MANILA – Seventh seed Koki Nara of Japan defeated Perawat Sukjai of Thailand, 6-1, 6-0, Tuesday in the first round of the J60 Coca-Cola Philta International Juniors Leg 2 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The 14-year-old Nara, who won two singles titles in Indonesia this year, will be up against Lucas Mock of Canada, who eliminated qualifier Liu Haolin of China, 6-2, 6-3.

"He played well today, his strokes are consistent and he has good footwork, " said coach Yamato Baba about Nara's performance.

Nara's compatriots, third seed Yoshihiro Sakurai, Yoshito Oda, and Sota Kagawa, also advanced in the tournament supported by the official ball Technifibre.

Sakurai demolished Filipino wild card Jaime Rafael Reyes, 6-0, 6-0; Oda trounced Australian Jenson Yokota-Ho, 6-2, 6-1; and Kagawa whipped Filipino wild card Juan Carlos Pabillore, 6-0, 6-0.

Meanwhile, Filipinos Tennielle Madis and Stefi Marithe Aludo downed separate rivals to secure their places in the next round.

The top-seeded Madis, clobbered Korean qualifier Lee Hanbi, 6-1, 6-1, while Aludo, the No. 3 seed, prevailed over Chinese Du Ruihan, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Second seed and first-leg champion Oh Jiyun of Korea, Pimlaphat Lim of Thailand, Saaya Sakashita of Japan, and Shinar Zahra Shukayna Heriyadi Sunggoro of Indonesia also triumphed.

"I'm glad to win my first match," said the 17-year-old Madis. "Hopefully, I can keep my momentum throughout the tournament."

Madis, training under SEAG medalist and Davis Cupper Bobbie Angelo at the Philippine Tennis Academy founded by Romy Chan, is coming off twin victories at the ITF J60 event in Changhua City, Chinese Taipei.

She won the singles title over No. 3 Rira Kosaka of Japan, 6-0, 6-4, and secured the doubles title with PTA teammate Stefi Marithe Aludo after beating Kosaka and Ching Laam Lai of Hong Kong, 6-3, 6-3.

Madis, who was born and raised in M'lang, North Cotabato won five singles titles this year, including victories at the J30 PHINMA Week 1 and 2 in Makati City in July and J60 events in Colombo (Sri Lanka) in September, and Nonthaburi (Thailand) in October. She also won five doubles titles with Aludo.

“Our heartfelt congratulations to Tenny for her exceptional skill and dedication to the sport which has paid off in the tournaments she has been competing in. She has been an inspiration to us and everyone supporting Philippine tennis. We in the Academy are very proud of her and wish her all the best in her succeeding events,” said long-time sports patron Oscar Hilado, PTA chairman and PHINMA chairman emeritus. (PNA)