MANILA, Philippines — FILIPINO wild card Miguel Ricardo Lagac III failed to secure a semis berth after losing to Indian Aaradhya Mhasde, 1-6, 3-6, Friday in the first leg of the Oscar J. Hilado J60 World Tennis Championship at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Lagac, the country's No. 1 player in the U18 category, made it to the quarterfinals after topping Group D with a 3-0 record in the round-robin prelims.
Mhasde will be up against second seed Ryu Kotikula of Thailand, who conquered sixth seed Vivaan Bidasaria of India, 6-0, 6-4.
Joining Mhasde in the Final Four are compatriots Daksh Kukreti and Ribhav Saroha.
Kukreti advanced after top seed Dharma Pantaratorn of Thailand retired in the third set. The score was 6-3, 5-7, 4-1.
Sahona, seeded No. 7, prevailed over Max Johansson of Chinese Taipei, 6-2, 6-2.
Meanwhile, top seed Yerin Lee of Korea downed fifth seed Stefi Marithe Aludo, 6-3, 6-0, in the girls division of the event offering World Tennis (formerly International Tennis Federation) points.
Lee, ranked No. 393 in the World Juniors, will face No. 8 Sorvisa Kulphisanrat of Thailand, who shocked No. 3 Gwen Emily Kurniawan of Indonesia, 6-0, 6-2.
Now on its 18th edition, the annual tournament has been renamed in honor of the late PHINMA Corp. Chairman Emeritus Oscar J. Hilado in recognition of his lifelong support for and contributions to Philippine tennis.
Past champions include Alexandra Eala, Francis Casey Alcantara, John Bryan Otico, Arthur Craig Pantino, Khim Iglupas, Tennielle Madis and Aludo. TMT
