Trotter, Hirata cop Phinma Week 2 crowns

MANILA, Philippines - James Kent Trotter rallied to upend Week 1 champion Naoki Tajima, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and snare the boys’ crown while Ayumi Hirata overpowered Satoko Sueno, 6-3, 6-2, to capture the girls’ title in the PSC-Phinma International Juniors Tennis Championships Week 2 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Trotter, who got back at Week 1 quarterfinal tormentor and No. 2 Yeongseok Jeong with a 7-5, 6-3 win in last Saturday’s semis, recovered from a first set setback with a tough win in the second frame then pounced on Tajima’s miscues in the decider to hack out the victory worth 40 ITF points in the all-Japanese finale.

Hirata, who didn’t see action in last week’s Grade 4 ITF tournament sponsored by Phinma Group of Companies and the Philippine Sports Commission last week, dominated Sueno from start to finish to complete her romp in the event 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.

Foiled on his back-to-back bid in singles, Tajima completed a sweep of the boys’ doubles crown as he and partner Hikaru Shiraishi edged Shinji Hazawa and Trotter, 3-6, 6-3 (10-8), while Ayumi Miyamoto and Anri Nagata matched that feat by beating Naho Sato and Sueno, 6-4, 6-2, to keep the girls’ doubles diadem in the tournament backed by Mariposa Foundation, Dunlop Fort All Court Balls and Orchids Garden Suites. The double winners earned 30 ITF points each.

Top Filipino bet Khim Iglupas ruled Week 1 in convincing fashion but ran out of steam while playing for the second straight week, dropping a 6-2, 6-4 setback to eventual winner Hirata in the quarterfinals. She settled for 15 ITF points after gaining 40 last week.

John Bryan Otico, a mainstay of the Philippine Tennis Academy like Iglupas, Arthur Pantino and Shaira Rivera, tried to take up the cudgels for the hosts but fell to Tajima in the semis worth 20 ITF points.