GUAM —Davis Cuppers Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla embark on their international training for the coming Asian-Ocania Zone Group I relegation tie between the Philippines and Kazakhstan on Thursday when they wade into action in the 5th Annual Guam International Tennis Open at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa hard courts here.

The two Filipinos meet separate Japanese rivals with Arcilla, the 2006 edition winner and the only campaigner here not carrying an ATP ranking, battling Takahito Terachi and Tierro facing Hiroyasu Sato in the four group, single-round robin first phase of the 16-man invitational tournament.

The group winners will advance to the semifinals of this $ 11,000 tournament, sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association and serving as a dry run for a proposed Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking tournament. The singles grouping and the doubles competitions were drawn late Wednesday night.

“This is a tough tournament but it will give us more experience for our upcoming rubbers against Kazakhstan in the Davis Cup,” Tierro, a quarterfinalist here last year, said referring to the Philippines-Kazakhstan DC tie in September this year in Almaty, Kazkahstan.

For his part, the 28-year-old Arcilla, a semifinalist here last year, said that he will have to give his best to survive and get into the next phase.

The two Filipinos will also play their first match in the doubles, a regular eight-pair, knockout competitions, against the South Korean tandem of Cho Min-hyeok and Kim Seong-kwan.

Sixteen campaigners from five nations and two American states are seeing action in this event organized by the Hilton Guan Resort & Spa.