Tierro, Alcantara breeze to round of 16

CEBU, Philippines – Top seed PJ Tierro and Francis Casey Alcantara hurdled separate rivals in easy fashion to advance to the round-of-16 of the Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Circuit at the Baseline Tennis Club here Tuesday.

Alcantara, coming off a fruitful stint in this year’s Australian Open, nearly blanked his counterpart, Christian Tionko, 6-0, 6-1.

He needed just 53 minutes in disposing of his rival in the 32-field main draw of this event backed by Cebuana Lhuillier and sponsored by Pera Padala, Le Soleil de Boracay, P. Lhuillier Insurance Agency and Philten.

“He just played really bad today,” said the Xavier Cagayan de Oro standout, referring to his counterpart, who had several unforced errors in the match. “We’ve been practicing here for almost a week now and we’ve faced each other during practice. We knew each other so well. It’s a good start and I really need this kind of win to make myself more prepared against the tough players in the event.”

Tierro, on the other hand, banked on his solid and precise baseline returns in the second set to outduel Leander Lazaro, 6-3, 6-1.

The graduating student of sports psychology from La Salle is coming off a successful title campaign in Angeles City, Pampanga. He brought his winning ways here in the Queen City of the South but needed to buck a slow start before getting his game going.

The 6-0 tall veteran Davis Cupper was leading 3-2 in the first set before he unleashed his power-serving game that forced several errors on Lazaro.

Once he wrapped up the first set, Tierro then gained the momentum and confidence he needed to finally take control and secure the win.

“I barely had rest and I’m coming from another tournament in Angeles City,” said Tierro, who also plays basketball to keep himself in tip-top condition. “I only arrived yesterday so I haven’t really got the flow of the game. But this win has boosted my confidence more.”

The men’s singles champion of this event will get P40,000 while the runner-up will receive P20,000. The doubles team winner earns P20,000 and runner-up P10,000.