PH Cuppers clash with Thais
Jeson Patrombon and Bryan Otico hope to set the tone early as the Philippine Davis Cup team takes on Thailand starting today in the Asia Oceania Zone Group II second round tie at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) in Paco, Manila.
Patrombon, nominated as the team’s No. 1 player, squares off with Jirat Navasirisomboon for the 10 a.m. opening singles following yesterday’s draw results presided by International Tennis Federation referee John Bloom.
Otico follows suit at 1 p.m. against Thailand’s No. 1 Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul.
It was a surprising strategy for the PH Cuppers, especially in fielding Otico in the singles but team captain Chris Cuarto is optimistic the 18-year-old reigning PCA Open champion can pull off a surprise.
Otico only joined the team this year, debuting in the Davis Cup scene with a three-set win in a dead rubber against Indonesia last February.
As for Patrombon, his experience of having played in the Davis Cup in nine ties boosts his confidence.
“Every match is very important to us. The singles matches will be as tough as the doubles match, but we’ll take it day by day and see how it goes,” said Cuarto.
Sunday’s crucial doubles match at 10 a.m. pit Francis Casey Alcantara and Johnny Arcilla over Thai veterans Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana.