Martin, De Asis stun top Palawan tennis favorites

Second seed Jacob Martin stunned top-ranked Justin Suarez, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to snare the boys’ 16-and-under crown in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group tennis at Monta-Panaad court in Bacolod Monday.

La Carlota’s Kiana de Asis, meanwhile, accomplished another two-title romp in the girls’ side of the Group 2 tournament  presented by Technifibre.

Martin, the 16-year-old ace from Xavier School, leaned on his solid serve-and-volley game in the decider and even broke Suarez’s serve once.

The match took two hours and 50 minutes to finish with Suarez failing to recover and retiring in his 18-U finals against Karl Baran, who was up 4-1 when the match was halted.

“Martin and Suarez’s title duel spoke well of the quality of play in the circuit,” said Palawan Pawnshop president Bobby Castro.

The No. 2 De Asis reasserted her mastery over Tracy Llamas, humbling the top-seeded bet twice, 6-4, 6-3, (14-U) and 6-2, 7-5 (18-U).

Llamas, also from La Carlota, averted a shutout by taking the 16-U plum via a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Bliss Bayking.

Action shifts to San Carlos City starting this Friday while the Pintaflores Festival Open Tennis Championship fires off Oct. 27.

OTHER WINNERS: Alexa Milliam, girls’ 12-U, 10-unisex; Pete Andre Rodriguez, boys’ 12-U; Reynan Mahusay, boys’ 16-U