RP-S. Korea Davis Cup tie blasts off

Treat Huey will open the hostilities again for the Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippine Davis Cup team as he battles 19-year-old Lim Yong-kyu in today’s opening singles of the Asia-Oceania Group 1 relegation tie at the Chanwon Municipal Tennis Courts in Changwon, South Korea. Huey, fresh from back-to-back doubles titles in Canada and the United States, tackles a player ranked 319th in the world at 10 a.m. Manila time as the Filipinos kick off their bid to avoid sliding down to Group 2 next year. Playing team captain Cecil Mamiit, 34, will take on Jeong Suk-young—a player half his age but is ranked 645th in the world—in the second singles. Johnny Arcilla and Elbert Anasta were named in the doubles, set tomorrow against Kim Hyun-joon and Seol Jae-min. “The team is ready,” said team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier. “Huey is used to this situation as the first singles player for the team. Cecil is playing great in practice, and we have an advantage with his Davis Cup experience.” Both teams are coming off twin losses this year. The Philippines lost to Japan and Chinese Taipei, while Korea lost to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. “The boys are adjusting very well with the playing conditions in Korea,” said Lhuillier. “The courts are similar to ours, and the speed and bounce are also the same.” Mamiit is ranked 505th in singles and 1,143rd in doubles, while 25-year-old Huey is 778th in singles but 108th in doubles. Korea won the last five of its eight head-to-head ties with the Philippines, which last prevailed in 1967 with a squad bannered by Felicisimo Ampon.