Fernandez flashes old, fiery form to beat rival

MANILA, Philippines - Comebacking Maricris Fernandez displayed her old deadly form to overpower qualifier Yoko Naito of Japan, 6-1, 6-2, yesterday and advance to the next round in the $10,000 Holcim/ITF Women’s Circuit Week I at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

“I’m happy to be back and win my first game here since 2002,” said Fernandez, the 1999 Brunei Southeast Asian Games gold medalist who decided to retire and migrate to the US seven years ago.

But while the 30-year-old Fernandez frolicked, Fil-Am doubles specialist Riza Zalameda struggled and bowed to Korean Yoo Mi, 3-6, 1-6, in the other featured singles encounter, leaving the event’s inaugural champion in 1998 as the last RP bet standing in the week-long event sponsored by Holcim, PLDT/Smart, Phinma and the ITF Grand Slam Development Fund.

Zalameda, 23, showed signs of fatigue following an impressive runner-up finish in the doubles of a $100,000 ITF tournament last week in Chinese Taipei where she played more than 10 games, including the singles matches.

Zalameda, however, hopes to come back strong next week for the PLDT/Smart Women’s Circuit Week 2 set Nov. 17-21, also at the Rizal tennis center where she will also team up with Fernandez in the doubles event.

Other local bets who crashed out in the first round of the tournament backed by Tecnifibre Balls and the Philippine Sports Commission were former RP No. 1 Czarina Mae Arevalo and the Patrimonio sisters – Anna Christine and Anna Clarice.

However, Fernandez, one of the spearheads of the RP team bound for the 25th Southeast Asian Games slated Dec. 9-18 in Laos, will have her hands full in her next game as she is set to face seventh seed Korean Han Sung Hee.

The Korean bet disposed off compatriot Kim Jung-eun, 6-4, 6-4.

In other results, Thailand’s Peanthan Plipiech smashed Jessica Sabeshinskaja, 6-2, 6-1; Belgium’s Gally de Wael downed Liechtenstein’s Marina Novak, 7-5, 6-2; and Chinese Taipei’s Juan Ting Fei trounced Thailand’s Natchanok Saenyaukhot, 6-2, 6-1.

and No. 5 Chinese Tapei’s Liu Shaozhou whipped Malaysia’s Jawairiah Noordin, 6-1, 6-0.

Chinese Zhang Nan Nan, meanwhile, pulled the rug from under compatriot No. 6 He Chun Yan, 7-6(4), 6-1, to post the biggest upset in the second day of action in the event sanctioned by the Internationial Tennis Federation and hosted by the Philippine Tennis Association.