Philippines task for HK
Hong Kong will host the Philippines in the first round of the 2009 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group Two competition from March 6-8.
It will be a tricky tie. The Philippines are the top seeds amongst the eight teams in the group - they dropped down from group one after tumbling to a 5-0 loss at the hands of Kazakhstan last weekend - and could feature Cecil Mamiit who was once as high as 72 in the ATP world rankings.
'It won't be easy. In Cecil Mamiit, they have a top player and it will all depend if they field him again next year. But the good thing is that we will be playing the tie at home,' Hong Kong's Davis Cup captain Derek Ling (pictured) said yesterday.
'Coming up against the Philippines is the best possible draw for us,' Ling said. 'If we'd drawn Pakistan or Kuwait, we would have had to travel, and luckily we avoided meeting second seeds New Zealand who would have been an unknown quantity.'
If Hong Kong win the first-round tie, they will be up against the winners of the Pakistan versus Oman match in the second round to be played in July, 2009. The bottom half of the draw will see Indonesia meet Kuwait while New Zealand take on Malaysia. The winners of this group advances to Group One in 2010.
Hong Kong last met the Philippines in 2004 in the second round of Group Two action losing 4-1.
Hong Kong will face an uphill task. At present, the local men's game does not have any full-time players after tennis lost its elite status at the Sports Institute. Davis Cup stalwart Yu Hiu-tung, a former scholarship holder and full-time player, is now making his living as a coach.
But Ling was still optimistic of Hong Kong's chances.
He said: 'The draw is as good as any. The Philippines will be tough, but if they don't field Mamiit we have a chance. And playing at home is always an advantage.'
It is still unclear if Victoria Park - currently being renovated for next December's East Asian Games - will be available for the tie. This year, Hong Kong's Davis Cup relegation battle against Lebanon was played at the Chinese Recreation Club. Hong Kong won 3-2 to stay in group two for another year.
