Stacey claims singles crown

Fil-American qualifier Stacey Tan rallied past unseeded Thai Varanya Vijuksanaboon, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0, yesterday to capture the $10,000 Holcim-ITF Women’s Circuit 1 singles title at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Playing with a big fighting heart, Tan fought back in the second set and completely dominated the third set to win her first tournament outside of the United States.

"I’m happy for this victory. The crowd was great. I hope I can come back next year to play again," said the 15-year-old Tan, who received $1,568 in cash and six ITF points. On her way to the finals, she beat fourth seed Korean Han Sung Hee and sixth seed American Biffy Kaufmann.

Banking on her strong backhand, Tan took a 5-2 lead in the second set before the world’s No. 973 Vijuksanaboon threatened at 4-5 with a break in the eighth game and held her serve in the ninth game. Tan fell 0-30 in the next game but she quickly regained her form to win the set.

"It took a while for me to adjust to her game. After winning the second set, I became more confident with my shots and I just tried to stay focused," said Tan, born and raised in Lakewood, California by Fil-Chinese parents.

The Bangkok-based Vijuksanaboon, on her first final appearance since turning pro four years ago, hit the ball well in the first set but failed to sustain her game.

"I don’t know what happened to my game, I just lost my rhythm. I’ll try to play better in the second leg," said Vijuksanaboon, who turned 20 yesterday. She earned $980 and four points.

Unseeded Koreans Kim Jung-Eun and Lim Sae-Mi pulled off a 6-2, 7-5 upset win over top seeds Kao Shao-Yuan of Chinese Taipei and Thassha Vitayaviroj of Thailand to share $637. Each got six ITF points.

Meanwhile, Fil-American Maureen Diaz outclassed local Jessica Marie Agra, 6-0, 6-1, to lead the first-round winners in the second leg qualifying.