Saraza repels Tang in First Gen tennis

MANILA, Philippines - Unheralded Chloe Mae Saraza upended unisex 10-under second seed Rafael Tang, 6-7, 6-0, 10-7, yesterday to advance to the next round in the rain-delayed second First Gen Juntaphil Metro Age Group Tennis Championships at the Olivarez Sports Complex in Parañaque.

The big win sent Saraza to an interesting third round showdown with Joshua Austria, who made it through by trouncing Caitlin Tordesillas, 6-3, 6-4.

Another Saraza, Angelo, overpowered Antonio Villarosa, 6-1, 6-0, fourth pick Cenon Gonzales downed Mark Directo, 6-2, 6-3, and Bianca Marie Cruz whitewashed Annika Mallari, 6-0, 6-0, to likewise gain grounds in this weeklong meet sponsored by Smart Communications and presented by First Gen Corp.

No. 7 Michael Eala slammed Jerome Romualdez, 6-2, 6-1, and Ariel Frencillo whipped Dann Tolentino, 6-3, 6-1, while Grigory Kuznetsov routed Jievy Jumawan, 6-0, 6-0, and Francis Santiago, eliminated Miguel Mejia, 6-1, 6-2.

Ingrid Gonzales, who made it through the quarterfinals of the Toby’s Prince Summer Festival two weeks ago, won over Merull Ondap, 6-4, 6-2, and Margaret Flores disposed of Marina Lugtu, 6-0, 6-1, in the featured girls’ 12-and-under clash.

Gonzales and Flores will face No. 7 Coleen Sioson and No. 5 Kyla Orillosa, who both drew byes.

Overnight rains rendered the Rizal Tennis courts unplayable, forcing the organizers to hold yesterday’s matches at the Olivarez Sports Complex.

Other events on tap in the week-long event, sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) and organized by the Junior Tennis Association of the Philippines (Juntaphil) with Wilson as official balls, are the boys’ 18-under, girls’ 14-under and girls’ 16- and 18-under divisions.

The event, featuring the country’s top and rising junior netters, is the highest-ranking among the local tournaments and offers 200 points to the champion of each category.