Patrimonio, Tamitha gain Vietnam s’finals

Anna Clarice Patrimonio and Tamitha Nguyen dumped their respective opponents to reach the semifinals Wednesday of the Vietnam International Junior Championships-Becamex Cup in Binh Duong. The second-seed Patrimonio advanced with a 7-5, 6-0 triumph over Vietnamese Thu Thanh Binh Phan while the third-seeded Nguyen, daughter of former national player Edna Olivarez, made it to the Final Four when Thai Warissara Prajoubphansri retired with a knee injury after losing the first set, 6-2. Patrimonio, the 17-year-old daughter of former PBA superstar Alvin Patrimonio, will next take on Thailand’s Sawanya Vasupongchai, who ousted Sweden’s Lina Akesson, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Nguyen will try to make it an all-Filipina final when she faces Indonesian top seed Nadya Syarifah, who disposed of Korean Kim Se-hyun, 6-0, 6-1. Patrimonio, who is looking for her second straight crown after topping the Grade 4 Hong Kong Open junior championships just last week, also reached the semifinals in the women’s doubles with Syarifah. The Filipino-Indonesian tandem advanced at the expense of Thai sisters and previous champions Sawanya and Yada Vasupongchai, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Nguyen was not as lucky in the doubles as she and Indonesian partner Dina Karina lost to the Viet pair of Tu Kim Ngan and Phi Khanh. Karina injured her wrist midway in the second set and had to retire after she and Nguyen dropped the first set, 6-4.
Maika Tampoco, a 15-year-old who splits her time in the Philippines and Australia where she trains, was also eliminated in the doubles with Thai partner Natvicha Ruangsumrej.  The Filipino-Thai tandem bowed to Riko Oshashi of Japan and Efrihya Herlina of Indonesia, 6-1, 6-0. Nguyen, 16, is hoping to score a breakthrough victory this year after twice making the round of 16 of the junior tournaments in Vietnam and China. She is eyeing revenge against Syarifah who stopped her in the quarterfinals of the Oneject Indonesia junior championships in June, 6-3, 6-2. With a report from Ronnie Nathanielsz