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THE
score may look close, but the world-class Uzbekistan
emphatically proved the better team against the
Philippines
in Group I.
Denis
Istomin capped his unbeaten campaign in the tie by
sweeping Cecil Mamiit, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4, Sunday under hot
conditions at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA)
indoor shell clay courts.
That
meant the Uzbeks remained in Group I after winning the
best-of-five tie over the Philippines, 3-2.
“The
score may have looked easy, but it was a tough match. He
was hitting good shots but I remained confident about
the match,” said the 21-year-old Istomin, who earlier
beat Patrick John Tierro, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, in the first
singles match Friday.
He also
teamed up with Farrukh Dustov to beat Mamiit and Eric
Taino in a tough 7-6 (12-10), 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7) win in
the doubles Saturday.
The
Philippines will now have to beat the loser of the
Chinese Taipei-Kazakhstan tie in September to stay in
Group I.
Taino,
32, made the tie look close on paper. He beat
19-year-old Vaja Uzakov, 6-4, 6-4, also on Sunday in the
final singles match when the result was a forgone
conclusion in favor of the Uzbeks. On the court,
however, the Uzbeks dominated.
“They
[Filipinos] played their hearts out. The Uzbeks played
splendid tennis out there. We tried everything, but they
have the answers. They have been in the World Group
before, they know how to win these kinds of matches,”
said RP nonplaying team captain Manny Tecson.
Even
with the loss, Mamiit, 31, said the Philippine team
gained much from the tie.
“We had
tough breaks, but I believe we need this experience of
playing Group I teams if we want improve,” he said.
Mamiit
won the second singles match against the 21-year-old
Dustov Friday, but the winning image of that match was
Dustov lying flat on his stomach on the court—after
chasing a drop shot by Mamiit—in pain with cramps on
both his legs. Mamiit won, 5-7, 6-3, 5-5, because of
retirement.
Using
his height to his advantage, the six-foot-two Istomin
made the game look easy by making the five-foot-eight
Mamiit chase his shots most of the time. He broke serve
thrice, with Mamiit holding serve only once in the first
set.
Istomin
racked up five straight games after three breaks and
fought off two Mamiit break points to sweep the second
set.
Down
30-40 in the fifth game of the third, Istomin forced
deuce with a powerful backhand cross court winner and
eventually broke that game. Both players held serve
after that with Istomin sweeping four points in the 10th
game that ended with a long Mamiit forehand. Istomin
raised his right hand in victory.
Mamiit
patted his chest—as if saying sorry for the result—and
waved to the crowd. He even threw some of shirts to his
fans. The match lasted one hour and 55 minutes, a far
cry from the previous matches especially in the doubles,
which lasted for more than three hours. |
