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FOURTH seed Korean Cho Soong Jae and top pick Thai
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn posted contrasting victories to rule their
respective divisions in the 19th Mitsubishi-Lancer International
Junior Tennis Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Cho, ranked 36th in the world,
scored a convincing 7-5, 6-1 victory over No. 2 pick Borut Puc of
Slovenia in one hour and 35 minutes to pocket the title in the
boys’ division.
“My focus is to watch out for
his strong serve. He also has a strong forehand that’s why I tried
to bring the ball on his backhand,” said the 18-year-old Cho, who
will compete in the Japan Open next week.
Lertcheewakarn, on the other
hand, fought back from a set down to carve out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win
over No. 10 Hungarian Timea Babos and claim the girls’ crown.
“I’m a little bit tired
today. But I already know her game after beating her in Malaysia.
She played better today,” said Lertcheewakarn.
Lertcheewakarn beat Babos, 7-5,
6-0, last week in the Malaysian Juniors ITF.
After the tournament, Lertcheewakarn
moved up to fourth in the world.
The 16-year-old Thai sensation
will campaign in India in the next two weeks and in the prestigious
Wimbledon Juniors on June 23 to July 6.
Lertcheewakarn reached the second
round of last year’s Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Babos and
compatriot Reka-Luca Jani rallied to beat top seed Misaki Doi of
Japan and Elena Chernyakova, 6-5 (4), 6-0, 10-7, and secure the
girls’ doubles title.
Meanwhile, Puc teamed up with
Thai Kittiphong Wachiramanowong to topple top seed Australians
Andrew Thomas and Mark Verryth, 7-6 (1), 6-1, and bag the boys’
doubles trophy.
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