Matthew Garcia pulled off a shock 7-5, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Sida Zeng of China while Jose Antonio Tria rolled past Hong Kong’s Kyle Lok Yin Tang, 6-3, 6-2, at the start of the 2017 Phinma-PSC Juniors Tennis Championships Week I yesterday at the Manila Polo Club in Forbes Park.
Garcia, son of former tennis star Dyan Castillejo, survived a tight first set duel with Zeng then sustained his form to dominate the second frame as the 14-year-old Montessori Alabang student moved into the second round against Ryota Ishii of Japan, who clobbered Indonesian Jerall Yasin, 6-1, 6-0.
Tria, on the other hand, overpowered Tang and fashioned out a lopsided win, which primed up the rising local star against Taiwanese Chun Jui Kung, who upset No. 8 Darrshan Suresh of Malaysia, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Justin Suarez likewise advanced with an emphatic 6-1, 6-0 rout of Man San Chan of Hong Kong with the 17-year-old Filipino bracing for an uphill battle against the victory in the No. 4 O Arazza of Indonesia-Xie Yu Lun of China match in the upper half of the 32-player draw of the Group 4 ITF (International Tennis Federation) boys’ 18-and-under event sponsored by the Philippine Investment Management Consultants (Phinma) and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta).