Clarice off to sizzling start

MANILA, Philippines - Top seed Clarice Patrimonio disposed of Jennelyn Magpayo with relative ease to kick off her title retention campaign in the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open at the PCA indoor shell clay court in Paco, Manila yesterday.

Patrimonio, 18, overpowered Magpayo with swift baseline winners to seize control early then sustain her form to fashion out the one-sided victory in women’s singles.

“I went all out to gain the momentum early. I really wanted to dictate the tempo to ease up the pressure,” said Patrimonio in Filipino.

Patrimonio automatically advanced to the quarterfinals after Jasmine Tan Ho and Monika Banez failed to show up for their first round matches and bowed out via double defaults.

“It’s a welcome development since I could take a rest before next game,” said Patrimonio, a bronze medalist in singles in the recent SEA Games in Indonesia.

Others who advanced in the tournament presented by Cebuana Lhuillier were third seed Aileen Rogan and sixth pick Marinel Rudas.

Rogan whipped Joanna Tan, 6-0, 6-1, to set up a duel with Maika Tanpoco while Rudas hurdled Len Santos, 6-2, 6-3, for a clash with Macy Gonzales.

Tanpoco secured her spot in the second round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Hannah Espinosa.

Gonzales, on the other hand, advanced with a walkover win over against American Sylvia Kosakowski.

Fourth pick Bambi Zoleta and No. 5 Tamitha Nguyen also sailed into the next round via defaults over Bea Fabregas and Alexis Bangayan, respectively.

Other first-round winners were Alyssa Labay, who beat Liz Magaway, 6-2, 6-3; Roxanne Resma, who defeated Jella Jade Capadocia, 6-1, 6-3; Sarah Jane Lim, who trounced Mariel Ante, 6-2, 6-3; Louise Alexandra Lopez, who survived Maria Angela Sunga, 6-0, 7-5; and Melissa Esguerra who scored a walkover win over Samantha Coyiuto.

In the juniors division, Michael Francis Eala copped the boys’ 10-under unisex title with a 6-2, 6-3 romp over Marcus del Rosario while John Bryan Otico reigned in the boys’ 12-under by edging Arthur Craig Pantino, 7-6 (5), 6-3.