Iglupas, Horie gain Phinma finals

MANILA, Philippines - Top seeds Khim Iglupas and Toru Horie of Japan took different routes but produced the same results to reach the finals of their respective divisions in the Phinma-PSC International Juniors Tennis Championships – Week 1 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Iglupas found her string of straight-set romps come to an end but the Filipina ace, a mainstay of the Philippine Tennis Academy, came back strong from a stinging first-set defeat to blast Thailand’s Watsachol Sawasdee, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, in the semifinals of the girls’ singles.

The 16-year-old Iligan City native, winner of the recent Olivarez Cup, struggled in the early going with erratic plays, either sending her powerful shots long or wide. But she settled down in time and cut Sawasdee down to size in the next two sets to seal a title duel with Rifanty Kahfiani of Indonesia.

Kahfiani overwhelmed Japan’s Satoko Sueno with her power game and came away with a 6-0, 6-2 romp in the other semis clash for a crack at the crown in the Grade 4 ITF (International Tennis Federation) 18-Under category event sponsored by the Phinma Group of Companies, Philippine Sports Commission and Mariposa Foundation.

Horie, on the other hand, continued to dominate the opposition in the boys; side, posting his fourth-straight lopsided victory – a 6-3, 6-0 romp over compatriot Rio Noguchi to set up a showdown with No. 5 Yunosuke Tanaka, also of Japan.

Tanaka scored a 6-7(3), 4-1 (ret.) win over Taiwan’s Chung Han Tsai to gain a shot at the crown in the tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and backed by PSC for the free use of RMTC and Asiatraders Corp for the Dunlop balls.