INQUIRER Sports

FRANCIS CASEY ALCANTARA expectedly got through the semifinals with an easy win over his Thai foe even as three Japanese also advanced to crowd him Friday in the Phinma international juniors boys singles at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The 17-year-old Filipino pride trounced Kittipong Chienwichai, 6-4, 6-2, to move up against Kazuma Kawachi who bested compatriot Soichiro Moritani, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Japan sent all its seven campaigners to the quarterfinals, and now three of them are in the last four, including Yoshihito Nishioka and sixth seed Kaichi Uchida.

Nishioka routed Shoki Hachiya, 6-1, 6-0, while Uchida held off Australian Nathan Lemke, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to forge a semifinal duel against each other.

But focus fell on the Australian Open junior doubles champ, who drilled in groundstrokes and painstakingly cut down the gritty Japanese to prevail in one hour and 10 minutes.

?I tried to vary my shots because I know they are watching me,? said Alcantara, the defending champion who said he?s wary of his next assignment.

A member of the RP Davis Cup team, Alcantara is treating this tourney as his tune-up to defend his Australian Open title in January. He, however, will miss the Laos Southeast Asian Games next month.

Alcantara partnered with Leander Lazaro to defeat Sylvester Alamdar of Thailand and Louis Donczyk of Germany, 7-5, 7-6 (1), to reach the boys? doubles semis.

In the girls singles, top seed Yuki Ito of Japan came up with a 6-1, 6-3 romp over No. 8 Anna Tyulpa of Russia to arrange a semifinal duel with No. 7 Tian Ran of China.

Belgium?s Justine de Sutter turned back Germany?s 14-year-old Katharina Lehnert, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, while Vietnam?s No. 6 Dal Phuong Huynh won over Lichtenstein?s K. Von Deichmann, 7-5, 6-2, to clinch the semifinal slots in the lower bracket.