RP-Kazakhstan Davis Cup tie on

The Philippines and Kazakhstan start their relegation tie today with both countries trying to keep their spot in Group II of the Asia-Oceania Zone Davis Cup competitions at the Philippine Columbian Association indoor shell-clay courts.

The Filipinos, starring No. 1 Joseph Victorino and No. 2 Joseph Arcilla, take on the Kazakhs at 1 p.m. with the 19-year-old Victorino getting the honor of trying to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-five matches tie.

Victorino faces Kazakhstan’s No. 2 Anton Tsymbalov in the first match before Arcilla duels dangerous world No. 810 Alexey Kedriouk in the second singles match.

The pivotal doubles tiff, pitting initial nominees Arcilla and Michael Mora III against Kedriouk and Tsymbalov, is set at 1 p.m. tomorrow after which the tie ends on Sunday with the reverse singles with Victorino and Arcilla exchanging opponents.

The Philippines, trying to get the edge by putting the tie in the hot, humid and slow shell-clay court of the PCA, will also rely on the hometown crowd, aside from its netters talents, to put the pressure on the Kazakhs who enjoy a 2-0 edge in their head-to-head duel.

The Kazakhs, who claimed that they are not bothered by the weather in the country, bested the Philippines, 4-1, in the first round of the Zone II competitions last year in Kazakhstan and had also beaten the Filipinos, 2-0, in the final of their Group III match-up in 2001 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The Kazakhs also claimed that the draw, held yesterday at the Midtown Hotel with Congressman Monico Puentevella and neutral referee David Smith from New Zealand, favored their three-man team.

"It was a good draw for both teams. We are ready for this tie and no team got the edge after the draw," playing captain Ivan Tsymbalov said, a statement echoed by Filipino non-playing captain Johnny Jose.