RP bets Huey, Mamiit drop opening singles vs Koreans

The youthful tandem of Korea’s Lim Young-kyu and Jeong Suk-young prevailed over the veteran Filipino-American pair of Treat Conrad Huey and Cecil Mamiit in the opening singles of the 2010 Asia-Oceania Zone Davis Cup Relegation tie at the Chanwon Municipal Tennis Center in Chanwon, Korea. The 19-year old Lim, who is ranked 313 in the world, bounced back from an opening set loss and showed poise down the stretch to eke out a 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) against RP No. 2 Huey. It took almost four hours for the match to be completed with Lim, displaying courage and determination, outlasting Huey in the final two sets, which was both decided by tie-breaks. Huey in fact was ahead in both sets but failed to convert the needed points to close out the match. The rookie Jeong, meanwhile, capitalized on Mamiit’s injury to score a come-from-behind 0-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 win. Mamiit, who played with a hurting hand, wasn’t able to put power with his returns and later dropped the match giving the hosts a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five tie. The winner will remain in Group I in 2011. The loser of this tie will be relegated to Group II next year. - GMANews.TV