By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE Pacific Oceania team pulled off a come-from-behind win against the seeded Pakistan squad, 3-2, to keep its slot in the 2007 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 2 tie.
Entering the final day of the tie last Saturday at the National Tennis Centre in Apia, Samoa, the Islanders were down, 1-2.
Juan Langton of Samoa lost the first singles match last Thursday bowing to Pakistan’s top player Aqeel Khan in four sets, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 2-6.
The Solomon Island’s Michael Leong tied the match at 1-all after beating Jalil Khan in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.
But the Islanders were put in danger of being relegated to Group 3 when Pakistan took the lead after Day 2 last Friday, 2-1, as Brett Baudinett of the Cook Islands and West Nott of the Marshall Islands suffered a heart-breaking loss to Aqeel and Sazhad Khan in the lone doubles match, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 3-6.
Going into last Saturday’s two reversed singles matches, Pacific Oceania non-playing captain Jeff Race in an email to the Variety said that the first reversed singles match featuring Leong and Aqeel was crucial in determining the chances of the Islanders.
Leong used his baseline game to take an easy 6-1 victory in the first set.
Khan, who was definitely worn out by the quickness Leong showed on the court, tried to trick the Solomon Islands bet taking a toilet break at the end of the opening set.
When the Pakistani returned to play in the second set, he tried another trick hitting a few forehand winners.
But Leong came out in the second set prepared for the Pakistani’s tactics, as he returned a majority of the winners en route to a 6-2 victory.
Again, Khan tried to delay the match, as he called a medical timeout in the third set. But the lull failed to change his fortunes, as Leong ended the game with a 6-2 win.
“Mikey’s (Leong’s) tremendous fitness and tough game style came through for our team again. His incredible work ethic, along with his coach in Brisbane, Charlie Fancutt, deserve the credit for this win.”
With the game tied at 2-all, the fate of the Islanders was put at Nott’s hands.
Nott, who Race felt was the best singles player in his lineup, did not play on Day 1 as his fitness was in question.
But despite coming from a tiring fifth-set loss to Pakistan and having only a few hours of rest, Nott, who cramped in the crucial third set of their match against Malaysia last year, delivered the goods for the Islanders.
He nailed an impressive 6-1, 6-0, 6-0 triumph against Jalil Khan to keep the Pacific Oceania team in the Group 2 tie and relegate the former Group 1 member Pakistan to Group II.
“Nobody gave us a shot to stay in Group 2 for one year, and now, we are going into our fourth. We beat a seeded team just down from Group I,” Race said in an email.
“All the guys feel great, and I am especially happy for Mikey who dedicated this tie to the victims of tsunami in the Solomon Islands,” he added.
The Islanders lost to New Zealand in the first round, dropping them to a relegation match against Pakistan, which bowed to the Philippines, 1-4.