Chinese-Taipei dumps PH out of Davis Cup in Day Three
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Chinese-Taipei rebuffed a hot start by the
Philippines’ Jeson Patrombon, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0, 6-1, to knock the hosts out of the
Davis Cup on Sunday (July 17) at the Philippine Columbian Association.
Patrombon got off to a dream start against Ti Chen, scoring a 6-3 win in the first
set and claiming a 5-1 advantage in the second set.
With the second set seemingly in the bag, Patrombon lifted his foot off the pedal
as Chen let out a furious rally to claim the lead at 6-5.
The Filipino fought back--evening things up at 6-6--but fell in the tie-breaker
7-4.
Things went downhill for Patrombon then; he failed to win a single game in the third
set--giving Chinese-Taipei a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth frame.
Chen didn’t miss a step as he sealed a convincing come from behind victory, to help
Chinese-Taipei advance into the next round.
Philippine team coach Karl Santamaria lamented the second set collapse. He said
that it was all a result of inexperience in the face of tough opposition.
“It wasn’t anything physical, he was fine, he was fresh. Probably the inexperience
came in,” said Santamaria on Patrombon. “He kind of could not get over that he was
about to take a two sets to love lead and then relaxed a bit.”
Moving forward
Philippine team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier lamented the team’s loss, but praised
all the players for holding their own in the face of higher ranked opposition.
“We had our chances in this match,” said Lhuillier. “I’m still proud of our boys
as they went toe-to-toe with their higher ranked opponents. We’ll bounce back next
year.”
It is back to the drawing board for the Philippines after the loss, and it is plain
to see that the team needs to bolster its singles play moving forward.
“We’re doing well in doubles, but I think guys like Niño Alcantara, Jeson need to
improve on their singles ranking and singles play overall,” admitted Santamaria.
“We really need to improve on our singles play.”
Source: cnnphilippines.com