Cuarto arranges early clash vs rated Korean

National coach Cris Cuarto barged into the men’s singles second round after posting a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Roland Kraut yesterday in the P400,000 Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open Tennis Championships at the PCA indoor court.

The 10th-ranked Cuarto, who was eliminated by eventual champion Johnny Arcilla in the semifinals last year, will face sixth seed Korean Chung Eui Hyun tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Chung fought hard to beat Ateneo player Neil Co, 7-5, 0-6, 6-1, in the first round.

"I think I played well today," said Cuarto, who was the country’s No. 4 player when he shifted to coaching two years ago.

Cuarto, the Milo-Laoag Open champion in 1999, is not expecting much from this tournament since most of his time is spent training the national players at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

"If I reach the third round, I would be very happy because I didn’t have time to prepare for the tough competition here," said the 24-year-old Cuarto, who went to the Asian Tennis Championships, World Youth Cup and World Juniors this year.

"I’ve seen Chung play and he’s very good. For sure, it will be a tough match for me but I’ll try to do my best," said Cuarto, who won two MVP titles while playing for San Beda a few years back.

Top seed and defending champion Johnny Arcilla blasted Derrick Santos, 6-0, 6-0, to advance against Alexander Lazaro, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Frederick Morgan. Other winners were No. 5 Korean Lee Chang Hoon over Yannick Guba, 6-1, 7-5, No. 7 Jessie Lapore over qualifier Garizaldy Caabay, 6-3, 7-5, and No. 12 Antonio Sagansay over Elberto Anasta, 6-4, 6-2.

Earlier, Koreans Kim Soo-Jin and Lee Min-hee breezed past separate rivals to join top seed Czarina Mae Arevalo and second pick Patricia Santos in the women’s singles second round.

Santos, who reached the second round of the recently-held ITF Women’s Circuit, stamped her class over Rina Ortiz, 6-0, 6-1 to advance against Berry Sepulveda, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over qualifier Katrina Lopez.

Charise Godoy, Kristel Samala, Deena Rose Cruz, Alyssa Labay, Michelle Panis, Ivy de Castro, Shirley Valler, Sommer Bisagas and Petrona Bantay also gained second-round berths in this event presented by Dunlop and Accel with support from Chowking, Photokina, PBCom, Coca Cola, San Miguel Corporation, PVL Restaurant-Little Lawrence, Toby’s Copacabana, Trans Asia Power and The STAR.

In the juniors division, unseeded Patrick John Tierro ousted top seed Yannick Guba, 6-4. 6-4, to advance to the finals of the boys’ 18-under division.

In the boys’ 16-under class, No. 1 Jandrick de Castro rallied past Jimmy Tangalin, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, while No. 1 Gerard Michael Ngo struggled past No. 3 Patrick Arevalo, 6-3, 7-5 and No. 2 Joshua Tan Ho outclassed No. 4 Mark Balce, 6-1, 6-1 to forge a final showdown in the boys’ 12-under category.

In the girls’ 14-under division, No. 1 Bambi Zoleta rallied past Jessica Agra, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the finals against No. 2 Julie Em Botor, a 7-5, 6-0 winner over Trudy Amoranto.

Finalists in the girls’ 12-under class were No. Sarah Jane Lim, who beat Jia Marell Eleses, 6-1, 6-1, and No. 2 Nikki Manalo a 6-4, 6-0 winner over Trudy Amoranto.