MANILA, Philippines--Cecil Mamiit faced the applauding, roaring crowd, lifted his sweat-soaked shirt and then thumped his chest repeatedly to celebrate the win.

The triumphant show came after Mamiit's 6-foot-4 rival Farrukh Dustov retired in the third set to give host Philippines a split with Uzbekistan after the opening singles of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 relegation tie.

Dustov fell flat on his stomach after a futile lunge at a nifty drop shot by the 5-6 Mamiit and surrendered due to fatigue at the furnace-like Philippine Columbian Association courts in Paco, Manila.

The Uzbekistan No. 2 won the first set, 7-5, Mamiit won the second at 6-3, and the count was tied at five games apiece when Dustov quit.

Uzbekistan earlier won the first singles easily through world-ranked Denis Istomin, who proved just too good for Patrick John Tierro.

Tapped to start in place of Eric Taino, the 21-year-old Tierro was never in the game against his seasoned, power-serving foe, who prevailed, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, in just one hour and 58 minutes.

The decisive doubles match, pitting the tested Mamiit-Taino pair against Istomin and Dustov, is set at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"We're just trying our hardest here," said Mamiit after the two-hour, 52-minute match, which had Dustov starting to cramp up in both thighs early in the third set.

Dustov, to his credit, showed he had a big heart, too, as he gamely went on. But it was clear that he had nothing more to give, as Mamiit ran him from one end of the court to the other.

"It's good to start out here with at least a win," added Mamiit, who won his 10th Davis Cup match for the Philippines. "We're looking forward to the doubles. We're trying to regain respect and to do that, doubles will be key."

Mamiit did not only show a big heart, but supreme conditioning as well as he looked at ease playing in the punishing heat, while Dustov started showing discomfort as early as the middle part of the second set.

"I feel fine," Mamiit said, when asked if the heat drained him as well. "I just feel a little hungry.

"I don't think he (Dustov) will be playing (in the doubles) Saturday," Taino told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) in a brief chat. "It's either they rest him for the reverse singles or he's too hurt to come out and play."

Dustov actually had Mamiit in trouble in the third set, racing to a 4-1 lead even with fist-like lumps appearing in his thighs during breaks. So severe was his cramping that the team trainer was allowed to attend to him.

In the end, four people attending to Dustov tried to relieve him of the pain, while Mamiit was busy working the crowd, which roared to a samba-playing band.

Istomin, ranked 156th in the world who has had experiences playing against Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt, was in complete command, winning with so much ease against Tierro, who was the surprise pick to start off hostilities for the Philippines.

Tierro had a chance to seize control in the first set, overhauling a 1-3 deficit before blowing advantage in the seventh game on Istomin's serve, which would have given the Philippines a 4-3 edge.

From there, Istomin took command with his overpowering serves.

The Philippines, then made up of a team of Michael Misa, Joseph Lizardo and Robert Angelo, lost, 0-5, the last time it clashed with Uzbekistan at the Dynamo courts in Tashkent 11 years ago.

The winner of the tie stays in Group 1 with the loser dropping to the lower bracket.