Rivera, Vitaliano clinch WTA Future berths

MANILA, Philippines - Shaira Hope Rivera and Miles Vitaliano dished out top forms to upstage their higher-ranked rivals yesterday, rule their respective divisions in the Olivarez Cup Open 2015 and gain berths in the WTA Future Stars Tournament in Singapore in October.

The third ranked Rivera kept the momentum of her stirring come-from-behind semis win over second seed Rafaella Villanueva, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, as the Moncayo, Davao Del Norte find outplayed No. 1 Monica Therese Cruz, 6-4, 6-1, to capture the girls’ 16-and-under crown in the upset-marred event presented by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala.

Vitaliano, also ranked No. 3 in the 14-U play, survived Danna Abad in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-4, 10-6, eased out second seed Carlyn Bless Guarde, 6-3, 6-3, in the semis before upending No. 1 Mikaela Vicencio, 7-6(5), 6-0, to claim the crown in the Group I tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and backed by Dunlop AllClay Court as the official ball, Stronghold Insurance and Aseana City.

Rivera, a La Salle-Zobel mainstay, and Vitaliano from Quezon City thus clinched the coveted berths in the WTA Futures where they will slug it out with the top junior players in the Asia-Pacific region from Oct. 20-27.

Philta, through president Edwin Olivarez, designated the Olivarez Cup as the qualifying tournament for the WTA Future Stars, a series of community events featuring U-14 and U-16 tournaments produced in association with the Sport Singapore and Singapore Tennis Association featuring the top junior female talents in Asia-Pacific.

“This is their chance to prove their worth and enhance their promising career and Philta and Palawan Pawnshop are confident Rivera and Vitaliano will be able to hold their own against the top juniors in the WTA Future Stars,” said Olivarez.