Pinoy netter rallies past Korean rival

FILIPINO netter Eric Olivarez Jr. came from behind to beat Lim Min Soeb of Korea 4-6, 7-6 (5), 13-11 to barge into the semifinal round of the ITF Asia 14-and-Under Development Championships–Division I Week 2 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Olivarez rebounded from an opening set setback with a scrambling tiebreak victory then survived two match points to snatch the deciding set super tiebreak for the hard-earned victory that lasted almost two hours.

Olivarez, out to atone for a disappointing second round performance in Week One of the ITF-sanctioned event which offers ranking points, seeks a spot in the finals against top seed and last week’s champion Oh Chan Yeong of Korea. Oh trounced No. 6 Meng Cing Yang of Chinese Taipei, 6-2, 6-2, to remain in the hunt for back-to-back titles.

But while Olivarez advanced, Alberto Lim, Jr. stumbled and dropped a heartbreaking 6-2, 4-6, 7-10 loss to No. 4 Wu Tung Lin of Chinese Taipei late Tuesday. Also making it to the semis was No. 5 Karimov Jurabek of Uzbekistan, who stunned No. 2 and Week One runner-up Chung Yun Seong of Korea, 3-6, 7-5, 10-6.

The girls’ top two seeds Cao Si Qi and Li Yue Nv of China, downed Bae Dohee of Korea, 6-3, 6-4, and No. 5 Himani Mor of India, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7, respectively, to make the semis. Cao will face No. 3 Pranjala Yadlapalli of India, who turned back No. 6 Napharat Sawangkaew of Thailand, 6-4, 6-3, while Li tackles unseeded Yusri Yus Syazlin of Malaysia, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over No. 8 Um Seon Young of Korea. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio