Guba cops 18-under crown over Cuarto

Yannick Guba capped his impressive run with a straight-sets victory over Christian Cuarto yesterday and clinched the boys’ 18-under crown in the Head-Penn Age-Group Tennis Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Guba, 15, a high school senior at the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, rallied from a 4-5 deficit in the opening set with powerful backhand returns and went on to beat Cuarto, of Angeles City, 7-5, 6-2.

It was the fourth straight 18-under title this year for Guba, who will see action in the World Youth Cup May 7-13 in Jakarta. Joining him in the Philippine team are Cuarto and Patrick John Tierro.

"Pa-baseline baseline lang muna ako pero kapag pumasok siya sa net, pasok din ako. Nagulat siya dahil hindi niya akalain na makaka-adjust ako," said Guba, who made it to the finals by beating elder brother and top seed Johan in Saturday’s semis.

Guba’s three other 18-under titles this year came in the Alibor-Bacolod, Philta Classic 2, and the Juntaphil-Los Baños.

Sharing the day’s honors with Guba was second seed Charise Godoy, who stunned top seed Vida Alpuerto, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, to crown herself as the girls’ 18-under champion. — Joey Villar