Ex-Federer mentor handling Sri Lanka Cuppers vs PH aces

MANILA, Philippines—Sri Lanka has yet to beat the Philippines in all their previous Davis Cup encounters, but it is pulling all stops to score a breakthrough this weekend.

The Sri Lankan squad brought along renowned coach Dominik Utzinger when it takes on the Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippine team starting this Friday at Valle Verde Country Club.

Utzinger is a Swiss coach who has mentored, many superstars, among them Roger Federer during his formative years. He has been training the Sri Lankans for two months.

“You can see that they are really serious about this, so we need to be on our toes all the time,” said Philippine Tennis Association vice president and PH Davis Cup administrator Randy Villanueva.

Patrick John Tierro will be the No. 1 player for the host, but focus will be on Manila Mavericks stalwart Treat Huey.

Huey will be seeing action for the first time before his hometown crowd since he took part in the Manila leg of the International Premier Tennis League last year teaming up with superstars Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray and Jo Wilfried Tsonga, among others.

Organizers said they are hoping to cash in on the IPTL popularity and pack in the crowd at the venue.

“The fans will surely get to see world-class tennis this weekend,” said Villanueva citing Huey who is a doubles quarterfinalist in the 2013 US Open and 2014 Australian Open.