ITF: Tamitha Nguyen outlasts Chinese in three sets

MANILA, Philippines—Tamitha Nguyen, one of the country’s promising tennis talents, survived a battle of wits and endurance against China’s Zhou Ya, winning 6-0, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, Wednesday to reach the second round of the Smart International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s Circuit Week 1 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The 17-year-old daughter of former national stalwart and California State LA Hall of Famer Edna Olivarez, rallied from a frustrating second set to advance against Indonesia’s Rishika Sunkara.
Sunkara pulled out a 7-5, 6-0 upset of No. 8 seed and compatriot Sharmada Balu.

Nguyen, who won her first juniors title last year when she topped the Vietnamese ITF juniors, made it to the tourney as a wild card.

Nguyen joined fellow Filipino netters Anna Clarice Patrimonio, Marian Jade Capadocia and Fil-German Katharina Lehnert who won their first round matches Tuesday.

“It’s a very exhausting match, but I was able to adjust from her serves and managed to return her attacks too,” said Nguyen.