It’s do or die for the Philippines and Kazakhstan as the rival countries face off to avoid demotion to Group II in the Asia-Oceania zone of the Davis Cup in Astana starting tomorrow until Sunday.
The winner of the tie remains in Group I where the other nations are Chinese-Taipei, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Japan. Recently elevated from Group I to the World Group playoffs were Australia and India.
Two Russians changed their citizenship to gain eligibility as Kazakh tennisters and will make their Davis Cup debut against the Filipinos. They are 6-1 Mikhail Kukushkin, 20, and 6-1 Andrey Golubev, 21. Also in the team is 6-2 Yuri Schukin, another Russian who turned Kazakh. The only homegrown player is 6-3 veteran Alexey Kedryuk who has competed for Kazakhstan in the Davis Cup since 1995.
The Philippine team is made up of Cecil Mamiit, Johnny Arcilla, P. J. Tierro and rookie Yannick Guba. Mamiit’s doubles partner Eric Taino has opted to sit out the tie. Non-playing captain is Chris Cuarto and team manager is Jean Henri Lhuillier.
Mamiit, 32, traveled 40 hours from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he played in a tournament to Los Angeles to Manila to Bangkok to his first stop in Kazakhstan, Almaty, before joining his teammates in Astana last Sunday.
Randy Villanueva of the Philippine Tennis Association welcomed Mamiit at the NAIA Airport in Manila at 4 a.m. last Sunday and gave his ticket bound for Astana via Bangkok and Almaty. Mamiit took the first available flight to Bangkok and never left the terminal in Manila. The nearly two-day travel is proof of Mamiit’s dedication to the country.
Villanueva said Kazakhstan isn’t taking any chances against the Philippines and brought in the two Russians to beef up the lineup. Golubev, who lives in Italy, is ranked No. 159 in the world and reached the second round of the recent US Open, losing to No. 7 seed David Nalbandian.
Schukin, 29, was ranked No. 119 in the world last year and the Berlin-based star led Kazakhstan to two wins in the recent Chinese-Taipei tie. He beat Ti Chen, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the singles and also picked up a victory in doubles.
“Kazakhstan’s team is quite surprising,” said Villanueva. “Kukushkin and Golubev didn’t play in their previous ties against Thailand and Chinese-Taipei this year. In terms of ranking in the ATP tour, this is the strongest team the Philippines will play in Group I. With the reinforcements, Kazakhstan is now stronger than Japan and Uzbekistan in terms of ranking of individual players.”
But Villanueva said the Filipinos aren’t giving up hope.
“Although we are playing against a strong team in their home grounds, our guys are in high spirits, especially when Cecil arrived,” he continued. “They are relaxed and looking forward to Friday’s opening games.”
The Philippines barged into Group I this year after sweeping eight straight ties in Group II dating back to 2006. Mamiit led the charge as the Philippines crushed, in order, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, New Zealand and Kuwait to move up to Group I. But the celebration for the promotion was short-lived.
This year, the Philippines was blanked by Japan, 5-0, and lost a 3-2 tie to Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, lost a pair of 3-2 decisions to Thailand and Chinese-Taipei to fall within another defeat back to Group II.
This is the fourth meeting between the Philippines and Kazakhstan in the Davis Cup.