Top seed upsets defending champ in PCA Tennis Open

MANILA, Philippines – Top seed Bambi Zoleta came back strong in the third set in scoring a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over defending champion Czarina Mae Arevalo on Sunday in the 2008 Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open Tennis Championship at the club's indoor shell court in Paco. Zoleta capitalized on the third ranked Arevalo’s erratic service game in third set to bag her second title this year after winning the Alcala Memorial Cup in Lucena City. “Ang saya-saya ko. Sa wakas nanalo rin, (I’m so happy. Finally, I was able to win against her)" said the 16-year-old Zoleta, who pocketed the P50,000 top prize. “Magaling si Cza (Arevalo) kaya nung makuha ko yung first set, alam kong babawi siya sa second set. Hindi siya papayag na basta-basta magpapatalo, (Arevalo is a good player so when I won the first set I know she’ll bounce back in the second. She won’t give the game that easily)," added Zoleta, who won for the first time against Arevalo in five matches. The two also met in the title round of the 2005 PCA Open and the 2006 Escudero and Olivarez Cup. Arevalo also eliminated Zoleta in last year’s PCA Open with a 6-3, 6-4 decision. Arevalo had four double faults in the second set, giving Zoleta the chance to take a 4-3 lead. But Arevalo found her range and held serve in the eighth game to win the next two games and force the rubber. “There’s nothing special about her game." She’s just lucky, she played consistently while I had too many errors. Wala naman pressure sa akin, marami lang talaga akong errors (There’s no pressure on my part. I just committed a lot of errors)," said Arevalo, the four-time champion who is currently studying at Bangkok University in Thailand. “But I want to congratulate Bambi for winning the title. She deserves it. Bawi na lang ako next year, (I’ll bounce back next year)," added Arevalo, who bagged the runner's up prize of P25,000. But Arevalo did not went home without a title after teaming up with former Thailand national team member Thassha Vitayaviroj to win over Bambi and elder sister Bien in the women’s doubles finals, 6-3, 6-2. In the men’s doubles, top seeds Johnny Arcilla and Patrick John Tierro downed the eighth ranked pair of Cris Cuarto and Fil-Canadian Jeremy Salvo, 6-3, 6-4 for the crown while former national players Raymond Suarez and Camoy Palahang, now based in Japan, won the Pro-Am doubles title over No. 8 Ivan Santos and Randy Male, 6-2, 6-3. – GMANews.TV