Iglupas whips Japanese, gains semis

MANILA, Philippines - Khim Iglupas toughened up in the third set and scrambled to a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Ange Oby Kajuru to stay in the hunt for the girls singles crown in the Phinma-PSC International Juniors Tennis Championships Week 2 at the Philippine Columbian Association courts in Paco, Manila yesterday.

The top seeded Filipina ace recovered from a second set meltdown but had to go through some anxious moments before subduing her gutsy Japanese rival and clinching a spot in the semifinal round of the last of two Grade 4 ITF 18-under category events.

A change in venue and court surface hardly mattered for Iglupas in the early going with the top Philippine Tennis Academy mainstay taking the opening frame in emphatic fashion, only to waver in the face of Kajuru’s strong fightback in the second, sending the match into a decider.

But the Iligan City native, who bowed out to Taiwanese Chang Ting-pei in Week 1, put her act together in the third and moved into the Final Four against the winner in Shiho Tsukua of Japan-Li Xuanjin of China duel being played at press time.

Organizers of the event moved the quarters matches from Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts to the PCA venue due to non-stop rain that rendered the Rizal courts unplayable.