Fil-German Lehnert falls short in ICTSI tennis semis

Fil-German Katharina Lehnert’s magical run in the ICTSI-ITF Women’s Circuit 1 came to an end. The pretty 16-year-old netter fell prey to her more experienced and more powerful Thai foe, Luksika Kumkhum, who came through with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. A day after hurdling her toughest test by outlasting top seed Nungnadda Wannasuk of Thailand, 6-4, 6-4, the ninth grader from a tennis academy in Hanover met more than her match in Kumkhum, who possessed a strong baseline game. The Thai netter came out more aggressive and proved to be the superior player as she took advantage of a worn-down Lehnert and advanced into the championship round. Despite falling short of a finals bid, Lehnert was satisfied with her achievement. “I was surprised that I made it to the semifinal round," said Lehnert, whose mother Imelda hails from Rosario, La Union. “I’ve been competing for the third straight week now and I’m beginning to get weary. But this is a great experience for me, especially playing here in the Philippines," added the daughter of a former soccer player from a club team in Germany. Prior to this event, Lehnert made it to the quarterfinal round of another ranking tournament in Japan last week. In the next three weeks she is scheduled to participate in the PLDT-Smart/ITF Women’s Circuit 2, PCA Open and the Phinma Junior Tennis Championship. Khumkum will face Piia Suomalainen of Finland, who drubbed second seed Gally De Wael of Belgium, 6-4, 6-2, in the other semis contest. - KY, GMANews.TV