Pruchya pilots Thailand past Kuwait
Hosts are too good for Middle-East rivals in Davis Cup
Pruchya Itsarow powered Thailand past Kuwait with a magnificent 6-2 7-6 (14-12) 1-6 6-1 victory over Mohammad Ghareeb in the Davis Cup Zone Asia/Oceania Qualifying Group II second round tie at the LTAT National tennis Centre yesterday.
After leading 2-1 from two days of action, Thailand won the fourth rubber through the 19-year-old from Surat Thani who played a solid baseline game to take the match in two hours and 48 minutes.
The win helped Thailand move into the final where they host Pakistan, who rallied from 0-2 to beat the Philippines 3-2 last September.
In the meaningless fifth rubber, Warit Sornbutnark beat Abdulhameed al-Shatti 6-3 6-4 to drive the final nail into the Kuwaiti coffin and wrap up the tie 4-1.
“I’m happy to win three points for Thailand.
“But it’s a team effort so my team-mates deserve credit too,” said Pruchya, who is now coached by Borna Bikic of Croatia, a former coach of Agnieska Radwanska, the ex-world No 2.
“I was lucky to win the second set tie-break. I tried to keep the ball in play and he made mistakes at crucial points.
“Then in the third set I was a bit tired and lost easily. However, I needed to start the fourth set strong to keep the momentum going. It worked.”
Pruchya is in his second year as a Davis Cup player.
Team manager General Teera Kraipanon said he would send the players to various tournaments together to build team spirit.
“We will fix a tour schedule for them and they will be entering the same events until December,” Teera said.
Thailand trail Pakistan 4-3 in their head-to-head meetings.
The last time Thailand played its sub-continent rival they lost 3-2 despite the presence of Paradorn Srichaphan and Danai Udomchoke. The tie took place in Lahore in 2005.
“We have very little information about Pakistan. But no matter whom we play, it will be tough and we will have our work cut out for us,” said Warit, a sophomore at Rajabhat Suan Dusit University.
Against Ghareeb, Pruchya lead 5-2 and broke his rival’s serve when the Kuwaiti double-faulted twice to take the first set.
In the second set, Pruchya had two set points leading 5-4 but Ghareeb managed to wriggle out of the tight situation by levelling the set at 5-all.
The two went on to play a marathon cliff-hanger of a tie-breaker featuring several set points for both players.
On his fourth set point, at 12-11, the 33-year-old Kuwaiti blew his chance by committing a costly double fault.
Pruchya, who never frittered away free points when it mattered, won the next two points from his impatient opponent to wrap up the one-hour second set.
With his back against the wall, Ghareeb raised the level of his game to take full charge in the third set with his aggressive play and penetrating serves. He managed two service breaks to take the set in less than 30 minutes.
In the fourth set, Pruchya, with an early break, took a 3-0 lead and went on to win it 6-1.
