Early exit for RP’s Patrimonio sisters, Arevalo

Wildcard entries Anna Christine Patrimonio and Anna Clarice Patrimonio and qualifier Czarina Mae Arevalo got early exits after dropping their respective first round matches in the $10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit Week I at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Anna Clarice extended the second set but still lost to Trang Huynh Phoung Dai of Vietnam, 4-6, 5-7, while elder sister Anna Christine absorbed a 4-6, 4-6 drubbing from Elodie Rogge-Dietrich of France. Arevalo, the country’s former top tennister who made it through the two-day qualifier to get into the main draw, was totally outplayed by Israel’s Ofri Lankri under scorching heat, 2-6, 4-6. The string of setbacks left US-based Maricris Fernandez and Fil-Am Riza Zalameda, both wildcard entries, as the last RP hopes in the event. The 30-year-old Fernandez, the inaugural champion of this same event 11 years ago who is on a comeback trail, faces Japanese qualifier Yoko Naito while the 23-year-old Zalameda takes on fourth seed Yoo Mi of Korea. Fernandez, Zalameda and Anna Christine are using this two-week event as part of their buildup for next month’s SEA Games in Laos. They will be joined in the Laos joust by Fil-Am Denis Dy. – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV