Magdas, Chan rule Mitsubishi junior tennis

Abdullah Magdas of Kuwait and Chan Yung Jan of Chinese Taipei bucked the scorching summer heat and came away with big victories in varying fashions yesterday to top their respective divisions in the 16th Mitsubishi Lancer ITF Juniors netfest at the Rizal Tennis Courts.

Armed with a big serve and a powerful stroke, the sixth-seeded Magdas, an 18-year-old Davis Cup veteran, trounced seventh pick Martin Sayer of Hong Kong, 6-4, 6-3, in just a little more than hour to clinch his first title this year and the 150 ITF points that goes with winning a Group 1 tournament.

"The weather was too warm for me, my back ached a bit and we’re both tired but I kept fighting," said Magdas, a losing finalist in the strong Orange Bowls tournament in Miami, Florida last year.

In contrast, the top-seeded Chan overcame compatriot No. 3 Hsu Wen Hsin, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, in a match that lasted more than two hours to claim her second straight title in this annual event bankrolled by Mitsubishi Lancer.

"I had a headache. I was so tight in the first set," said Chan, ranked seventh in the ITF and 335 in the WTA. "But I kept coming back and persisted in the second and third sets."

Thirty minutes later, Chan, who topped a $25,000 WTA tournament back home in Chinese Taipei last February, teamed up with Hwang I-Hsuan in trouncing second pick Amina Rakhim of Kazakhstan and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-4, 6-1, to clinch the girls’ doubles diadem.

Panting and gasping for breath, Chan summoned enough energy to force Hsu to commit one unforced error after another and came back from 1-2 down by taking the last five games to force a deciding third set. — Joey Villar

After Hsu seized the first two games of the third set, Chan, grimacing in pain and exhaustion, suddenly came alive and turned things around by taking six of the next seven games to snatch the win.

"I was playing well in the first set and suddenly I just played bad in the second and third sets," said Hsu.

Late Saturday, No. 1 Vivek Shokeen and Sanam Singh of India rallied from a first set loss to edge Lee Hsin Han of Chinese Taipei and Christopher Llewellyn of Great Britain, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4, for the boys’ doubles title.