The Philippine Davis Cuppers are more concerned on how they will adjust to the carpet court than who will they face when the Philippines and Japan meet in the first round of the Asia Oceania Zone Group I competitions on March 5 to 7 at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka.

“For me, it’s more important to know how we will fare on the court surface rather than our chances against the players. It’s harder to adjust (on the court surface),” top RP netter Cecil Mamiit said.

Japanese non-playing captian Eiji Takeuchi had earlier nominated Tatsuma Ito, Go Soeda, Takao Suzuki, and Hiroki Kondo to face the Fiulipinos on the taraflex carpet court inside a 2,000-seating capacity dome.

Soeda and Suzuki were members of the Japanese squad which blanked the Filipinos, 5-0, in 2008 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Soeda’s standings in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles dipped from No. 114 at the end of 2008 to No. 233 this year. Suzuki, the veteran of the squad with a 13-year Davis Cup experience, meanwhile, jumped from No. 509 in late 2008 to 265 early this year.

The other two Japanese should not be taken lightly too.

Twenty-one-year-old Ito boasts of a 204 ATP singles ranking while Kondo currently sits at No. 518. Both netters will be playing for the first time in the Davis Cup, but have been consistently joining foreign tournaments in the past years.

“I have no idea how the two new players play, but we’ll see,” Mamiit said.

The team, also composed of Fil-Am Treat Huey, Johnny Arcilla and junior netter Francis Casey Alcantara, will be leaving in an afternoon flight Sunday to acclimatize themselves to the cold weather in Japan and to familiarize themselves with the carpet court.