Japanese clinch DC tie, 3-1; Mamiit succumbs to fatigue

LAPU LAPU CITY, Philippines – Cecil Mamiit succumbed to fatigue and a younger, well-rested Go Soeda, who hammered out a 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory to complete Japan’s masterful 3-1 win over the Philippines in their Asia-Oceania Davis Cup Group I tie to the disappointment of the big weekend crowd at the Plantation Bay Resorts and Spa clay court here yesterday.

“I really tried very hard to win this game because I know our countrymen wanted me to win,” said a teary-eyed Phl playing team captain Mamiit. “Although we lost, we showed them that we could compete against their level given the proper support and training. This is just the start and we will prove to them that we deserve to be in Group I.”

The Phl decided not to play out its fifth and last reverse singles match that would have pitted Treat Huey against Tatsuma Ito as Japan, which swept the first two singles matches Friday but lost the doubles Saturday, already clinched the tie at 3-1.

“It’s actually the new rule. A country is allowed not to play its last game if it already lost the tie by more than three sets in the fourth game,” said RP team coach Chris Cuarto.

The win thus sent Japan into a showdown with Uzbekistan, which sideswiped New Zealand by winning the first two singles and the doubles two days ago, for a chance to make it to the World Group playoff featuring the best of the best.

The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Philippine team, on the other hand, will have to hurdle New Zealand in July to retain its place in Group I.

After the final point, Mamiit approached his bench in tears as he hugged his teammates, coaches and Cebuana Lhuillier owner and team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier.

Go and the whole Japanese team then went to the Phl bench and hoisted Mamiit, throwing him into the air in a tribute to the player who gave his all for his team.

The 34-year-old Mamiit came a point away from scoring a come-from-behind victory in the first singles match against Ito but couldn’t pull it off in the end and lost, 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-9, in a five-and-a-half-hour encounter, easily one of the longest in the history of the Cup.

Johnny Arcilla, a last-minute replacement to Huey, who had opted to rest his ailing right knee, bowed to 26-year-old Go, 3-6, 3-6, 3-6. in the other singles match on the first day.

But Mamiit and Huey averted another shutout loss as they teamed up to overpower the tandem of Takao Suzuki and Hirko Kondo, 6-1, 7-6(5), 6-2, in the doubles Saturday and sparked hopes for a repeat of the Phl’s come-from-behind 3-2 squeaker over South Korea last year.

But the Japanese had other things in mind.

Go, who blitzed past Arcilla in an easy straight set win Friday, rallied from 2-4 down in the first set tiebreaker, coming up with superb shots to neutralize Mamiit and seize the first set.

The World No. 108 then dominated Mamiit in the second frame as the Fil-Am appeared to have been slowed down by fatigue after logging nearly 12 hours and playing 12 sets spread through three days of closely-fought games.

Mamiit actually recovered and rebounded with a victory in the third set only to lose steam and poise in the face of the Soeda’s solid fightback.

Despite the setback, Mamiit and the rest of the team, outfitted by Accel and backed by Cebuana Lhuillier, Plantation Bay Resorts and Spa, Lapu Lapu City, Smart, The Philippine STAR, Aksyon TV, Philippine Sports Commission and Slazenger, said they have nothing to be ashamed of.

“This is a proud accomplishment for our team because we really gave them a fight and we could’ve turn things around if a few breaks had gone our way,” said Phl Davis Cup administrator Randy Villanueva.

The Filipinos have now lost 18 times to the Japanese in 27 ties overall, including four consecutive defeats in the era of Mamiit.

The last time the Phl defeated Japan was in 1995 when the squad, headed by Joseph Lizardo and Bobby Angelo, cut the heavily favored Japan down to size at the Rizal Tennis Center.

Davis Cup notes: The Phl team literally lost everything as they gave away their clothes, jackets, caps, arm bands, shirts and souvenirs to the fans as a way of showing their appreciation for their support and warm welcome...Philippine Olympic Committee chairman Monico Puentevella decided to stay put at the last minute, hoping for an upset win. He didn’t get what he wished although he said he was still proud of the team...RP team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier of Cebuana Lhuillier hosted a dinner for the team...The Davis Cup, a tournament first played in 1900, is named after Dwight Davis, a young Harvard graduate who conceptualized a men’s team tennis competition between the US and UK. He donated a silver trophy, which cost him a thousand dollars at that time. Davis actually served as Governor General of the Philippines from 1927 to 1930. A total of 140 countries are now part of the Davis Cup circuit where the Philippines first participated in 1921. There were only two members of that Phl team – brothers Francisco and Guillermo Aragon.