clinching the pivotal third set off a tiebreak, before being forced to retire from cramps. Liang-Chi Huang took the first and fourth sets both at 6-1, while Alcantara took the second at 6-3, before conceding the match in the fifth, trailing 0-1.
The first set was similar to that of the first singles match as Alcantara could not get his groove on service. However, this time connected on his powerful long shots, forcing the Filipino to the baseline. Huang succeeded in finding the open spots and took the opening frame.
In the second set, Alcantara mixed it up and disrupted Huang’s game plan. The Filipino also served well in this frame, even making it easier for him to approach the net in certain occasions.
It was a tussle in crucial third set as Alcantara and Huang held on to their serves in the first four games. After the Filipino finished the opening point of the fifth game with an overhead smash, the Taiwanese served two straight faults. This seemed to rattle the 24-year old Huang as consecutive errors gave the Filipino the game and the pivotal service break.
Alcantara had a chance to close the set, leading at 5-4, but could not finish, as he started to feel something. Fortunately for him, Huang could not hold serve as well, but did not well enough to force a tiebreak.
Another double fault killed Chinese Taipei’s chances, as the Philippines plucked the much-needed points to get the set advantage.
Huang had other plans and, in the fourth set, wowed the crowd with spectacular returns of the Alcantara serve. The Filipino, on the other hand, with his nagging injury, started to play more aggressively, resulting to errors. These miscues piled up and surrendered the fourth set to TPE’s favor, extending the match into a deciding fifth set.
Prior to the fourth game of the previous frame, the Philippines requested for a medical time out; and before the chair umpire called time for the final set, Santamaria once again asked Alcantara ifhe could play on.
“I asked for his decision. I told him, ‘If hindi mo na kaya, OK lang sa kin.’”
Alcantara tried to fight on in the fifth, but could barely move in two instances, resulting to clear service aces from Huang. After Huang clinched the fifth set’s first game, the Filipino could not walk back to his chair and ultimately retired, giving the match to Chinese Taipei.
With the gaping 0-2 hole, Santamaria said that they might make some adjustments in the lineup. “We’re thinking about that. I have to consult them. Later, we’ll have dinner and we’ll discuss about it. It is always a collective decision.”
The skipper, likewise, stated the obvious. “We need to win tomorrow. There’s nothing else to do, but to win.”
The Philippines hopes to extend the tie against the leading Chinese Taipei as the doubles match happen later today at 3pm at the same venue. Treat Huey and Jeson Patrombon will banner the Nationals against Jui-Chen Hung and Chieh-Fu Wang of the visiting team.
However, as previously stated, the teams can still change nominees an hour before the scheduled match (2pm).
