ALBERTO Lim Jr. and Thai No. 2 Vorachon Rakpuangchon pulled off emphatic victories to arrange a keenly awaited showdown for the boys’ crown in the Ajay Pathak Memorial Cup ITF 14-Under Developmental Championship Division I at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Friday.
The top-seeded Lim smothered No. 5 Parikshit Somani of India with another display of top-notch tennis, fashioning out a 6-0 6-1 romp to take a step closer to ruling the first of two tournaments lined up by ITF Grand Slam Development Fund and the Philippine Tennis Academy for the region’s leading junior players.
But the back-to-back NCAA juniors singles champion will have his hands full against Rakpuangchon, who likewise primed up for the big match with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Hong Kong’s Alan Chun Sou-ming, when they face off for the crown at 8:30 a.m.
While the boys’ order of play went true to form, upsets rocked the girls’ semifinals with No. 6 Ren Jiaqi of China stunning No. 4 Jang Eunse of Korea, 6-1,6-0.
Jiaqi, who also upset No. 2 Mihika Yadav of India, 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the quarters, will take on Mor Himani of India, who also shocked Chinese Tang Yutong, 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, the second leg of the event, held in honor of the late former Philta and ITF official Ajay Pathak, will be played on March 11-15.
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