Philippine Davis Cup team's confidence grows as it prepares to host Taipei in second round

JESON Patrombon and Francis Casey Alcantara rolled past their respective foes in
the reverse singles on Sunday to help the Philippines complete a sweep of the first
round Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II tie at the Valle Verde Country Club.
Patrombon survived a testy first set before cruising in the second against Abdulhamid
Mubarak, 7-6 (5), 6-3, while Francis Casey Alcantara beat Ali Ghareeb, 6-2, 6-1,
to formally claim a 5-0 sweep of the first round tie and keep the Philippines' quest
to return to the Group I stage rolling.
“I’m excited to face stronger opposition in the next round. I strongly believe our
team has got what it takes to move back to Group I next year,” said Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippines
team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier, who is also the chairman of the Philippine Tennis
Association.
Non-playing team captain Karl Santamaria sees this year as the team’s biggest chance
to reach the Group I stage as the Philippines will once again host the second round
tie slated from July 15 to 17 against Chinese Taipei.
“We have to play like a well-oiled machine by helping each other raise the level
of play that we have right now,” Santamaria said.
The tie began with Patrombon securing a 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 win over Abdulrahman Alawadhi
before Ruben Gonzales escaped with a gritty 7-6 (2), 6-2, 1-6, 6-7 (6), 5-5 win
over Mohammad Ghareeb, who retired due to a pulled groin muscle.
Treat Huey and Alcantara beat Alawadhi and Mubarak, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, in the doubles
to take the best-of-three tie.
Source: spin.ph