PATRICK John Tierro’s gamble paid off in spades as he clinched his second men’s singles’ crown in the 35th Philippine Columbian Association Open-Cebuana Lhuillier men’s tennis tournament.
The 31-year-old Tierro came on strong as he denied fellow Davis Cup veteran Johnny Arcilla his ninth title via a 6-2, 7-6 (5) decision last Sunday at the PCA indoor shell-clay court in Paco, Manila.
“Sumugal lang ako sa bawat shots ko. It’s either make or break. Hindi kasi puwedeng magpadala sa pressure, hindi puwedeng push lang ng push, kailangan na maging aggressive. And I’m happy na nag-work ang game plan ko,” said Tierro, who now has two PCA titles under his belt. His first was in 2014.
Tierro sizzled with a 3-0 start in the first set with his vicious baseline attacks that left Arcilla struggling to catch up.
The 36-year-old Arcilla managed to get his bearings back and closed the gap to 2-4. But Tierro seemed to be unflappable as he retaliated quickly and eventually took the first set.
Arcilla shook off the sting of the first-set loss and went on to grab an early 5-3 lead in the second set, looking to forge a deciding set.
Tierro would have none of it though as he scored three straight points to steal advantage, 6-5. Although Arcilla was able to force tiebreak, 6-6, he ran out of gas and made a couple of unforced errors, which handed the victory to his younger opponent.
Tiero pocketed a whopping P50,000 cash prize, while Arcilla settled for P25,000 in the tournament supported by The Philippine Star, Dunlop, Whirlpool-Fujidenzo, Chris Sports, Mary Grace, Aseana City, PVL Restaurant, Maverick, Compass, Babolat, Just Jewels, Rexona, Palm Rock, Coca Cola Femsa Philippines, Pearl Garden Hotel, Pearl Lane Hotel, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, L&M, Broadway Motors, Stronghold Insurance and Monte.
There will be little rest for Tierro and Arcilla who will once again showcase their wares in the main draw of the PCA Open-Cebuana Lhuillier Asian Tennis Federation Tour slated on Sept. 1 to 4 at the same venue.
Tierro and Arcilla will go up against the finest tennis players in Asia.
In the men’s doubles finals, Arcilla and Ronard Joven proved too much for the duo of Elbert Anasta and Mark Anthony Alcoseba, 6-3, 6-3, and took home the title and P20,000 cash prize.