Ruben Gonzales clinched the tie victory for the Cebuana Lhuillier Philippine Davis Cup team against Indonesia with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 triumph yesterday against David Susanto in the first reverse singles of the Asia Oceania Zone Group II at the Philippine Columbian Association shell-claycourt.
Gonzales only dropped his serve once – in the fourth game of the third set – as he controlled the tempo for most parts of the two-hour match to give the PH team the 3-1 tie win.
AJ Lim battles Aditya Hari Sasongko at presstime in the dead rubber as the 18-year-old local junior netter seeks to close out the team’s campaign on a big note.
“It was a pretty high level, pretty good performance from him. I’m just trying to take it one point at a time,” said Gonzales, who has been part of the team since 2010.
“I think he was getting pretty tired in the third set so I just played more aggressive,” added the Fil-American Gonzales, who was born in Virginia, United States to Filipino parents.
Gonzales highlighted his win with strong serves and sharp forehands, attacking Susanto in almost every angle. He fired nine aces and five breakpoint victories.
Susanto, for his part, kept his hung tough but slowly wore down later in the match after playing for the third straight day.
