Lin, Fukuda near Phinma tennis sweep
TAIWANESE Lin Wei-de and Japanese Shiori Fukuda carved out two victories in similar fashions to remain on track of a sweep of the Phinma International Juniors singles crowns at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.
Lin recovered from an opening set struggle and ousted Australian Brian Tran, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, in their semifinal round showdown in Week 2 of the event he dominated last week.
The top-seeded Lin broke Tran once in the second frame then imposed his will and strength in the decider to fashion out the win and stay on course for a sweep of the boys’ singles titles.
He demolished Japanese Shohei Chikami in last week’s finals, 6-2, 6-0.
Not to be outdone, Fukuda survived a thrilling first-set duel, pulling off a 7-6 (9), 6-2 victory over Kimika Sakata to advance to the girls’ singles finals for the second straight week.
Out to foil the duo’s bid are Japanese Shoma Kato, who whisked off Naoto Kai, 6-4, 6-1, to clinch the other berth in the boys’ final, and Indonesian Rifanty Kahfinai.
