Santiago clinches semis berth

MANILA, Philippines - Third seed Frances Santiago repulsed a stubborn Chloe Mae Saraza in a thrilling three-setter as she carved out a 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 10-7 victory to clinch the first semifinal berth in the girls’ 12-and-under division in the first Philippine Sports Commission Age Group Tennis Championships at the Rizal Tennis Center yesterday.

The victory, fashioned out in a little less than an hour and a half, lined up Santiago against the winner of the Blanche Lagrisola-Maria Dominique Ong match, being played at presstime.

Second pick Anne Rene Castillo and Ma. Angelica Sunga likewise advanced with a pair of walkover wins over Joy Yuen Liming and No. 3 Nikki Rey Arandia, respectively, in the girls’ 16-and-under category of the weeklong tournament sponsored by the PSC.

In the girls’ 18-and-under section, unseeded Jella Jade Capadocia advanced to the semis after No. 3 Akiko de Guzman failed to show up in their scheduled quarterfinal duel.

Saraza, meanwhile, bounced back from her sorry loss to Santiago as she downed Norman Gaspar, 6-3, 6-4, to join her tormentor, who won via default over Marcus del Rosario, in the quarterfinal round of the unisex 10-and-under class.

Mahmod Dimacuta, for his part, flashed fine form in the boys’ 12-and-under bracket as he pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Mar Raphael Teng in the second round and had a walkover win in the quarters to move into the semis.