Olivarez Cup: Indian stops Tierro win run

MANILA, Philippines — Patrick John Tierro lost his poise in the deciding third set and bowed to Indian eighth seed Karunuday Singh, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, Saturday in the semifinals of the men’s singles of the $15,000 Olivarez Cup-Philippine international men’s tennis championships at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Tierro, a wild card entry, blew two break points in fifth game of the deciding set in the third and final set and the Indian used the opportunity to clinch the victory after an hour and 45 minutes of play.

Third seed Shuichi Sekiguchi of Japan overcame top seed Benjamin Mitchell of Australia, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the other semis to advance against Singh in the finals.

Later in the afternoon, Filipino Ruben Gonzales and Thai partner Sonchat Ratiwatana also bowed to Singh and Ivo Klec of Slovakia, 6-4, 3-6, (10-8), for the men’s doubles title.

Visibly disappointed after letting Singh off the hook in the fifth game of the third set, the 28-year-old Filipino went on to lose his serve in the next game that shifted the momentum to the Indian irreversibly.

Tierro, who said his stint in the Futures meet boosted his confidence for the Davis Cup tie next week, still earned $753 (approximately P33,885) for reaching the semis in the meet that lured topnotch Davis Cuppers.