UAAP Season 87 Tennis MVP Kaye Ann Emana of UST outplayed rival Elizabeth Abarquez of NU 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 last Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center to book a ticket to the qualifying draw of the Philippine Women’s Open.
Her win was even more impressive after the bespectacled netter was just an hour away from completing a 6-4, 6-4 conquest of top seed Tiffany Nocos in the semifinals after their match was suspended the previous night following the first set due to heavy rain.
When play resumed late yesterday afternoon, Emana showed grit in rallying from a 1-4 second-set deficit to win the next five games and set up a showdown with Abarquez for the coveted wild card ticket in the qualifying meet organized by the Philippine Tennis Association and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
“Thankful po ako and excited to get the wild card (for the Philippine Women’s Open qualifying draw). At kinakabahan din po kasi first time kong makakalaban ang mga mas magagaling na player doon sa qualifying round,” she said.
She credited her strong mindset in recovering from a 0-2 deficit in the first set against Abarquez to force the tie-breaker after they wound up deadlocked at 6-all after 12 games.
“Up and down ang laro ko po sa first set kaya nag-take advantage na lang po ako ng mukhang na-frustrate na siya, lalo sa tiebreaker when I took a 3-0 lead,” Emana said of the turning point in the match.
Gaining confidence with each shot in the second set, the player was in complete control, surging to an imposing 5-1 lead against her demoralized foe on the way to sealing her slot in the qualifying round of the Philippine Women’s Open.
Abarquez acknowledged that she was flustered by her foe’s deceptive and unpredictable switching of shots that disrupted her game, leading to her downfall.
“Deceptive po ang mga shots niya (Emana). Akala ko malayo tapos malapit sa net babagsak yung bola. Hindi ako makaporma talaga,” rued the Cebuana player, who recalled that it was virtually the same result she had against her rival when they tangled in last UAAP women’s tennis finals.
Both players noted the marked improvement of the playing conditions on the resurfaced hard courts with more than a week to go before the start of the country’s first WTA 125 tournament sanctioned by the Women’s Tennis Association.
