Davis Cup : Philippines and Chinese Taipei tied at 1-1 after day 1

Source : Renee A. Fopalan/OMG, GMA NewsFil-Am Davis Cup veteran Cecille Mamiit failed to capitalize on home court advantage as he lost in four sets, 7-6(2) 2-6 6-7(6) 3-6, against Ti Chen in the first game of the Davis Cup Asia/Ocena Group I play-off at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu Philippines.

 In the second match, Treat Huey defeated Jimmy Wang in straight sets, 6-4 6-4 6-3, to even up with Chinese Taipei.

Over the weekend, the Filipinos will play three more matches. Ruben Gonzales and Jeson Patrombon will play the only doubles match against Jimmy Wang and Ti Chen on Saturday. On Sunday, the other two reverse singles games will see Mamiit and Huey trade opponents as the two take on Jimmy Wang and Ti Chen, respectively. The Philippines needs to win two out of three matches left to take the play-off. Losing will relegate the Philippines to the lower Group II for 2012.

The Filipinos lead in their all-time head-to-head match up against Chinese Taipei, 4-1, with the only defeat coming in the first round of Group I Asia/Oceania Relegation Play-off last July 2010.

Ti Chen is ranked 293rd worldwide while Jimmy Wang is ranked 389th. The Chinese Taipei reserves Hsin-Han Lee is ranked 547th while Chu-Huan Yi is ranked 986th. For the Philippines, the highest ranked player is Ruben Gonzales at 869th, followed by Treat Huey at 901st and Jeson Patrombon at 1052nd. Cecille Mamiit does not hold an ATP ranking anymore as he is working as Maria Sharapova's full-time hitting partner.