CEBUANA tennis sensation Elizabeth Abarquez pulled off a 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory over Jazelle Madis to advance to the 16-U girls semifinal round of the Palawan Pawnshop- Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) regional tennis tournament yesterday in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.
The 15-year-old Abarquez, a native of Carcar City, south Cebu, admitted she struggled to put Madis away in the opening set after the latter was able to counter her offensive attacks.
“I was just lucky against Madis because she played great defense in the first set,” said Abarquez who is anticipating tough games in the next rounds.
Abarquez is set to go up against a formidable opponent in the semis as she battles Tracy Llamas, who is ranked as the fourth best netter in the country by the Unified Tennis of the Philippines.