Philippine Tennis Academy (PTA) player Tennnielle Madis suffered a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6 loss to Alisa Terentyeva of Russia Friday in the girls’ singles semifinal of the Dubai ITF Juniors at the TopSpin Sports Center in United Arab Emirates.
The 17-year-old from M’lang, North Cotabato made longer rallies to secure the second set but the Russian fought back in the third, whipping all the balls to claim victory.
“Tenny (Madis) played very well and really did everything. But her opponent is very powerful and consistent,” PTA head coach Robert Angelo said.
Tenentyeva, 14, won the singles title in Fujairah last week, beating compatriot Vlada Guryleva, 6-3, 6-1.
Madis, on the other hand, took the doubles title with South Korean Ui Su Jeong.
“It’s a very good experience for Tennny, she learned a lot from Tenentyeva,” Angelo, a SEAG medalist and former Davis Cupper, added.
Terentyeva, who ousted No. 7 Sophie Bekker of Great Britain (6-0, 6-4) in the quarterfinal, will face Xinie Geng of China.
Geng scored a 6-3, 6-0 victory over qualifier Vittoria Vignolini, who eliminated No. 1 Vlada Guryleva of Russia, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the second round.
In other matches, Efremova downed Minxu Zhang of China, 6-2, 6-4, while Jeong conquered Alina Botasheva of Russia, 6-3, 6-3, to forge a Final Four duel.
In the doubles category, top seeds Madis and Guryleva fell to third seeds Terentyeva and Kharchenko, 6-4, 1-6, 11-9, in the semifinal.
Terentyeva and Kharchenko will battle Olivia Cela of Poland and Diya Ramesh of India, who prevailed over Lila Grace Bachour of France and Vignolini, 6-4, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Madis will try bounce back when she competes in the 3rd UAE ITF Juniors which will start on Jan. 20.
Madis, who bagged six singles and five doubles titles last year, registered a career-high No. 207 in the ITF Juniors rankings last Jan. 5. She won the doubles with PTA teammate Stefi Marithe Aludo in the J60 events in Manila, China, Thailand and Sri Lanka. (PNA)