INQUIRER Sports

SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES-BOUND Riza Zalameda kept the Filipinos? hope alive when she downed her Korean rival Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the PLDT-Smart ITF women?s tennis championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Zalameda, the 2005 SEAG gold winner in mixed doubles with Eric Taino, ousted Han Na-Lae, 6-3, 6-3, and will next take on last week?s runner-up Yoo Mi, who hurdled Vietnamese Huynh Phuong Dai, 6-3, 6-3.

Zalameda bowed out in the first round last week where she appeared tired after planing in a few hours after finishing runner-up in the doubles of a $100,000 ITF tourney in Chinese Taipei.

But the early exit did wonders for the stocky, hard-hitting Zalameda whose forehand effectively kept at bay the favored Han, who pulled off a first-round upset of sixth seed Chinese He Chun-Yan, 2-6, 6-0, 6-1.

Top seed Elodie Rogge-Dietrich of France also made it to the next round with a 6-4, 6-0 drubbing of Chinese-Taipei?s Juan Ting-Fei in the event also sponsored by Holcim, Phinma and ITF Grandslam Development Fund.

Zalameda later partnered with Anna Christine Patrimonio to beat King and China?s Hee Shun-Yan, 6-3, 4-6, 10-4, in the doubles.

They will face in the quarters Han Na-Lae and Yoo, who stung top seed Gumulya and Han Sung-Hee, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5.

Czarina Mae Arevalo likewise made it to the next round in tandem with Germany?s Katharina Lehnert. They beat Huyn and Zhang, 5-7, 6-3, 11-9 to advance against Korea?s Kim Jung-Eun and You Jun-Hee.

The Koreans booted out Austria?s Julia Dinhof and Liechtenstein?s Marina Novak, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.