Thailand Loses to China 0-5
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Thailand was whitewashed by China 0-5 in the Davis Cup second round play-off and will be relegated back to Group II next year.
Nonthaburi – Thai Davis Cup captain Paradorn Srichaphan was concerned on the lack of talented players which played a significant part in the failure of the Kingdom in this year’s Zonal Qualifier Group I.
Thailand lost to China 0-5 including the Sunday’s meaningless rubbers where Chinese No 1 Zhang Ze overpowered Puchya Isarow 6-4 6-1 in 59 minutes before Li Zhi crushed Warit Sornbutnark 6-1 6-0 in 50 minutes. The country will be relegated back to Group II next year whereas China remains in Group I.
The Kingdom just won Group II last year but was too fragile for the upper level ,losing to South Korea 1-4 in February and was overshadowed by China in this relegation play-off.
Skipper Paradorn admitted that Thailand lacked potential stars and the current national players were not strong enough for Group I.
“We have to admit that currently we don’t have talented singles players to compete in Group I. Judging from our standard, we belong more to Group II. In my opinion we should stay there for a few years until we are really tough enough to play Group I,” said Paradorn.
The Thai captain said he and the already retired Danai Udomchoke were eyeing on a group of young players, age around 14-15, whom he believed would be the future hopes of Thai tennis if properly trained.
“If we want to produce rising stars, we need to coach them at young age as 18-19 year-old players are difficult to control due to many factors. If things go the way I expect to, we will have a tough national team in four to five years,” Paradorn said.
The captain also said that he would recruit only young bloods in Group II next year and recall for longer encampment for a better teamwork.
“My idea is to make young guns get used to the tough condition and pressure of the Davis Cup. These young players need to play more in the Cup to gain experience. Also we will need to get the players together earlier than in the past for the purpose of teamwork.”
Sonchat Ratiwatana echoed the same opinion of Paradorn that he and brother Sanchai should leave the tasks next year to young teammates and help the team only in either the relegation or promotion play-off.
“If it’s not so crucial, we (he and Sanchai) should not join the team as we need to build the young team for the future. Especially when it’s away tie, these kids must go and get used to the competitive nature of the Davis Cup. They need to stand own their own,” Sonchat said.
