Cebuano tennis prodigy Jan Godfrey “Noy” Seno proved that age is just a number as the 16-year-old defeated John Altiche, 6-3, 5-2, to advance to the second round of the Palawan Pawnshop – Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Dagitab Festival Open Tennis Championship yesterday at the Naga City Tennis Center.
Cebu’s Jan Godfrey “Noy” Seno playing against seed no. 8 John Altiche in the Dagitab Festival Open Tennis Championship at the Naga City Tennis Center. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Seno, who is the youngest competitor in the tournament, had a strong start with a 6-3 opening set victory and finished off the Valenzuela City native Altiche in the next set, 5-2, to secure a spot in the second round.
Also putting up a great performance was Janji Soquino, who won via walkout (W.O) against Kevin Pantillo.
As of press time, Seno was playing against Leander Lazaro while Soquino was taking on top-ranked Patrick John Tierro for a spot in the quarterfinal round.
Meanwhile, Christopher Encarnacion of Dumanjug and Norman Mendoza of Pardo weren’t able to slow down their opponents, losing to Ronard Joven, 6-2, 6-1, and Leander Lazaro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, respectively.
In other games, Davis Cuppers Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla pulled off easy victories in the opening round, trampling Nilo Ledama, 6-0, 6-0, and Gabriel Riconala, 6-1, 6-2, while Army man Vincent Albert Anasta smashed Alvin Labastida 6-1, 6-1.