Pilipinas seeks to surprise in Davis Cup

Davis Cup

Expected to be heavy underdogs against Greece, the Philippines hopes to spring a surprise against their Davis Cup opposition this Friday and Saturday at the Philippine Columbian Association in Paco.

SEA Games gold medalist Francis Casey Alcantara shares, "We know they are tough especially with a world class player like Stefanos Tsitsipas, but we will do our best to make the country proud."

The hosts will field Jeson Patrombon, Ruben Gonzales, AJ Lim, and Eric Olivarez, Jr. alongside Alcantara, with Chris Cuarto acting as the non-playing captain.

Cuarto believes the crowd support would provide the team a boost, says "Hopefully, the home court advantage will help us."

Aside from Stefanos' younger brother Petros, Greece is also backstopped by Michail Pervolarakis and Markos Kalovelonis, with Dimitris Chatzinikoloau acting as their non-playing skipper.

The team draw is slated for Thursday, with the matches to be played on Friday and Saturday.

Tsitsipas now in the Philippines for Davis Cup

Stefanos Tsitsipas (photo from the Dubai Duty Free Championships)

Stefanos Tsitsipas arrived in the Philippines on Monday, showing readiness to represent Greece in Davis Cup play against the hosts later this week.

Fresh from bowing to Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Championships final, 3-6 4-6, the sixth-ranked player in the ATP is expected to give his all for the visitors as they look to impress this year.

Arriving separately from the rest of the Greek team, he shares, "I will try to represent my country as best as possible." Joining him for the tie are his younger brother Petros, Michail Pervolarakis, and Markos Kalovelonis, as well as non-playing captain Dimitris Chatzinikolaou.

Greece's ascent from Group III to Group II and potentially a Group I berth is anchored on the success of the 21-year old, who has won five singles titles and is currently toting an 11-5 record this year with a title to boot in Marseille.

Facing off against their first non-Asian team in Davis Cup play for the first time in almost two decades, the Philippines is going to rely on Francis Casey Alcantara, Jeson Patrombon, Ruben Gonzales, AJ Lim, and Eric Olivarez, Jr, as well as the stewardship of their non-playing skipper Chris Cuarto.

The draw to determine the matchups is slated on Thursday, with the first two singles matches slated for Friday and the remaining matches to be played on Saturday.

Tsitsipas leads Greek cast against Pinoy Davis Cuppers

Davis Cup

The Philippines is expected to get top-caliber opposition from Greece when they face off in their World Group II Davis Cup tie on March 6-7 at the clay courts of the Philippine Columbian Association in Paco, Manila.

Led by 6th-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas and his younger brother Petros, the Greeks' four nominated players are in its country's top-five ranked players in the ATP World Tour. Completing the quartet are Michail Pervolarakis and Markos Kalovelonis, with Dimitris Chatzinikolaou as the non-playing captain.

In contrast, the Filipinos will draw strength from three of its ranked players in the ATP World Tour in Jeson Patrombon, Eric Olivarez, Jr., and Francis Casey Alcantara. Completing the cast are AJ Lim and Ruben Gonzales, with Chris Cuarto acting as the non-playing captain.

Cuarto shares about the matchup, "We’re looking forward to a really tough duel but we’ll try to use the experience to toughen up the team."

He also adds about Tsitsipas, "He’s not the No. 6 player in the world if he isn’t great."

At 21 years old, he's the youngest netter in the top ten of the current ATP World Tour rankings. He is also just recently claimed his fifth ATP title in Marseille, and is currently seeking to add to that tally in the Middle East for the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

The Philippines-Greece matchup is the result of a tweak the Davis Cup made with its format, with these World Group II ties taking place simultaneous with the World Qualifiers and the World Group I playoffs. The twelve best teams in the World Group II playoffs face off in a few months against losing teams from the World Group I playoffs for the chance to potentially move up to Group I.

Group II playoff losers could potentially face the prospect of being relegated into Regional Group III play later this year.

Pilipinas set to face Greece in new Davis Cup format

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is set to implement a new format starting its 2020 edition, and as a result, it led to a historical tie for the Philippines.

The Filipinos have been slotted to play Greece in a World Group II playoff round this coming March at the clay courts of the Philippine Columbian Association in Plaza Dilao, Paco, Manila. This is the first time in almost two decades that the country is facing a non-Asian opponent in this competition since their matchup against Sweden back in 1991.

Such a matchup could potentially feature the 6th-ranked player in the world in Stefanos Tsitsipas against the likes of Jeson Patrombon, Francis Casey Alcantara, and AJ Lim, with the possibility of the presence of Ruben Gonzales and Treat Huey.

Teams have until Tuesday to determine their list of nominees for the tie.

The new Davis Cup format does away with regional matchups that comprised Group I and Group II  teams, instead pooling them together into World Group I and World Group II matchups. These are simultaneous with the World Qualifiers and the World Group I playoffs.

There will be a total of twelve home-and-away ties to be played with the Top 12 of the World Group II playoffs set to advance into World Group II ties this coming September against the losing countries in World Group I.

The prospects of being demoted to Regional Group III for unsuccessful teams in the Group II playoffs loom later in the year.

Philippines non-playing captain Chris Cuarto shares, "We’re excited of the new format because our team will have an opportunity to play not just Asians but also other strong players in the world."