Lu, Plipuech arrange finals showdown in Smart-ITF tennis tilt
Lu Jia Xiang of China and Thailand's Peangtarn Plipuech dispatched their respective opponents on Saturday to arrange a finals showdown in the 2011 Smart–ITF Women’s Circuit Week 1 Singles event at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. Lu, showing her strong backhand attacks and powerful serves, halted Filipino-German Katharina Lehnert's wining streak with a 6-1, 6-2 decision. Lehnert, the seventh seed and 670th ranked in the world, struggled and failed to keep up with the 739th ranked Lu, who played consistently to claim a finals berth in the International Tennis Federation and Philippine Tennis Association-sanctioned tournament. The third-seeded Plipuech, in the other semifinal bout, completed a 6-4, 6-1 upset of compatriot and tournament top seed Luksika Kumkhum to earn the right of facing Lu in the final round of the week-long international tournament which provides ranking points to all participants. Plipuech came out sluggish in the first set after Kumkhum took a 2-0 lead, but the former recovered and unleashed three straight service aces to tie the count at 2-2. She didn't blinked after taking a 5-4 lead in the first set and continued her good showing in the second to take the win. Plipuech zoomed to a 4-0 lead in the second set and was never threatened after that. The Lu-Plipuech finale will be played Sunday morning at center court. — JVP, GMA News