Arevalo gains entry to ITF women’s circuit main draw

Veteran campaigner Czarina Mae Arevalo wasted no time in defeating Taiwanese Lee Pei-chi, 6-0, 6-1, to gain a slot to the main draw of the $10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit Week I at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. The 24-year-old Arevalo came out smoking right at the onset, dropping just one game. The outcome was very different from her first outing where she rallied to turn back Germany’s Katharina Lehnert. The former PCA Open champion thus joined fellow RP netters Maricris Fernandez-Gentz, Anna Christine Patrimonio, Anna Clarice Patrimonio and Riza Zalameda in the tournament proper. Fernandez-Gentz, Zalameda and the Patrimonio sisters were given wild card berths in the main draw that features Turkey's Cagia Buyukakcay, ranked No. 315 in the world, and Koreans Lee Ye-ra and Yoo Mi. Focus will be on Fernandez-Gentz, the inaugural champion of this event in 1998 who will be competing in her first tournament in eight years. “I hope experience would be on my side and I think they have more to lose," said the Los Angeles-based Fernandez-Gentz, back from retirement to spearhead the country’s campaign in the Laos Southeast Asian Games on December 9 to 18. Also advancing to the main draw after the two-day qualifiers were Yoko Naito of Japan, Kim Jung-eun of Korea, Ivana King of the US, Zhang Nan-nan of China, Miao Yui-lynn of Taiwan, Tanaporn Thongsing of Thailand and You Ju-hee of Korea. Action is expected to be fierce in Wednesday’s start of hostilities with the event staking ITF points to the top finishers, including six ITF circuit points for the singles and doubles winners. – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV