Arcilla sets final PCA showdown vs Mendoza

MANILA, Philippines — Top seed Johnny Arcilla and unheralded Jurence Mendoza arranged their championship showdown after posting contrasting wins Friday in the 30th Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open Tennis Championships men’s singles at the PCA indoor shell clay court in Paco, Manila.

Last year’s runner-up Arcilla asserted his dominance anew as he scored a convincing 6-0, 6-3 victory over fourth pick Rolando Ruel Jr. in less than an hour.

“I just made sure he would have a hard time retuning my shots and I had very little unforced errors,” said Arcilla, who dominated the 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions of the tournament.

Mendoza, on the other hand, continued his giant-killing spree by ousting No. 3 Patrick John Tierro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, in the tournament presented by Cebuana Lhuillier.

The 15-year-old lefty let his guard down and found himself struggling with the aggressive shots thrown at him by Tierro in the second set. But he regrouped and eventually sent his highly-touted opponent packing.

“I relaxed in the second set and threw away a lot of points, so I concentrated harder in the third set and tried to pressure him,” said Mendoza. “It worked.”

The Arcilla-Mendoza final match is set on Sunday at 1 p.m.

“He’s beaten a lot of seeded players so I can’t be overconfident,” said Arcilla of his
junior foe. “I hope to get a good start so I can control the momentum.”