Serb ends Mendoza's fairytale run

MANILA, Philippines - Jurence Zosimo Mendoza ran into top seed Nikola Milojevic of Serbia and absorbed a heartbreaking 6-7 (1), 0-6 semifinal defeat that put to an end his fairytale run in the 23rd Mitsubishi International Junior Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Riding the crest of a pair of victories Friday, Mendoza, 15, appeared headed to taking the first set when he turned a 3-5 deficit to a 6-5 advantage after breaking the 16-year-old Milojevic in the ninth game.

But the 16-year-old Milojevic, seventh in the ITF junior world rankings, fought back and dominated the tiebreak with a spectacular display of superb shot-making.

The Serbian, who is seeking his second Grade One title this year following his victory in Kuching, Malaysia last week, simply outclassed the Filipino in the second set.

After hammering a booming forehand that the Filipino returned wide, Milojevic clenched his two fists and screamed in celebration of his victory with his father Tom – a soccer player -- applauding on the bleachers.

“I have a lot more games than him (Mendoza) and he’s younger so I guess the experience helped me,” said Milojevic, who also loves football.

With the two holding their first three serves, Milojevic then found a way to break Mendoza’s serve on the seventh game while holding his own on the eighth to seize a 5-3 lead in the opening set.

Mendoza, whose training with the Phl Davis Cup team has helped his game, fought his way back by holding his next two serves and breaking the Serbian on the 10th, thanks to crisp forehand winners and powerful serves.

Then Milojevic found his bearing.

“I was a bit low in energy in the first set but I know I’ll have a stronger chance of holding on to the set if I could bring it to a tiebreak,” said Milojevic. “When I did, I just elevated my game to the next level and everything just came natural for me after that.”

It was a virtual repeat of their match in Thailand two weeks ago with Milojevic drubbing Mendoza, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

“He was also leading then, 5-2, before I used my experience to beat him,” said Milojevic, a fan of Serbian World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

It didn’t help that Mendoza, whose biggest win came at the expense of No. 4 James Frawley of Australia, 6-1, 6-4, in Wednesday’s second round, was caught by fatigue after playing three games last Friday including a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) win over No. 16 Liu Siyu of China and a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Jack Schipanski of Australia.

It was a sorry loss for Mendoza, politely declining interviews, as he came one win short of matching countryman Jeson Patrombon’s finals finish in last year’s edition of this annual meet.

The win sent Milojevic to today’s finale versus No. 11 Jordan Thompson of Australia, who bamboozled Thailand’s Krittin Koaykul, 6-0, 6-1.

In girls’ tennis, Australian qualifier Storm Sanders continued to run over the opposition as she edged No. 8 Nao Hibino of Japan, 6-4, 6-4, to arrange an interesting title showdown with No. 4 Anna Tyulpa of Russia, who humbled No. 2 Carol Zhao of Canada, 6-4, 6-3.