Eala eases out No.1 in First Gen netfest

MANILA, Philippines - Unranked Michael Eala kept his bid going in the higher division as he bundled out top seed Jerome Romualdez, 7-5, 6-4, to barge into the quarterfinal round of the boys’ 12-under division in the fourth First Gen/Juntaphil Metro Age Group tennis tournament at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Eala, the No. 1 ranked player in the 10-unisex, surprised Romualdez with a superb all-around game to pull off the big win that lined him up against another giant-killer Hiromasa Ishikawa for a berth in the semis.

Ishikawa, who upended No. 7 Joshua Jimenez in the first round, held off Tim Gumban, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7, to advance to the Last 8 phase of the tournament event presented by First Gen Corporation and sponsored by Smart Communications.

Meanwhile, top seed Janelle Llavore and No. 2 Chrislyn Sioson stayed on course for a possible title clash for the girls’ 12-under crown by disposing of their respective quarterfinal rivals. Llavore ousted Sam Asistio, 6-1, 6-1, for a clash with Camille So, who routed Amanda Zoleta, 6-0, 6-0, while Sioson repulsed Therese Cruz, 6-1, 7-5, for a duel with Frances Santiago, a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Mikaela Vicencio.

Joining Eala and Ishikawa are third seed Jacob Martin, who dominated Justin Suarez, 6-1, 6-2, for a quarters clash with Emmanuel Vacallanes, who routed Luis Ong, 6-1, 6-0, while Raphael Teng thumped William Goco, 6-1, 6-3.

Eala also moved into the quarters of the 10-unisex class of the event sanctioned by Philta, organized by Juntaphil and backed by Technifibre, blanking Patricia Corporal, 6-0, 6-0, for a showdown with No. 7 Bea de Ocampo, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Alexandra Eala.