INQUIRER Sports

PAKISTAN’S TOP PLAYER AISAM Qureshi backed out at the last minute, boosting the Philippines’ chances in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 2 semifinal tie starting Friday at the shell courts of the Philippine Columbian Association in Paco, Manila.

Fil-Americans Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey kick off the Filipinos’ campaign as expected in the opening singles against Pakistani brothers Aqeel and Jalil Khan.

Huey, who will be playing in the tie for the first time on local shores, will take on Aqeel Khan at 3 p.m. while Mamiit, looking forward to settle old scores with Qureshi, battles Jalil at 5:30.

Qureshi beat Mamiit, 6-4, 6-3, during the 2003 US Open qualifying.

Philippine Tennis Association secretary general Romeo Magat picked for the Filipinos in yesterday’s draw.

The 29-year-old Qureshi, ranked 288th in singles and 87th in doubles in the world, reportedly chose to honor an earlier commitment to play in the Campbell Hall of Fame tennis championships in Newport, Rhode Island.

Qureshi was replaced by practice player Jivran Muhammadi.

PJ Tierro and doubles specialist Francis Casey Alcantara will team up in the doubles against the Khans at 3 p.m. tomorrow with the reverse singles on Sunday, also starting at 3 p.m.

With Qureshi out, the RP squad now officially known as the Cebuana Lhuillier Philippine Davis Cup team, looks a cinch to repeat its 4-1 win over Pakistan during their 2007 tie at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center hard courts.

The Filipinos enjoy a 3-1 edge in head-to-head duel with the Pakistanis.

The choice of a soft and slippery surface of PCA was also designed to give the Filipinos the edge as the Pakistanis are known to play better on hard courts.

“We still can’t count the Pakistanis out because they are known to play better with the odds against them,” said Philta vice president Randy Villanueva.

Non-playing captain Cris Cuarto said the RP team, coming off a 4-1 win over Hong Kong in March, has played on the venue for the past three weeks.