2005 SEA Games Victory Dance (Courtesy of OFW Consortium)
1996: US NCAA Champ (Courtesy of Daily Trojan)
2009 Davis Cup win vs HK's Sayer (Courtesy of www.tennishk.org)
ATP File photo (Courtesy of Getty Images)
The dust has all but settled, but the recent heroics of Fil-Am Cecil Mamiit continue to be fodder for talk among tennis circles.
Raising the level of his game when it mattered most and when the chips were almost down, Davis Cupper Mamiit drew from the innermost reserves of his stamina and plumbed the depth of his experience to snatch victory for the Philippines in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 2 tie in March 2009.
In a pulsating four-hour-and-ten-minute duel that he stretched to five sets, the 32-year old Mamiit reprised his dominance over 21-year-old Radford University hotshot and Hong Kong top seed Martin Sayer, his perennial whipping boy in years past. Sayer had earlier run roughshod over Treat Huey, humiliating the Fil-Am who took over Eric Taino’s Davis Cup chores.
Mamiit once again saved face for the Philippines that has now prevailed over Hong Kong in all six Davis Cup meetings.
Mamiit has been the linchpin of the RP Davis Cup team since 2006, leading the country back to Group 1 from the ignominy of Group 3. To do this, Mamiit would lead the Philippines in 2006 to 3-0 shutouts over Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Iran in Asia/Oceania Zone Group 3 competitions. In 2007, he would anchor the country’s victories over Pakistan, New Zealand and Kuwait in Group 2 play, completing the move to Group 1.
In 2008, however, the Philippines would lose three straight ties to Japan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and lose its prized status “in a woeful tailspin from winning eight in a row to earn elevation to Group 1.” Thankfully, though, this year’s win against Hong Kong in Group 2 play sets the Philippines next against Pakistan in July, which it must overcome as it pursues its comeback bid to the crack Group 1, Mamiit again presiding.
Although he was “assembled” in the United States and born in Los Angeles, California on June 27, 1976, Cecil Mamiit, standing 5’8" and weighing 155 lbs, is as Filipino as arnis, sinigang and adobo. His father Cesar, 61, a retired computer technician from Alaminos, Laguna and mother Feliza (Lisa), 65, a nurse from Sariaya, Quezon, migrated to the US separately in the 1970s and met in Los Angeles.
Interviewed by Joaquin Henson in 2007, Mamiit recalls being guided by his dad from the purely social aspects of tennis to world-class competition, “I used to be a park player when I was a kid but my father pushed me to take lessons so I could play competitively."
He banks on his father’s ability to sift through coaches’ mentoring as having set his career on the right path. “I listen to my father, whom I consider my coach forever. I've had lots of coaches but my father takes the best out of all that they’ve taught me and gets me going ... I listen to my coaches' suggestions. I don't rely on them completely. I take in what my father and I consider to be the best advice."
Moreover, while he was growing up, the orthodox Mamiit considers himself lucky that he caught Boris Becker's eye at the Nick Bollitieri tennis academy in Florida. Wimbledon champ Becker made him his practice player, taking him thrice to Munich for "sparring" sessions. For about a year, Mamiit polished his act as Becker's exclusive hitting partner. He also honed his skills as a practice player for Monica Seles, Mary Pierce and Michael Chang.
These breaks made Mamiit the first netter of Filipino descent to hit it big in the US tennis scene. He holds the distinction of being the first and only Filipino-American to be ranked in the top 100 globally, Number 72 in the ATP in 1999, which would have been enough to qualify for the Olympics in the following year, had he opted to. He rues his belated decision to join the country of his parents’ origin, and seems bent on making up for lost time.
Chronology of Cecil Mamiit’s career
To get to know Mamiit better, we compiled a chronology of his career.
To get to know Mamiit better, we compiled a chronology of his career.
1996: Mamiit, freshman phenom for the University of Southern California Trojans, becomes NCAA national singles champion in May. En route, he attains the No. 1 ranking in the United States while compiling a 33-5 regular season record.
He wins the US Tennis Association (USTA) No. 5 Satellite (59 points), emerges runner-up at USTA No. 6 Satellite (40 points) and reaches Challenger SF at Binghamton and Daytona.
1997: Mamiit opts to leave USC to pursue a professional career. He wins first Tour match in Auckland (defeats Steven), reaches final at Urbana Challenger (loses to Richardson) and QF at three other Challengers and advances to his first career Challenger doubles final in Dresden (with Szymanski).
1998: He wins back-to-back Futures titles at USTA no. 4 and no. 5 segments then follows with first Challenger title in Aptos (d. Suzuki) in July. He goes on torrid Challenger run in November, reaching three consecutive finals, winning in Las Vegas (d. Ruah) and Burbank (d. Nainkin) sandwiched around a final in Rancho Mirage (l. to Ruud). He moves from ATP No. 239 to 132 after the effort.
This year, Mamiit makes his Manila debut, teaming with another Fil-Am Eric Taino to capture the doubles title in an ITF (International Tennis Federation) satellite tournament.
1999: He qualifies for Australian Open and reaches second round (l. to Kiefer). He makes a big breakthrough three weeks later, reaching his first career ATP final as a qualifier at the Sybase Open in San Jose, California. Here he defeats Carlsen, Agassi, Woodforde and then idol Chang before losing to Philippoussis in the finals.
His win over seventh seed Andre Agassi in the Round-of-16 happens when the latter is thrown out after cursing three times in a row. Agassi breezes through the first set, 6-0, but Mamiit claws back to take a 4-0 lead in the second before the temperamental American is ejected after leveling the count at 6-6 and ignoring several warnings from the umpire.
