NAKHO RATCHASIMA, Thailand – Fil-American Cecil Mamiit silenced the hometown crowd for 80 minutes as he outclassed top Thai netter Danai Udomchoke point after point, game after game, to carve out a 6-3, 6-0 victory and clinch the gold in the men’s singles of the 24th Southeast Asian Games tennis competitions yesterday at the Main Stadium tennis center here.
The second-seeded Mamiit, who also won the individual gold in Manila two years ago, got the breakthrough in the tightly-fought first set when he broke Udomchoke, the top seed and No. 154 in the world, in the eighth game.
That gave Mamiit a sudden surge in adrenalin as he went on to dominate the Thai, who came up with powerful dipping forehands and even stronger backhand shots but wilted under pressure under Mamiit’s relentless drive in the second set.
Fighting under the searing midday heat, the 31-year-old Fil-American resumed his baseline attack in the second, scoring on crosscourt shots the 26-year-old Asian Gamer and Davis Cupper on many occasions netted with a weak forehand.
He had six aces, while the Thai, hobbled by a sore leg, had three double faults and 36 unforced errors. Mamiit came up with 12 forehand winners and eight backhand winners in the second set.
“I came here vowing to play better. I had two breaks and I just didn’t like to experience the same thing in the team competitions (two days earlier) because I am up against a good player and the crowd,” said Mamiit, who also won the singles gold over Udomchoke in the 2005 Manila SEA Games.
The win made up for the semifinal loss of Denise Dy and Diane Matias to top seeds Tamarine Tanasugarn and Napapon Tongsalee of Thailand in the women’s doubles, 3-6, 0-6.
It was also vindication of his semifinal loss to Udomchoke, a candidate for Thailand’s most popular athlete of the Games award, in the second men’s singles of the team competition against Thailand Tuesday. The loss then evened up the RP-Thai score at 1-1 after Taino’s win in the first match. Thailand went on to win the third match, the doubles, to reach and win the gold medal round.
Mamiit now leads their head-to-head series at 3-1.
“I’m not very happy with what happened in the semis. I wanted to be as professional as I could today because I am representing the Philippines,” he said. “I played a lot better today.” – Gerry Carpio