Olivarez edges Damian, makes Nat’l Open final

Eric Olivarez overcame a second-set stumble to reassert his dominance over Noel Damian, scoring a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory to book his place in the finals of the Mayor Edwin Olivarez National Open Tennis Championships on Friday at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat.

After cruising through the opening set, the top-seeded Olivarez found himself in a tougher battle as Damian raised his level and forced a tense exchange of service holds. Damian held serve in the ninth game before breaking Olivarez in the next, rallying from a 15-40 deficit by winning four straight points to snatch the second set and even the match.

But the setback proved only a temporary interruption for the Western Michigan product, who regrouped and regained control in the decider. Olivarez broke Damian in the third game and steadily tightened his grip on the match, keeping his opponent on the defensive.

After conceding the seventh game, Olivarez responded with a decisive burst of four straight points to build a commanding 5-2 cushion before closing out the match in the next game.

Standing between Olivarez and the championship crown is Eric Jay Tangub, who secured the other finals berth with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over unranked Richard Bautista.

Olivarez and Tangub will dispute the title and the top P100,000 prize when they clash at 9 a.m. Saturday in the P415,000 tournament, which features the country’s leading campaigners alongside a promising crop of emerging talents.