MANILA, 12 April — Philippine tennis snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the Davis Cup ties — thanks to Adelo Abadia.
The youthful Abadia lifted the Philippines to a thrilling 3-2 win over a hard-fighting Kuwait side in the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup in the most shining moment of his career before a roaring home crowd at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) tennis courts.
Blessed with a champion’s heart and armed to the teeth, Abadia pipped Mosaad Al-Jazzaf 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the deciding singles match as he finished off the visitors and authored the Filipinos’ morale-boosting win on humbled turf.
Fresh from a four-month sabbatical from the sport closest to his heart, Abadia marked his return in grand style, anchoring the Philippines’ great escape against the dangerous Kuwaitis.
“I’m tired of losing,” said Abadia, who picked up his first singles victory in Zone II Davis Cup competitions since 1999, “so I made sure this game would be mine.”
At a time when the country badly needs a new hero on the tennis court, the lanky Abadia pulled off the victory moments after compatriot Johnny Arcilla lost to Mohammad Al-Ghareeb in the first of two singles matches for the day that evened up matters at 2-all.
A victory by Arcilla would have clinched the ties outright for the Filipinos who have long been searching for real tennis heroes with the likes of Felix Abbarientos and Roland So in the early 90s.
Arcilla, who clearly lost steam despite the crowd trying desperately to fire his intensity up with boisterous cheers, bowed to Al-Ghareeb 0-6, 3-6, 3-6 in a defeat that place the country’s burden of hopes on the shoulders of Abadia.
Fortunately, Abadia would not let his fellowmen leave the court with heavy steps — and with heavy hearts.
“I have long waited of this moment when I could prove my worth for flag and country,” said the 24-year-old Abadia who, after four years of not-so-successful Davis Cup campaign, finally emerged as the man of the hour for his beloved homeland.
Ironically, he found the road to fame with nary a trouble, beating Al-Jazzaf black and blue in two hours and five minutes of duel amidst the pulsating beat of the drums and thunderous applause from the crowd.
After Al-Jazzaf sent a backhand wide for the final point, Abadia did not let out a big roar, but, instead, he gritted his teeth and raised his hands in victory as his teammates marched onto the court and gave him a bear-hug.
“It was a wonderful feeling. I’m just glad it’s over,” said the 5-foot-7 Abadia, who is known more for winning doubles than singles matches in the Davis Cup. “My experience helped me a lot.”
Emotions spilled onto the court as a Filipino fan ran to the court waving a Philippine flag, reminding a group of yellow-shirted Filipinas, who were jeered all throughout for supporting Kuwait, of their land of birth.
With the victory, the Philippines remained in Group Two of this prestigious event, and will resume its campaign against a country which will come from Group Three in February next year.
“I did not expect it to be like this. I was expecting that we would win both matches,” said Philippine team coach Johnny Jose, the last player to have won a gold medal in the Asian Games in the sport way back in 1962. “I’m glad experience was on our side.”
After Arcilla, the country’s top netter, left the clay surface court a frustrated man, Abadia came charging mightily back, with revenge on his eyes, as he played the biggest game of his career.
Indeed, the country’s No. 2 player saved the Philippines from the verge of a humiliating collapse as he conquered an opponent who was simply too eager and too impatient too to be engaged in long rallies.
“I told Adelo before the match at the dressing room that he could become the hero of this Davis Cup said Jose. “As you can see, Adelo played a smart game. I told him to play his game and follow my instructions. He played very well, indeed.”
Abadia was never broken throughout the match, displaying ferocity from beyond the baseline that caught Kuwait’s No. 2 player almost flat-footed most of the time. While the Kuwaiti fell into as maze of unforced errors, Abadia played a near-flawless game by hardly making any miscues.
The much taller Al-Jazzaf, who played only in his second Davis Cup, brandished explosive two-fisted backhand, but appeared shaken by the noise and celebration associated with Davis Cup.
The Kuwaiti lost his rhythm when the Filipino looked content in engaging him to a leisurely exchange of groundstrokes, while from time to time venturing into the net which produced big points.
He finished off Al-Jazzaf in the first set after going through two tense deuces. He then claimed the second set in 37 minutes before completing his mastery of Al-Jazzaf with a 33-minute demolition job in the third and final one.
Abadia’s victory completely concealed the embarrassing setback suffered by Arcilla, who was surprisingly out of sync right from the start against an opponent who had all guns ablaze from both ends of the court.
Earlier, the Filipinos had taken a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five matches tie when Arcilla and Abadia won in the doubles.
The Filipinos split the first two singles matches with Arcilla beating Al-Jazzaf 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, while Abadia absorbed a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 defeat at the hands of Al-Ghareeb.
Arcilla, who gave the host its first win after downing Al-Ghareeb himself in the first singles match, had lost all the brilliancy he showed in the opening day when he played with Abadia in the doubles to beat Al-Ghareeb and Hussein Al-Aswak.
