De Guzman leads Andrada Cup opening day winners

Sixteen-year-old Akiko De Guzman marched into the next round of the Andrada Cup after a dominating 6-0, 6-0 performance against Sachiko Numano in the Under-18 division on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. With the win, De Guzman, who topped the Under-16 division in the PSC Metro Age Group Championships last December, arranged a second-round encounter with fourth seed Samantha Coyiuto. Twelve players are vying for the Under-18 title, with the top four seeds, led by Marian Jade Capadocia, drawing a first-round bye. Patricia Paez pulled off a hard-earned 3-6, 6-2, (10-7) win over Arvi Bernardo to join De Guzman in the next round. Paez will next face No. 2 Louise Alexandra Lopez. Ahmad Armana, meanwhile, entered the Under-18 boys’ quarterfinals stage via a walkover. Armana was supposed to play against Arjohn Dela Cruz, but his sixth-ranked opponent failed to show up. He was then scheduled to meet the winner of the match between Kevin Mamawal and Michael Dwight Tan in the second round, but both players also failed to show up for their match. No. 7 Ellison Miles Bingcang, who was the only seeded player in the boys’ Under-18 division that saw action on opening day, scored a 7-5, 6-2 win over Jose Nicholas Cano. He will next play Kyle Cordero, a 6-0, 6-2, winner over Matthew Sicat. Darwin De Los Santos hacked out a 7-5, 6-0, triumph over Frednel Sanduco to set up a second-round meeting with top seed John Archie, while second seed Betto Orendain will play Justine Vinas, who scored a walkover win over Hans Angelo Asistio. Other winners in the division were Daniel Um, Richard Martinez, Romnee Kyle Joseph, Arjay Canoza and Vernon Huibonhua. The event is being held in honor of former Philippine Tennis Association (Philata) president and now Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) commissioner Salvador “Buddy" Andrada. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV