Gonzales, Mamiit drop opening matches vs New Zealand in Davis Cup

The Philippines suffered back-to-back losses in day one of the Davis Cup Group I Asia/Oceania 1st Round Play-off held Friday in Hawera, New Zealand. The first game pitted Fil-Am Ruben Gonzales (830) against Jose Statham (556), with the Kiwi winning in straight sets, 6-4 6-4 6-4. Statham went up early in the first set, taking a 3-1 lead. The two held their serves from then on, with Statham taking the set at 6-4. In the second set, Gonzales fought to get back in the game, tying with Statham at 2 a piece. Statham then broke Gonzales' serve to lead 4-3. The Kiwi went on to protect his service to get to 6-4 and a 2-0 set lead. Gonzales tried again in the third set, but the FIlipino ended up asking for an injury time out after the third game. Statham took advantage of Gonzales' situation to take the third set and the match at 6-4. The second game proved to be a tough loss for the Philippines, with No.1 ranked Kiwi Michael Venus defeating Philippine team Davis Cup captain Cecil Mamiit, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Unranked Mamiit, a Davis Cup veteran for the Philippines, has been involved in Maria Sharapova's camp as the Russian's hitting partner. The first set in the game was a battle of serves as well, with the two players holding their respective serves until they reached the tiebreak. Mamiit's solid play earned him the set at 8-6 in the tiebreaker. In the second set, Mamiit took a precarious lead at 6-5, only to face a determined Venus who brought the game to its second tiebreak. The Kiwi used his momentum to assert himself in the tiebreak to win it at 7-4. Venus continued with his strong performance in the third set, taking it easily at 6-3. In set 4, the two were tied thrice, with Venus taking that lead at 4-3. Mamiit responds to take the next three games to win the set at 6-4. In the final set, Mamiit started strong, taking the the lead at 1-0 and 2-1. Venus countered to tie it at 2-2, but an inspired Mamiit took the lead back at 3-2. The Kiwi countered to tie at 3-3, and broke Mamiit's serve to take a 4-3 lead. Venus then held his serve to lead 5-3, on the way to taking the set and the game at 6-3. On Saturday, the Filipinos will try to bounce back with Johnny Arcilla and Ruben Gonzales taking on Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell in the doubles game. The final matches will be held on Sunday, with Venus playing Gonzales and Statham playing Mamiit. The Philippines (36) currently holds a 3-1 match-up lead vs. New Zealand (40), with the latest victory coming from a 4-1 result in 2009. The two are coming from first round losses from Japan and Uzbekistan, respectively. -- Renee A. Fopalan/OMG, GMA News