Lazaro annexes Sarawak ITF jrs doubles crown

MANILA, Philippines - Leander Lazaro annexed his second ITF junior title in as many weeks, teaming up with Thailand’s Nuttanon Kadchapanan to capture the 14th Sarawak Chief Ministers Cup ITF Junior Championships doubles crown in Kuching, Malaysia over the weekend.

Lazaro, who scored a breakthrough win in Hanoi, Vietnam last week, and Kadchapanan stunned the second ranked South African tandem of Moolman and Pieters, 3-6, 6-2 (10-8) in the championship of the Grade 3 event that drew players from the European and Asian countries.

On their way to the finals, the pair upended the top-seeded pair of Jalalov and Shipilov from Uzabekistan, 2-6 7-5 (10-3 then beat the Malaysian third seed Deen Heshaam and Khan, 7-6 (4) 6-4.

Lazaro and compatriot Clarice Patrimonio, however, dropped a pair of close matches in the singles competitions with the former losing to fifth seed Heesham, 6-1, 2-6, 3-6, and the latter bowing to Zhu Ai Wen of China, 4-6, 3-6.

It was a sorry setback for Lazaro, who dominated the first set only to reel back in the next two while Patrimonio fought back from a 1-3 deficit to go up at 4-3 and at 40-15 only to miss a series of game points in the next two games.