Top seed Alexa Milliam pounded her way to the finals of the first Rina Cañiza Women’s Tennis Open yesterday, dispatching Shaira Rivera, 6-1, 6-2, while unranked Tennielle Madis mounted her own charge in the lower draw, easing past No. 14 Nichole dela Rita, 6-2, 6-2, at the PCA outdoor courts in Paco, Manila.
Milliam, 17, sustained her run of lopsided victories since thrashing Debbie Gom-Os, 6-1, 6-2, in the second round following an opening day bye in the upper half of the 64-player draw as the La Carlota ace blasted Sydney Enriquez next, 6-1, 6-1, then repulsed Melanie Dizon, 6-4, 6-2, in last Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the Group A event put up by former national player Rina Cañiza in partnership with the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala, led by president/CEO Bobby Castro, to boost women’s tennis.
Against the No. 16 Rivera, who turned back No. 10 Dominique Malazarte, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the quarters, Milliam took the first four games, dropped the fifth on her service turn, before sweeping the next two. She then broke Rivera in the third game of the second set, held serve to stay in control then won three of the last four games to complete the straight-set romp and zero in on the top P50,000 purse staked in the event presented by Dunlop.
Madis, 15, likewise kept churning out one big game after the other in her side of the battle and like Milliam, the Mlang, Cotabato find, who shocked No. 2 Alexei Santos, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round, posted a pair of straight-set victories, including 6-0, 6-2 demolition of Hannah Divinagracia, and a 7-6(2), 4-0(ret.) win over Rachel Velez, to earn a crack at the coveted title in the
They dispute the championship at 8 a.m. today (Saturday).
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Rivera and teammate Mae Bornia trounced dela Rita and Gom-Os, 6-2, 6-1, to seal a title showdown with Divinagracia and Joanna Tan, who upended No. 2 Nina Alcala and Aileen Rogan, 7-5, 6-4, in the doubles play which also offers a top prize of P50,000.
Meanwhile, the National Collegiate Tennis Championship will start on Feb. 13, featuring individual and team plays, also at the PCA courts. For details, contact tournament organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
Also up for grabs in the Caniza Open are ranking points from the UTR (Universal Tennis Ranking) and UTP (United Tennis Philippines) with the singles runner-up to receive P25,000. The semifinalists pocketed P10,000 each while the quarterfinalists got P5,000 each.