Fourth seed Zhou Xiao-Feng of Chinese Taipei marched to the boys singles final Friday after posting a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over No. 6 Koki Nara of Japan in the Coca-Cola Philta International Juniors at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Zhou, who played for the Junior Davis Cup squad last year, will meet third seed Ren Matsumara of Japan, who beat No. 8 compatriot Takahiro Kawaguchi, 6-4, 7-5, in the other semifinal match.
“I’ll try my best and just enjoy the game,” said the 17-year-old Zhou in a statement, who won a J30 event in his hometown Kaoshiung three weeks ago.
Matsumura, a member of the Junior Davis Cup and World Juniors Championships teams, was a semifinalist at a J100 event in Kawaguchi, Japan last month.
“This is my first time to play in the Philippines, I hope I can win,” said the native of Shizuoka City in another statement, who is Japan’s No. 3 player in the U16 category.
In the girls category, top seed South Korean Oh Jiyun and sixth seed compatriot Lim Sa Rang won their respective matches to reach the final of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors event supported by official ball Technifibre.
Oh, who won a J60 event in Singapore last January, defeated compatriot Choi Min Young, 6-1, 7-6 (1), while Lim rallied past compatriot Choi Soo Young, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.
In the boys doubles, third seeds Kawaguchi and Nara stunned top seeds Zhou and Hao-Yu Lin, 7-5, 2-6 (10-8) to advance in the final against third seeds Matsumura and Yoshito Oda, who trounced Filipino John Kendrick Bona and Japanese Shun Wakino, 6-0, 7-5.
In the girls doubles, No. 1 pair Huang Yi-Ching and Ko Yu Tsen of Chinese Taipei prevailed over third seeds Naomu Hagi of Japan and Tarita Hongsyok of Thailand, 7-5, 6-3, to arrange a title showdown with fourth seed Koreans Choi Min Young and Choi Soo Young, who ousted second seeds Oh and Danielle Clara Suryapranata of Indonesia, 7-5, 6-3. (PNA)