MANILA, Philippines — Unranked Rodolfo Barquin provided the sparks in an otherwise cruising day for the top guns as he upended third seed Vicente Anasta, 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-3, to crash into the quarterfinal round of the Naga Open National Tennis Championships at the City of Naga tennis courts in Cebu.
Top seed Johnny Arcilla and No. 2 Jose Maria Pague stayed on collision course with a pair of straight-set victories, so did fourth-ranked Eric Jed Olivarez and No. 5 Charles Kinaadman. But it was Barquin who produced the worthiest win, recovering from a lopsided setback in the opening set with a squeaker in the next before pulling through in the Group A tournament presented by Dunlop.
But Arcilla’s partner in the doubles’ title romp in PPS-PEPP San Carlos City last month will need a lot of toughening up to do as Barquin, who held off Jelic Amazona, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round, faces Kinaadman for a spot in the semifinals.