Three’s a charm for the Lhuillier tennis touring team

Serena Williams. Andre Agassi. Pete Sampras. These are the names of legends. They have left a legacy on the tennis court that would probably outlive time. They come from all over the world. Here at home, there are three names that promise to be bright stars on the tennis firmament: PJ Tierro, Nico Riego de Dios, Anja Vanessa Peter. Collectively, they’re known as the Cebuana Lhuillier tennis touring team.

Cebuana Lhuillier Executive vice president and general manager Jean Henri Lhuillier has always believed that Filipino athletes have the potential to be one of the best in the world. Proper training, coupled with undying motivation, is all it really takes. Jean Henri Lhuillier certainly envisioned this and decided to waste no time. At present, his company has assembled three equally promising teams – the Cebuana Lhuillier basketball team, the Cebuana Lhullier softball team and the Cebuana Lhuillier tennis touring team. Needless to say, PJ, Nico, and Anja Vanessa formidably form the latter team.

The Cebuana tennis touring team is, without a doubt, a group of fast-becoming pro tennis players. Their strong commitment is best reflected by their rigorous training schedule, which they go through with no complaints. At the core of their intensive program is a year-long training in the hands of former tennis pro Virgilio "Beeyong" Sison of the Subic Bay Sports Management. With his help, the honing of future Filipino tennis legends has begun. Now, it’s time to meet this impressive team of three.

Nico Riego de Dios could probably never imagine life without tennis, having held his first racket at age five. Although he is also fond of basketball and billiards, his parents’ shared love for tennis won him over. It was 1996 when he had walked into the tennis court with coach Beeyong. I guess you could very well say that his game improved almost instantly after that. Later that year, he claimed victory at the Philippine Association Open (PCA). What followed was a series of tournaments, allowing him to show the country the fine stuff he’s made of. Beginning 2004 and with the Lhuillier sponsorship, Nico has been seen participating in the International Tennis Federation tournaments, which has taken him around Asia, like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. His world ranking has also dramatically improved, climbing up from 543rd place to 312th all in just one year. As this young man admits that things are going well for him on the court, he nonetheless never fails to realize what his sport has contributed to his development as an individual. He has indeed grown (and continues to grow) to a confident man with a bright future to look forward to.

Sixteen-year-old Filipino-German Anja Vanessa Peter did not grow up in the Philippines, but she probably consider the latter her home. Having been raised in Germany, she was encouraged by her mother to try her luck in tennis in the Philippines. It sure is a good thing she listened! It didn’t take long before she realized that coming over here was worth it. With the help of Lhuillier and coach Beeyong, Anja became a finalist at the ITF World Junior Tournament held last year. She also competed in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Women’s Holcim Circuit. This led to the remarkable rise of her ITF World Junior ranking from 400th to 243rd. With an unwavering drive, she went on to acquire 1.5 WTA ranking points due to some stints, which she did in Hong Kong and Thailand. Certainly one of our nation’s youngest prides today, Anja Vanessa is in talks for a spot at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.

Towering at 6’1" is Peter John – a.k.a. PJ – Tierro who has been wowing tennis audiences for quite some time now. He had already claimed victory at the Pre-Qualifying ATP Challengers in the US as well as beaten Austrian Andrea Fasching at the ITF Men’s Satellite Masters held only last December. Finishing 14th in the overall standings of the ITF Satellite, PJ is currently the sole Philippine tennis player with an impressive ATP ranking.

With the indefatigable Lhuillier tennis touring team going all over the Philippines, it won’t take long before a lot of Filipinos would become die-hard tennis fans. And we may just make our mark on the world tennis scene sooner than we ever imagined.

Good luck to you, guys!

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E-mail the author at ice_wave_42@yahoo.com.