A RESOUNDING return to a tough bracket is what the Philippines hopes when Fil-Americans Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino open the Filipinos' bid against Japan in the first round today of the Asia-Oceania Zone Group I Davis Cup competitions at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Mamiit, the team's No. 1 player, plays Japanese No. 2 Takao Suzuki at 1 p.m. while Taino gets the honor of seeing action first when he tangles with Japanese No. 1 Go Soeda at 10 a.m.

The draw, officiated by neutral referee Nitin Kannamwar of India and witnessed by Rep. Monico Puentevella, Japanese team leader Koji Watanabe and top Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) officials, was held yesterday at the Century Park Hotel.

Drawn to meet in the Saturday doubles were Filipinos Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla against Suzuki and Satoshi Iwabuchi.
The reverse singles on Sunday will have Mamiit meeting Soeda in the first match and Taino closing out the best-of-five matches tie against Suzuki.

The Philippines is on an eight-tie winning spree and hopes to add the Japanese to its list of victims.

But the Filipinos will be hard-pressed to beat the Japanese, who almost made it to the World group last year by taking a 2-0 lead over Romania in the playoffs before bowing, 2-3.

The Japanese also holds a 15-9 edge over the Philippines in 24 meetings since 1926.

The 32-year-old Taino, who is ranked internationally only in the doubles, will be facing a 23-year-old ranked No. 200 in the world whom he beat in their first and so far only meeting in California two years ago.

"It will be very different now. I think I'm not the only one who is pressured, but all of us. I'll just try to give a good showing and improve my plays until the final day," Taino said.

Mamiit, the back-to-back Southeast Asian Games singles gold medalist, sees the match-up with Japan as "another exciting tournament."

"It's a new tie, a new year," Mamiit said after yesterday's draw. "It's going to be a different type of competition. We are just enjoying that we're here."

The 31-year-old Mamiit, ranked No. 497 in the world, holds a 9-0 record in Davis Cup singles, second only to the 15-0 of the now inactive Tut Bartzen of the USA, and 13-0 overall, third in the Davis Cup record book going into his third season this year.

Mamiit defeated Suzuki, the most veteran among the Japanese here with a 35-19 overall record in Davis Cup matches including 11-7 in doubles in 24 ties,  in California 10 years ago but Suzuki returned the compliments in Granby, Canada in 2000.

And the Japanese sees another exciting match against the Fil-American.

"It's still going to be a great game even if it has been a long time since we played against each other," Suzuki said.