Otico barges into Phinma semis but Iglupas falls

MANILA, Philippines – John Bryan Otico moved closer to a dream crack at the PSC-Phinma International Juniors Tennis Championships crown when he toppled Muhammad Althaf Dhaifullah, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the Final Four of the Week 2 tilt at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Otico, who earlier dominated Yusuke Miyai of Japan and thwarted David Marshall Nguyen of the US, flashed top form from start to finish to dominate his Indonesian rival and arrange a tough semis duel with Week 1 winner Naoki Tajima of Japan.

Tajima, bidding to complete a sweep of the two-leg Grade 4 ITF tournament sponsored by Phinma Group of Companies and the Philippine Sports Commission, foiled compatriot Kazuki Shimizu, 6-4, 6-3.

But the top-seeded Tajima expects a tougher challenge from Otico, one of the mainstays of the Philippine Tennis Academy, headed by Rommie Chan, Oscar Hilado and Jean Henri Lhuillier with Jun Toledo as coach, who hopes to draw inspiration from the crowd as he tries to keep his title bid going.

Japan’s James Trotter pulled off a thrilling 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5 escape win over Thai Kittirat Kerdlaphee to seal the other semis duel with No. 2 Yeongseok Jeong, who routed Taiwan’s Ho Jun Lee, 6-1, 6-3.

But while Otico stayed in the hunt, fellow PTA member and Week 1 champion Khim Iglupas fell in ambush, dropping a 6-2, 6-4 setback to Japan’s Ayumi Hirata in their quarterfinal clash in the girls’ side of the event backed by Mariposa Foundation, Dunlop Fort All Court Balls and Orchids Garden Suites.

The rigors of playing top level tennis for two straight weeks took their toll on the Filipina ace, who struggled against the fresher Hirata, who didn’t see action in last week’s leg.

The tournament is sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez with Wannait Srirasa of Thailand as ITF supervisor and Loida Mallare as tournament director.

Actually, all the semifinalists last week fell by the wayside with top seed Ayumi Miyamoto bowing to compatriot Himari Sato, 6-2, 6-1; Chinese Ying Yi Yang losing to Naho Sato, also of Japan, 7-6(7), 6-3; and Xin Yu Wang, also of China, succumbing to Japan’s Satoko Sueno, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.