Terrific twins Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana yesterday propelled Thailand back into the World Group Play-offs after beating Japan in the doubles rubber at the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Qualifying Group I second-round tie.

The doubles experts tamed Satoshi Iwabuchi and Toshihide Matsui 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes in front of a lively crowd at the Rama Gardens Hotel.

With Paradorn Srichaphan and Danai Udomchoke having already collected two points from their singles victories on Friday, Thailand have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the tie with just today's reverse singles to play.

A large contingent of Japanese supporters showed up for second consecutive day to cheer on their countrymen despite the scorching heat. But it proved to no avail as the twins were at the top of their game, keeping their opponents on their heels for most of the time.

"It was easier for us going into the tie with a 2-0 lead from the singles. So we played without much pressure and we were glad to help the team go back to the World Group Play-offs again," said Sonchat, who together with Sanchai, lost the doubles match to Japan when Thailand visited Osaka last year.

"Iwabuchi did not play like he did last year. His returns and serves were not as effective as they normally are," said Sanchai, the younger brother.

After missing the World Group Play-offs last year following the shock first-round defeat to Pakistan, Thailand will now return to the elite group after earning the spot three consecutive times between 2002 and 2004.

"As captain I always believed in the ability of my players. The twins were able to maintain their standard throughout the match despite some lapses in the fourth set," said Thai captain Thanakorn Srichaphan.

Thailand will play either Switzerland, Spain, German, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Romania or Slovakia in September's play-offs.

Thailand met England, the Czech Republic and Russia in previous World Group Play-offs but slumped in those campaigns. But Thanakorn said he had a dream that his team would make a breakthrough this year.

"This is the best Davis Cup team Thailand's ever had. All the players are on the pro tour and they have the ability to realise the dream. However, it's already a success to be back in the play-offs," added the older brother of Paradorn.

The win over Japan was a sweet revenge for Thailand who lost to their long-time rivals 1-4 in the 2005 tie in Osaka. Thailand also reduced the win-loss record with Japan to 2-5. The other win coming at Nonthaburi four years ago.

Despite the defeat Japan remains in the regional zone group I next year. Japanese captain Eiji Takeuchi accepted Thailand held all the aces in this tie.

"The Ratiwatana brothers didn't make many errors which put great pressure on our team. Thailand was too good for us," he said.

After dominating the first two sets comfortably, the Thai twins looked to be cruising to victory until Sanchai served a double fault to get broken in the fifth game of the third set. That was enough for the Japanese side to win the set and trail 1-2 in sets.

But the Thais recovered in the fourth set managing a couple of breaks in the sixth and eight games to sail through.

Thailand has opted to rest Paradorn and Danai for today's meaningless singles rubbers and will instead send Sonchat and Sanchai out again.

"I would like Sonchat and Sanchai to play the singles so that they can sharpen their singles skills. But I can tell Japan will take the matches seriously," said Thanakorn.

UBC SuperSport will beam live coverage of the game from 2pm.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation