Taipei, July 8 (CNA) Host Taiwan will meet the Philippines in the 2010 Davis Cup men's tennis tournament playoffs in the southern city of Kaohsiung Friday, in a match that will determine Taiwan's place in the Asia/Oceania Group.
Taiwan, which was whitewashed by Australia 5-0 in the previous round, will have to battle against either Uzbekistan or South Korea to avoid relegation to Group II if it loses to the Philippines in the best-of-five ties, which take place from July 9-11.
The matchups of five rubbers were decided after a draw Thursday. Taiwan' s 19-year-old Yang Tsung-hua, who is No. 295 in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world ranking, will take on No. 773 Treat Conrad Huery in the first singles.
In the second singles match, Chen Ti, ranked No. 423, will face No. 513 Cecil Mamiit, a 34-year-old veteran.
Yi Chu-huan and Yang will play Johnny Arcilla and Ruben Gonzalez Jr. in the doubles Saturday. In the Sunday's reverse singles, Yang is scheduled to meet Mamiit, while Chen will play against Huery.
Playing in front of a home crowd, Taiwan will be trying to pull back from its loss in all four previous meetings with the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Philippines said it will not be taking the challenge lightly.
"This will not be a walk in the park for us, but we're more than ready to fight for victory," Huery said.
Ho Kuo-lung, coach of the Taiwan team, said the tie will be a tough battle, although observers have said that Taiwan should have no problem winning given its players' higher world rankings.
Taiwan has never advanced to the World Group, the tournament's top tier in which 16 countries compete. Taiwan's best Davis Cup performances were in 2005, 2006 and 2009 when it reached the second round in Group 1 of the Asia/Oceania Zone. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc