PCA Open faves breeze past rivals

JOHNNY Arcilla opened his bid for an eighth men’s single title with a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Mario Sabas yesterday in the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open tennis championships at the PCA courts in Paco.

“I’m in good condition because there was a lot of tournaments before this,” said the 33-year-old Arcilla, who reached the semifinals of the Southeast Asian championships in Bangkok last week.

Already considered “the legend” on the slow, PCA shell clay courts, Arcilla said he’s confident of reaffirming his mastery of the tournament.

“I want to prove that I still have a lot to offer and that I’m still young,” added Arcilla, who recently received an award from the International Tennis Federation for his winning record in Davis Cup.

Second seed Patrick John Tierro also was untroubled in reaching the  second round after a methodical 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Fritz Verdad. Former finalist Mark Reyes tripped Ronard Joven, 6-0, 6-4.