Wishya restores his pride to lead Thailand to a 3-1 win over Kuwait.

Two days after his surprise loss to veteran Kuwaiti Mohammad Ghareeb in five sets, the country’s top player finally lived up to his standard by utilizing his superior game to beat Abdullah Maqdes by the skin of his teeth 6-4 6-2 5-7 4-6 7-6 (7-3) in three hours and 40 minutes.

Wishaya was leading 2-0 sets and even went up a break in the third before the momentum switched to Maqdes. The Kuwait exploited a string of unforced errors from the Thai ace and even had a match point at 6-5 in the final set.

But Wishaya hanged tough to hold that service game to force the tie-break while the Kuwaiti top player faded quickly due to cramps on his right leg.

“I think I played better than on Friday. This is a good test for me. I need to win matches like this to gain more confidence,” said Wishaya who still believed he could come back to win the match when facing match point.

“As long as the ball was still in my hand, I thought I could win. He was raising his level since in the middle of the third set. I just hanged in there and waited for my opportunity,” added Wishaya in his second win from six Davis Cup appearances.

Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul

Thailand advanced to the semi-final against the Philippines which already beat Indonesia 3-1. Thailand will host the tie which is due between April 7-9.