Oh ousts Olivarez, gains U-14 finals slot

ERIC Olivarez Jr. dropped serve in the eighth game of the third set to yield to top-seeded Korean Oh Chan-yeong, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, yesterday in the boys semifinal of the ITF/ATF Asia 14-under tennis championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
The last Filipino standing in the tough two-week tourney for the continent’s promising netters forced the third set through perseverance and steady hands. But in the end, it was Oh, last week’s champion, who remained tough under two hours of grinding pressure.
“I was very close to the win, but I give it to him for playing his best,” said the Olivarez, a second-generation player who last January won the 18-under class of the Andrada Cup.
Olivarez was on target for the upset after leading 2-0 in the third set on early break, but Oh, using solid baseline hits through his long reach, recovered his wits, held serve and broke the Filipino before taking the lead by holding again for 3-2.
The 13-year-old Olivarez, who idolizes Jeson Patrombon, then made one last stand, using his quickness to hold in the 6th. But Oh went out firing from all angles to take the next three games to secure the finals seat.
Oh now shoots for a second straight crown against Jurabek Karimov of Uzbekistan, who outgunned Wu Tung-lin of Chinese Taipei, 6-2, 6-1, in the other boys semifinal.
The nephew of former national players Eva and Edna Olivarez and the son of Philippine Tennis Association president Rep. Edwin Olivarez became the best performing local campaigner after reaching the semifinals.
“I’m still happy with the way I played this week but I will try my best to win it next year,” said Olivarez.
In girls action, last week’s winner and top seed Cao Siqi sustained her domination with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Indian third seed Pranjala Yadlapalli. She arranged a repeat of last week’s final encounter with compatriot Li Yuenv, who thrashed Malaysia’s Yusri Yus Syazlin, 6-1, 6-3.