Koreans clinch Davis Cup tie, 3-2

Patrick Tierro failed to handle Woong Sun Jun, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, yesterday as the Philippines bowed to South Korea in their Asia Oceania Zone Group 2 Davis Cup tie at the Philippine Columbian Association indoor courts.

Not even the presence of a pair of drum-beating Filipino fans could fire up Tierro against the steady Korean whose victory left Johnny Arcilla’s 6-2, 7-5 win over Hyun Joon Suk in the other reverse singles immaterial.

The Philippines split Friday’s opening singles and lost Saturday’s doubles, allowing the visitors to take the tie at 3-2 and advance to the second round against either Oceania Pacific (Fiji-Tonga) or Lebanon.

The Philippines will go up against the loser of the Oceania Pacific-Lebanon tie. The loser in this July encounter will be relegated to Group 3.

Tierro, the most promising player in the country today, gave his best during the one-hour 55-minute match that was played while a big children’s party was going on at the PCA clubhouse.

But it was the South Koreans who held their own party later on.

"Well, we had our chances but failed to capitalize on it. The Koreans were simply better," said RP coach Martin Misa. "Our players still lack the exposure, making them vulnerable to stronger teams like Korea."

"I gave my best but Jun played very well. I couldn’t get the breaks and committed many errors," said Tierro, who is scheduled to leave next week for India where he will join three successive tournaments.

Korean coach Gap Taik Ro was quite impressed with Tierro’s tennis skills but said the Filipino ace should work harder on his conditioning. "He doesn’t have the legs," said Ro.

Jean Henry Lhuillier, a sports patron who bankrolls the RP Davis Cup team, gamely watched from the stands and, despite the loss, vowed to continue supporting the team.

"The Korean’s win didn’t come easy over PJ (Tierro). He made his foreign opponent work for every point. We are proud of PJ and our Davis Cup team," said Lhuillier.