Published on Sep 25, 2005
Courtesy : Lerpong Amsa-ngiam
The Nation

[TENNIS] Thailand still has a chance to win the Davis Cup tie in one of the two remaining rubbers today after Indonesia’s stunning victory in the doubles at the Bangkok University Rangsit Campus yesterday.

In a shock upset, brothers Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana lost the plot in the final set when they were 5-2 up against Bonit Wiryawan and Suwan Suwandi.

But the Thai twins, never before tested over five sets, developed cramps and fell 5-7 6-3 1-6 6-1 9-7 after three hours and 39 minutes on court.

“We have never played five sets before. This was our first time. What hurt us most was that we were serving for the match and then cramps hit us. Our bodies are not used to playing five sets,’’ said Sanchai, who asked for a medical time-out in the fifth set.

The doubles victory put Indonesia back in business after they lost the two singles rubbers on Friday. But Thai captain Chanachai Srichaphan was not especially worried as he was confident his son Paradorn would win the third point and spearhead Thailand to victory today.

“I knew the Indonesian doubles players were not going to be easy to beat because they have long experience in the Davis Cup. Our players had many opportunities but did not take them.

“However, our team is still in a better situation and should win by the fourth rubber through Paradorn,’’ he said.

The Thai ace will take on Prima Simpatiaji, who is ranked below the top 600, in today’s reverse singles. If he wins, Danai will not play against Sunu Wahyu Trijati in the meaningless final rubber.

Sonchai and Sanchai fought back from 1-3 to level at 3-3 in the first set. They capitalised on a break chance to go up 6-5 and struggled for five set points to wrap up the opener 7-5.

But the Indonesian duo kept their cool in the second set, using their wider experience to squash the Thai twins’ momentum. Only one break in the sixth game was enough for them to win the set 6-3.

The Thais took a toilet break and when they returned to court, they were on fire. They broke the Indonesians twice to wrap up the third set 6-1 in just 26 minutes.

After allowing Indonesia to win the fourth set and level the match, the Thai twins were serving for the match at 5-3 but Sonchat sustained cramps in both calves before his brother had the same problem at 5-5. The Indonesian pairing sized the opportunity to control the match.

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