MANILA, Philippines - Top seed Albert Lim Jr. scuttled No. 3 Park Ji-hun’s bid with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in their semifinal showdown but faces another Korean ace for the boys’ crown in Mariposa Foundation Cup Presented by the Philippine Tennis Academy ATF 14-Under Series at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.
Ranged against a player with a run of impressive victories, Lim played true to form and outclassed Park in the opening set, then held on in the next to complete the victory and zero in on the crown worth ATF 300 ranking points.
But standing in the way of the top Letran freshman is Chung Yun-seong, who foiled an anticipated all-Filipino title clash with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 romp over second seed Daniel Villaseñor in the lower half of the draw.
No. 2 Isabella Orteza, on the other hand, outplayed Erika Manduriao, 6-1, 6-3, to arrange a title duel with Korean Kim Soo-min in the ladies side of the tournament sponsored by the PTA and backed by ATP Head as official balls.
Kim, who bundled out top seed Roxanne May Resma in the second round, continued his amazing surge, beating Japanese Ri Sumire, 6-2, 6-2, to gain a crack at the crown in the event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association.
The singles finals will be played today starting at 10:30 a.m. with the winners earning 300 ATF points. The runners-up will get 200 points while the third and fourth placers will receive 150 and 120 points, respectively.
Gracing the awards rites are Philta president Rep. Edwin Olivarez, ATF Juniors chair Ajay Pathak, and Oscar Hilado and Rommie Chan of the Philippine Tennis Academy.
In the playoff round, which also stakes ATF points, Maia Balce defeated Jade Capadocia, 6-0, 6-1; Nakamura Saeka downed Yada Satona, 6-4, 6-2; Resma subdued Monica Cruz, 6-1, 6-4; and Jenni Dizon and Ma. Dominique Ong scored walkover wins over Samantha Um and Chrislyn Sioson, respectively.
In the boys side, Eric Olivarez Jr. thwarted Fel Lopez, 6-2, 7-6(3); Dave Mosqueda turned back Arthur Pantino, 6-3, 6-4; Marc Agner outplayed Jose Arguelles, 6-3, 6-2; Vince Arcilla ripped Abdul Allian, 6-1, 6-2, and Jerome Romualdez and Jeleardo Amazona won by defaults over Marcen Gonzales and Julian Dayrit, respectively.