Taiwanese, Japanese clash for Philta title

Fourth seed Zhou Xiao-Feng of Chinese Taipei beat No. 6 Koki Nara of Japan, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, Friday to reach the boys’ singles final in the Coca-Cola Philta International Juniors at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Zhou, a member of the Junior Davis Cup team last year, will face third seed Ren Matsumara of Japan, who scored a 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 8 compatriot Takahiro Kawaguchi in the semifinals.

“I’ll try my best and just enjoy the game,” said the 17-year-old Zhou, eyeing his second title after winning a J30 event in his hometown Kaoshiung three weeks ago.

Matsumura, Japan’s No. 3 player in the U-16 category, saw action in the Junior Davis Cup and World Juniors Championships.

“This is my first time to play in the Philippines, I hope I can win,” said the 16-year-old native of Shizuoka City. He was a semifinalist in a J100 event in Kawaguchi, Japan last month.

Meanwhile, Korean top seed Oh Jiyun and sixth seed compatriot Lim Sa Rang hurdled separate rivals to arrange a title showdown in the girls singles of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors.

Oh, who won a J60 event in Singapore last January, beat compatriot Choi Min Young, 6-1, 7-6 (1).

Lim, on the other hand, outplayed compatriot Choi Soo Young, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.

In the boys doubles, third seeds Kawaguchi and Nara marched to the final after a stunning 7-5, 2-6 (10-8) victory over top seeds Zhou and Hao-Yu Lin.

Kawaguchi and Nara will meet 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 downed third seeds Naomu Hagi of Japan and Tarita Hongsyok of Thailand, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the final where they will face fourth seed Koreans Choi Min Young and Choi Soo Young, who eliminated second seeds Oh and Danielle Clara Suryapranata of Indonesia, 7-5, 6-3.