Mamiit back with Sharapova

Fil-Am veteran Cecil Mamiit is back in the camp of this year’s Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova in Los Angeles after flying out of New Zealand where he anchored the Philippine team in a losing effort in a Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I first round playoff tie last weekend.

Mamiit, 35, was hired as Sharapova’s hitting partner for the Australian Open last January but didn’t join the Russian star’s team at Wimbledon to concentrate on preparing for the Davis Cup. Now, he’s back to sharpen Sharapova’s game for the hardcourt season. In training for New Zealand, Mamiit sparred with Fil-Am Dennis Lajola who played for the US junior Davis Cup team in 2005.

Lajola, 22, is a 5-9 University of Hawaii graduate who was born in the Philippines. According to Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) vice president Randy Villanueva, Lajola may be tapped to play for the country in the coming Southeast Asian Games.

 “Dennis played on the US junior Davis Cup team that reached the World Group,” said Villanueva. “He wants to play for the Philippines and I think he’ll be a big asset in future Davis Cups and the Southeast Asian Games this year. Both Dennis’ parents are Filipinos. He has already applied for a Philippine passport in Hawaii and there should be no problem in processing his papers.”

Another candidate for the national team in the future is Fil-German Marc Sieber who won the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open last year. Sieber, 22, is based in Munich and has expressed willingness to play for the Philippines in international competitions. Both Lajola and Sieber will be major additions to the national squad particularly as Mamiit isn’t getting any younger.

Mamiit, however, is far from finished as a Davis Cupper. In the New Zealand tie, he went the distance in losing to Michael Venus, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Teammate Ruben Gonzales would’ve played the no-bearing fifth match but backed out with a sore shoulder. Mamiit took his spot and lost to Artem Sitak, 6-4, 7-5.

“Cecil is committed to play for the Philippines against Chinese-Taipei and the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia,” said Villanueva. “If the Philta Board wants him back, he’ll play. We’ll still talk about playing beyond this year but at the moment, Cecil is raring to play in our biggest Davis Cup tie against Chinese-Taipei.”

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The Philippines will host Chinese-Taipei in a do-or-die clash where the winner stays in Group I and the loser is demoted to Group II. It’s not certain where in the country the tie will be played on Sept. 15-18. Cebu is a possibility, having hosted the Philippines-Japan tie last March.

“It all comes down to one tie,” said Villanueva. “There’s no easy series in Group I. The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country playing in Group I. Indonesia and Thailand are in Group II. Even powerhouse South Korea is in Group II. Two years ago, we hosted New Zealand in a tie which we won because we were complete and had the homecourt advantage. Even then, the tie was a 50-50 proposition. This year, we went to New Zealand without a complete lineup as Treat (Huey) played in a big ATP event in Newark, Rhode Island. The draw went against us as Cecil played the second match with the pressure of covering a 0-1 deficit and knowing Treat wouldn’t be around to play doubles. Still, his match went to five sets and Cecil showed a lot of heart in going down fighting.”

Gonzales dropped the first match in straight sets to Rubin Statham, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, then teamed with Johnny Arcilla to lose the doubles. Gonzales is winless in three matches, including two singles, in two ties in his Davis Cup history.

Villanueva said he expects the Chinese-Taipei tie to be a thriller. “In 2009, we had to win three ties (against Hong Kong, Pakistan and New Zealand) to move up to Group I,” he recalled. “Now, it’s down to winning just one tie against Chinese-Taipei to stay in Group I. We’re getting Treat back for the series. As early as last Saturday, Treat already committed he’ll play for the Philippines against Chinese-Taipei because he knows how important the tie is. Our chances of staying in Group I hinge on Treat’s participation.”

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Last year, the Philippines lost to Chinese-Taipei, 4-1, in a Group I relegation playoff in Kaohsiung. That sent the Philippines into a battle of survival against South Korea to stay in Group I. With Mamiit and Huey leading the charge, the Philippines recovered from a 0-2 deficit to prevail, 3-2, in Changwon. The Philippines faces a similar situation this year although as a consolation, the decider will now be played at home.

Mamiit and Huey still remember the anguish in losing to Chinese-Taipei last year. They want payback. Huey lost the first match to Tsung Hua Yang, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6, then Mamiit evened up matters with a 6-3, 7-6, 1-4 (retired) victory over Ti Chen. In the doubles, Yang and Chu Huan Yi combined to thwart Mamiit and Huey, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6. Mamiit went on to drop a five-set heartbreaker to Yang, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Gonzales finished the tie with a 6-3, 6-0 loss to Hsin Han Lu.

It was the first duel in five encounters that the Philippines lost to Chinese-Taipei. The Philippines blanked Chinese-Taipei, 4-0, in their first-ever tie in Taipei in 1976 then repeated, 4-1, at the PCA courts in a Group I tie in 1993. The next two ties were 3-2 cliffhangers that the Philippines won in Taiching in 1996 and at the Rizal Memorial courts in 1999. Three of the five ties were Group I match-ups.

In this year’s Group I results, Japan and Australia wound up advancing to the World Group playoffs with China, Uzbekistan and New Zealand staying put. Either the Philippines or Chinese-Taipei will join the three holdovers in next year’s Group I hostilities.