Ayaay, Abadia into main draw of Cebuana Lhuillier tennisfest

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano players Amiel Ayaay and Kennex Abadia gained outright berths into the main draw of the 5th Cebuana Lhuillier Men’s Open Tennis, which will kick off tomorrow at the Baseline tennis courts.

Ayaay and Abadia automatically made it to the last 32 knockout stage by virtue of being in the top 30 of the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) rankings. They are the third Cebuano in the main draw along with RJ Abarquez in the main draw right away.

The event will have a 32-man draw, half of which coming from the top 16 in the PHILTA ratings. Four wild card entries were given to top junior netters, while eight gained directed acceptance also based on PHILTA rankings.

The other players who are interested to take part in the competition have only until 12 noon today to register.

Four players from the qualifying round will advance to the main draw unless more slots are still available for them.

The action-packed main draw will start on Tuesday yet.

The doubles event will also have its own qualifying round should the 16-pair draw won't be filled up right away.

The deadline in the registration in the doubles and pro-am event is on Tuesday. - (THE FREEMAN)