Asian U-14 netfest gets going today

MANILA, Philippines - The battle for supremacy in junior tennis begins today with local aces slugging it out with a number of foreign bets in the Mariposa Foundation Cup Presented by the Philippine Tennis Academy ATF 14-Under Series at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Albert Lim Jr. spearheads the Filipino bets’ bid in the week-long tournament along with Daniel Villasenor, Eric Olivarez Jr., Miguel dela Paz, Jeleardo Amazona, Fel Lopez and Abdul Allian.

Malaysian Talhan Mohd Rahizam, ranked No. 39 in the ATF, is the top ranked player in the boys singles followed by Lim, who totes an ATF ranking of 84.

Others vying in the event, sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) and backed by ATP Head as official balls, are Julian Dayrit, Joel Atienza, Jerome Romualdez and Mimo Tomacruz.

Meanwhile, Manuel Balce III hacked out a 6-2, 6-3, victory over Pedro Diego Palomino of Spain yesterday to join three other qualifiers in the main draw.

It was a sorry loss for Palomino, who hurdled his first elims assignment with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Miguel Jacob Cabarrus and had hoped to join his brother Marvin Carlos in the tournament proper.

Marvin Carlos dominated Enrico Luis Ong, 6-1, 6-0, to lead the qualifiers, who included local bet Arthur Craig Pantino and Dave Sebastian Mosqueda.

Pantino bundled out Christian Sarmiento, 6-1, 6-0, while Mosqueda proved too much for Chris Justine Prulla, 6-0, 6-0.

Roxanne May Resma and Isabella Orteza banner the girls singles cast that includes five foreign bets, including Ri Sumire of Japan, Taiwan’s Chien Pei-ju and Korean Kim Soomin.

Others in the fold are Celine Dizon, Maia Balce, Jade Capadocia, Erika Manduriao and Samantha Lim.