Pathak ITF Asia netfest under way

MANILA, Philippines - The young tennis aces take center stage today  as the Ajay Pathak Memorial Cup/ITF Asia 14-and-under Development Championships 2013 Division I gets going with top-notch matches at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Alberto Lim Jr., Jerome Romualdez, Jan Godfrey Seno, Arthur Craig Pantino and John Bryan Otico start their chase for honors and ranking points in the first of two tournaments lined up by the sponsoring ITF (International Tennis Federation) Grand Slam Development Fund and the Philippine Tennis Academy for the region’s top and rising stars.

Monica Therese Cruz and Chrislyn Sioson, on the other hand, banner the local girls’ campaign along with Rafaela Jean Villanueva, Meredith Jones and Janelle Llavore against the crack players from Thailand, China, Malaysia, Korea, India, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei.

Meanwhile, the ITF conducted a one-day training camp yesterday to allow players to adjust to the new conditions and help in deciding the seedings in the two five-day events, supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Technifibre Balls and Wilkins.

The second tournament, held in honor of Pathak, the late former vice president for international affairs of the Philippine Tennis Association who served in the ITF junior committee and Asian Tennis Federation executive board, is slated March 11-15.

Heading the foreign challenge are Koreans Kim Jaewoo, Kim Hyunjoo and Jeong Yeonseok while Vorachoin Rakpuangchon, Sirawat Daosaengsawang and Charles Roberts will lead Thailand’s bid.

China will be represented by Yibing Wu, Changli Zhang and Xingsheng Jiang in the boys’ side and Yutong Tang, Jiaqi Ren and Zhuoma Youmi in the girls category.

The singles champion will win 450 points while the second and third placers will earn 300 and 225, respectively. The doubles winners will get 50 points and the second 30 points.

For details, contact tournament director or assistant tournament director Aaron Joshua de Leon and Loida Mallare, respectively, at (632) 5236415. Tournament referee is Wannawit Srirasa while Suresh Menon is the ITF representative.