Norrie, Boulter stun foes, gain Lancer finals
NEW ZEALAND’S Cameron Norrie and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter pulled off upset wins yesterday to reach the boys’ and girls’ singles finals, respectively in the 24th Mitsubishi Lancer international junior tennis at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
The third-seeded Norrie, born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and ranked 21st in the world, played steadily to frustrate top seed and world No. 6 Borna Coric of Croatia, 6-3, 6-4.
Boulter sustained her upset run by ousting third seed Nina Stojanovic of Serbia, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). The 13th seed earlier ousted fifth seed Hikari Yamamoto of Japan, 6-1, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.
The 16-year-old Boulter, ranked No. 58th in the world, will face in today’s final top seed Ipek Soylu of Turkey who marched to the championship with an easy 6-2, 6-3 triumph over 11th pick Sara Tomic.
The girls’ singles final will be a repeat of the recent Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup in Malaysia which Soylu won, 6-7 (10-8), 6-2, 6-1. Soylu, 16, has not lost her serve so far in the tournament.
The 6-foot, blond-haired lefty Norrie broke Coric’s serve for 5-3 in the first set and sustained his attack with a smart mix of shots.
Norrie will take on fourth seed Luke Bambridge of Great Britain.
