Dandan eyes main draw vs Briton today

Filipino Kyle Dandan marched into the second round qualifying at the expense of compatriot Nico Riego de Dios, 7-6 (5), 6-4, yesterday in the 14th Mitsubishi Lancer International Junior Tennis Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Dandan’s fate of joining six Filipino wild cards in the 48-man main draw depends on his performance against Matthew Brown of Great Britain today.

Brown, No. 324 in the ITF junior ranking, reached the main draw of the Amata Cup held last week in Pattaya, Thailand.

"I know it will be a tough match. I’ll try to do my best," said the 14-year-old Dandan, who will represent the country in the Junior Davis Cup slated April 28 to May 4 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Also vying for main draw slots were Lin Wei Ting, Hsin Han, Chen Chih Hung, Lien Chia Chu of Chinese Taipei and Nikki Peel of Great Britain.

Lin defeated Raymond Villarete, 6-1, 6-2, Lee downed Michael Basco, 6-4, 6-3, Chen outplayed Miguel Narvaez, 6-3, 6-4, Lien beat Christian Canlas, 6-1, 6-1, and Peel trounced Lawrence Magaway, 6-3, 6-1.

The Filipino wild cards are Irwin de Guzman, Yannick Guba, Patrick John Tierro, Jandrick de Castro, Arithmetico Lim, and Nestor Celestino Jr. in the boys’ division and Alyssa Labay, Catherine Flores, Ara Micayabas, Ivy de Castro, and Bien Zoleta in the girls’ category.