FIRST-ROUND WINNER. Marc Andrei Jarata returns the ball during the first-round of the PREC 14 and Under Championships in Selangor, Malaysia on Wednesday. (Photo courtesy of Angelica Alcala)
MANILA -- Filipino Marc Andrei Jarata clawed back from a first-set deficit to beat Vishal Prakash of India in the opening-round of the PREC 2nd Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) 14 and Under Championships at the Kelana Jaya Tennis Complex in Selangor, Malaysia on Wednesday.
Jarata, the 12-year-old pride of Agoo town in La Union province, pulled off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 upset win over eight-seed Prakash to advance against Muk Chau Jiang of Hong Kong.
Jiang, who entered the main draw as a qualifier, downed Izmal Mohammed Farrouk of Malaysia, 6-2, 6-3.
Exequiel Jucutan likewise made it to the next round after posting a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Jared Jia-Sheng Leong of Malaysia.
Jucutan will be up against sixth seed Woo-hyuk Chang of South Korea, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over qualifier Dheren Padmanathan of Malaysia.
Also booking second-round berths were No. 1 Quang Duong and No. 3 Lin En Tan of Malaysia, Cowen Lau of Indonesia, Krishang Raghuvanshi of India and, Seung Min Park and Si-hoo Kim of South Korea.
Duong, who is No. 13 in the ATF rankings, outclassed fellow Malaysian Ryan Lai Eng Lim, 6-0, 6-1, to advance against compatriot Jayden Ye Li Wong, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Aarav Hada of Nepal.
Tan won over his compatriot, qualifier Akash Karekatte, 6-1, 6-2, to set up a meeting with fellow Malaysian Ryan Chee, who won over Filipino Edgardo Manuel Angara, 6-4, 2-0 (retired).
Lau rallied past Pavel Liam Thadani of Malaysia, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, to forge a second-round showdown with fifth seed Tae-wan Joo of South Korea, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over qualifier Umar Haiyat Mohd Rosdi.
Raghuvanshi outplayed qualifier Muhammad Hareez Afwan, 6-2, 6-2, to advance against seventh seed Muhammad Zhatin Lelyas Kamarul Zaman, who defeated Filipino Axl Lajon Gonzaga, a 6-2, 6-4.
Park prevailed over wild card Thoybah Rahim of Malaysia, 6-1, 6-1, to arrange a second-round meeting with fourth seed Hayden Khoo Menon of Malaysia, who won over Sarvar Zaparov of Uzbekistan, 6-4, 6-0.
Kim downed Scott McNeill of Malaysia, 6-2, 6-1, to advance against wildcard Izran Mohammed Farrouk, who eliminated No. 2 Curtis Hong Tseng Tan of Hong Kong, 6-2, 6-2.
In the girls' singles category, Jarata's sister, Marielle Alexi, defeated Hui Yii Soo of Malaysia, 7-5, 6-1, to march on to the second round where she will face third seed Cheuk Ying Shek of Hong Kong, who beat Kyleen Chen of Malaysia, 6-0, 6-0.
Nina Angeline Alcala, however, has bowed out of the tournament after losing to Athilla Maisara Azizul of Malaysia, 2-6, 3-6.
Other first-round winners were No. 1 Lim Lim Zan Ning of Malaysia over Fidela Arfihana Mada of Singapore, 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 Gio Jang of South Korea over Xin Hung Tan of Malaysia, 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Sze Xuan Lim of Malaysia over Sofia Sperandei of Italy, 6-0, 6-1; No. 5 Iman Syuhada Abdullah over wild card Annabelle Wong of Latvia; and No. 6 Erica Hagi of Hong Kong over Haydee Loi of Malaysia, 6-0, 6-1.
Also gaining second-round slots were Wanli Yip, Jo-Leen Saw and Shohomi Li Xuan Leong of Malaysia; Francesca Tan of Singapore; and Ji-woo Choi of South Korea.
Meanwhile, Filipino Tiffany Claire Nocos will face Puckaporn Jirachavala of Thailand in one of three first-round matches scheduled on Thursday. The other two matches are between seventh seed Shruuthi Khanna Madhavakannan of India against Dania Melati Fahrol Rodzi of Malaysia, and Pimmada Lim of Thailand against Aarmaya Chandran of Australia. (PNA)