"In my match against Agassi, I lost the first set 6-0 but came back to force a tiebreaker which I led, 4-0, when he got mad at himself, said a few words the tournament referee didn't approve of and was defaulted out of the tournament.”
Mamiit follows this victory over Agassi with a big semifinal win over Michael Chang, who was in fact his hero.
“Against Chang, I was down 5-0, won three straight games then lost 6-3 in the first set. I came back to win the next two sets, 6-3, 6-3. It's all about the ending, not the beginning, and winning the last point."
Now Sybase Open finalist and gunning for the $27,000 top purse, he faces big-serving Mark Philippoussis, against whom he eventually loses the crown, 3-6, 2-6.
He advances to the quarterfinals in Delray Beach (l. to Grosjean). In July, he earns a silver medal at Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, losing to friend and longtime rival Goldstein in final
In 1999, he reaches the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon – his first step into the world limelight.
In the same year, he captures the US Tennis Association (USTA) singles title by shocking seasoned campaigner Alex O’Brien, a member of the US Davis Cup team. His victory ends O’Brien’s winning streak and grandslam hopes with a season-ending loss.
These memorable encounters make his ATP ranking rise to a high of 72. He also earns a career-high $171,000 during this banner year.
2000: Mamiit advances to Challenger finals at Granby (l. to Suzuki) and Rancho Mirage (l. to J. Blake).
He scores another big win over Chang in Tokyo in October 2000, winning 7-5, 6-4 in the Round of 32.
2001: He finishes in Top 100 in ATP Champions Race for first time, equals ATP-best by qualifying for six tournaments. He reaches the quarterfinals in Copenhagen and advances to second rounds at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
2005: He gives his word to Philippine Tennis Association president Col. Salvador Andrada that he will play for the Philippine national team in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games to be held in Manila.
Crowd-favorite Mamiit wins the men's singles gold over Thai sensation Danai Udomchoke.
The Philippines bags three golds, one silver and three bronzes for tennis during the 2005 SEA Games.
The Philippines bags three golds, one silver and three bronzes for tennis during the 2005 SEA Games.
The Philippines wins the overall SEA Games title with its 113 gold medals (including tennis’ three), 84 silver medals, and 94 bronzes – sending the host nation into a frenzy.
In its yearend awards, the Philippine Sportswriters Association includes Mamiit among the Filipino Athletes of the Year.
Amidst the euphoria, Mamiit is painfully aware that opportunities which enabled him to reach a career-high ranking some years ago are no longer around. He explains that for the last four years, the United States Tennis Association has allowed him to gain wild card slots for Grand Slams and Tour events. Beyond this, he sees the USTA as more keen on supporting younger and promising netters in the professional circuit, “At my age, they probably think that I’m getting old. They have a lot of younger guys like Andy Roddick and James Blake that I have to compete with. And it’s hard to satisfy everybody.”
2006 – 2007: Mamiit leads RP Davis Cup team since 2006 from Group 3 to Group 1.
In 2006, the country would win consecutive 3-0 shutouts over Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Iran in Asia/Oceania Zone Group 3 competitions.
At the 2006 Doha Asian Games, Mamiit gives the Philippines its first medal, a bronze, in Asian Games tennis in 40 years. Partner Eric Taino would cop the second bronze medal shortly.
In 2007, the country’s victories over Pakistan, New Zealand and Kuwait in Group 2 play would complete its run to join prestigious Group 1. In his victory over Pakistan, he celebrates his triumph on-court by dancing to the tune Pinoy Ako. This merited a feature in BANDILA Primetime News, anchored by Korina Sanchez, which was uploaded to YouTube by PHILTA Vice President and Davis Cup Administrator Randy Villanueva. View this onhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6X5QMRPDh0&NR=1.
At the 2007 SEA Games, Mamiit gets the lone tennis gold, beating Thailand’s Udomchoke again.
2008: The Philippines would lose three straight ties to Japan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and lose its prized status, returning to Group 2.
2009: Mamiit keys the Philippines crucial win against Hong Kong in Group 2 play. He presides over the country’s encounter with Pakistan in July, which it must overcome as it pursues its comeback bid to the crack Group 1.
Mamiit is going for a third straight men’s singles gold in the Laos Southeast Asian Games in December. The Fil-Am tennis ace said he has already given his commitment to Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping to play in the SEA Games again on top of an assurance to compete in the next Davis Cup tie.
Elsewhere, Mamiit continues to scintillate and sparkle.
One of Mamiit’s biggest wins in recent years was his victory in both the singles and doubles at the ATP Challengers $50,000 tournament in New Orleans, Louisiana. The SEA Games champion blasted his opponents without losing a set, whipping topseed Amer Delic of the US, 6-3, 7-6 in the finals and then teamed up with Sam Warburg to demolish Chris Drake and David Martin, 7-6, 6-1, to take the doubles title.
Mamiit's current ATP singles ranking is No. 425 while his doubles ranking is No. 881.
"I want my game back," said Mamiit. "I was in the top 100 for five years. I know I can do it again. I'd like to push my ranking up this year and get Filipinos around the world to follow me on tour. It's not for me. It's to spark more interest in tennis among Filipinos. I know what it takes to prepare for the big push. Before the recent Davis Cup, I practiced with Andy Roddick and James Blake, realizing I needed hard training to prepare my body for the best-of-5 matches. I'm ready to sacrifice to open more opportunities for tennis to grow in the Philippines."
Source: Philtennis.com
