RISING Filipino star Eric Olivarez Jr. stunned seventh seed Sahil Deshmukh of India to gain the boys’ quarterfinals before pairing with his victim to barge into the doubles semifinals Thursday in the ITF-Ho Chi Minh City junior tennis championships in Vietnam.
Olivarez, 17, worked behind his big serve and heavy baseline hits to crush the Indian, 6-3, 6-3, and progress to the Final 8 for the second straight tournament. He also reached the quarterfinals last week of the ITF-Can Tho tournament, also in Vietnam.
In girls’ doubles, Filipino Maia Balce and Indonesian Shavita Aulana defeated Filipino Chrislyn Colleen Sioson and Ashley Kei Yim of Singapore, 6-2, 5-7 (10-4).
They will collide in the semifinals with Thais Pichayatida Jandaeng and Napharat Swangkaew, who bested Eun Se-jong of South Korea and Masako Makiba of Japan, 6-2, 6-4.
“He is a player who is on his way to achieving bigger things in the near future,” said Olivarez’s coach Manny Tecson in an e-mail.
Olivarez actually had a slow start as the Indian broke him for a 3-2 lead in the first set.
Olivarez next faces Thai qualifier Suphawit Sae-Oui, who shocked top seed Achad Imam Maruf of Indonesia, 6-3, 6-2.
The Olivarez-Deshmukh pairing thrashed Hong Kong’s Alan Lee Wai-leuk and Alan Sou Ming-chun, 6-3, 6-0. Marc Anthony Reyes