Eric Olivarez beat Noel Damian 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the Olivarez Open final at the Mayor Edwin Olivarez National Open Tennis Championships, recovering from a second-set stumble at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat.
Olivarez took the opening set 6-2, dropped the second 4-6, then reasserted control in the decider. The win sends him into the title match, where Eric Jay Tangub awaits.
Olivarez Open final scheduled for 9 a.m. today
The championship match and the P100,000 top prize will be decided at 9 a.m. today at the same Sucat venue. The tournament carries a total purse of P415,000 and features the country's leading campaigners alongside a crop of emerging talents.
Eric Olivarez's route through the draw
Olivarez reached the championship round with three straight-sets victories:
- David Abordo, 6-4, 6-1
- Marraphael Teng, 6-2, 6-3
- Vicente Anasta, 6-1, 6-1
Eric Jay Tangub's path to the title match
Tangub secured the other finals berth with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over unranked Richard Bautista. He has won every match in this tournament in straight sets.
- Richard Bautista, 6-1, 6-4 (semifinal)
- Gurkan Nasilbilirsen, 6-0, 6-0
- James Aquino, 6-2, 6-0
- Loucas Fernandez, 6-4, 6-3
Analysis: the contrast in the two runs
Analysis. Olivarez has been taken to a third set once in this event, by Damian. Tangub has not dropped a set at all. That is the clearest difference between the two finalists, though it says little about how the final itself will unfold.
The original report appears at philstar.com.
