Joseph, Hidalgo steal wins, make Philta age group QF

MANILA, Philippines - Romnee Kyle Joseph and Jude Hidalgo hacked out victories over fancied rivals to crash into the quarterfinal round of their respective divisions in the fifth PSC-Philta National age-group tennis tournament at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Joseph, a Sports Science sophomore at UP, recovered from a second set meltdown and pulled through in a gripping tiebreaker to edge No. 7 Emmanuel Fuellas, 6-1, 2-6 (10-8), and clinch the first berth in the Last 8 stage of the premier boys’ 18-and-under section of the event sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission and held under the auspices of the Philippine Tennis Association.

Hidalgo, on the other hand, bundled out fifth seed Samuel Nuguit with a superb all-around game, fashioning out a 5-4(2), 4-1 romp and joining the fancied bets in the 10-unisex side of the tournament backed by Asiatraders, Corp. for the Dunlop Fort All Court Balls.

The St. Paul College-Vigan mainstay, however, will have his hands full when he guns for a spot in the semis against second seed Macie Carlos, who whipped Brent So, 4-1, 4-1.

Johan Singh, an Indian national based in Manila, provided the other spark in a day of reversals, easing out No. 7 Jerome Ignacio with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph to likewise advance to the quarters of the boys’ 14-U category of the event, Philta’s last ranking tournament for the year about to end.

Top seed Marcus del Rosario survived Jules Lazaro, 6-3, 7-5(5), to seal a quarters clash with Lee Yoon-Hak, who stunned No. 8 Nolan Gagalac, 3-6, 6-0 (10-8) then routed Sherwin Villacorte, 6-1, 6-1, in the 14-U class.

Others who advanced were third seed Jed Labasano, who crushed Raphael Liangco, 6-1, 6-1; and No. 5 Jan Harold Trillanes, who dominated Javier de Jesus, 6-1, 6-0.

Joining Hidalgo and Carlos in the 10-unisex quarters are top seed Miguel Luis Vicencio, No. 7 Jose Tomas Bernardo, third ranked Edgardo Angara, No. 8 James Rohan Cruz, sixth seed Kryshana Brazal and fourth-ranked Marc Andrei Jarata.

Vicencio stamped his class over Joaquin de Leon, 4-2, 4-0; Bernardo held off Michael Jimenez, 5-4(0), 4-2; Angara shut out Justine Maneja, 4-0, 4-0; Cruz thumped Hailey Agustin, 4-0, 4-0; Brazal downed Marcus Guinoo, 4-1, 4-2; and Jarata trounced Sarah Zhang, 4-1, 4-0.

Meanwhile, Rafaella Villanueva beat Nikka Alanis, 6-0, 6-1, to roll into the girls’ 18-U quarters along with top seed Maria Dominique Ong and No. 3 Shaira Hope Rivera of Mindanao while second seed Colleen Sioson, No. 3 Frances Santiago and Andrea Amistad disposed of their respective rivals to book the first three quarters seats in the girls’ 16-U division.

Sioson and Santiago scored similar 6-0, 6-0 romps over Bianca Catoto and Mikaela Vicencio, respectively, while the unraked Amistad shocked the fourth-seeded Rivera, 6-4, 6-4.