Yew Ming, Jawairiah on course for clean sweep

SI Yew Ming and Jawairiah Noordin are both on course to earn titles in the men's and women's singles and doubles, respectively, on the final day of the National Circuit second leg at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.
Yew Ming, who won the first leg last month, dropped the first set before defeating top junior Khoo Er Yang 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the men's singles semi-finals yesterday.
The top seed will play unseeded Ahmad Deedat Abd Razak in today's final. Ahmad Deedat beat Abd Hazli Zainuddin 2-6, 6-4, 4-1 (retired). Abd Hazli, the second seed, was forced to retire after pulling a leg muscle.
Yew Ming and Ahmad Deedat will also face each other in the doubles final.
In yesterday's semi-finals, Yew Ming-Ashaari Zainal eased past Marcus Chee-Jordan Quek 6-3, 6-1 while Deedat-Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam overcame Lai Kok Siong-Razlan Rawi 6-4, 6-2.
Jawairiah was unstoppable when she swept to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over R. Archnaah to advance to the women's singles final. The top seed plays fourth-seeded 15-year-old Choo Lyn Yuen, who upset second seed and national champion Adelle Boey 6-1, 6-2, for the title.
In the doubles semi-finals, Jawairiah-Ti Jia Wei blanked Adelle-Jane Chong 6-0, 6-2 while Lyn Yuen-Archnaah thrashed Nurin Nabila-Sylvia Chee 6-0, 6-3.

RESULTS (All s-finals) -- Men's singles: Si Yew Ming bt Khoo Er Yang 2-6, 6-1, 6-3; Ahmad Deedat Abd Razak bt Abd Hazli Zainuddin 2-6, 6-4, 4-1 (rtd).

Doubles: Si Yew Ming-Ashaari Zainal bt Marcus Chee-Jordan Quek 6-3, 6-1; Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam-Ahmad Deedat Abd Razak bt Lai Kok Siong-Razlan Rawi 6-4, 6-2.


Women's singles: Jawairiah Noordin bt R. Archnaah 6-0, 6-1; Choo Lyn Yuen bt Adelle Boey 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles: Jawairiah Noordin-Ti Jia Wei bt Adelle Boey-Jane Chang 6-0, 6-2; Choo Lyn Yuen-R. Archnaah bt Nurin Nabila-Sylvia Chee 6-0, 6-3. -source NST March 29/2011

Promising Er Yang up against Yew Ming

It will be a battle between seniors and juniors in the men's singles semi-finals of the National Circuit second leg at the National Tennis Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.
Top seed Si Yew Ming, as expected, reached the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Razlan Rawi. The 32-year-old will play 17-year-old Khoo Er Yang, who edged Myanmar-born Nge Hnaung 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, for a place in the final.
Er Yang is expected to give Yew Ming a hard time today if he plays to his potential. The Seremban-born has improved tremendously since training under former national champion V. Selvam.
Er Yang is also making a mark in ITF Under-18 tournaments where he has achieved two semi-final results (Grade Four), one each in New Zealand and Malacca, since last year.
The other semi-finals pits second seed and 31-year-old Abd Hazli Zainuddin against 13th seed Ahmad Deedat Abd Razak. Abd Hazli beat national champion Syed Aqil Syed Naguib 6-2, 6-4 while Ahmad Deedat thrashed Indonesian-born Marco Setipu 6-2, 6-0 in their respective matches.
In the women's singles, top seed Jawairiah Noordin hardly raised sweat in her 6-1, 6-1 victory over Asline Chua and will next play surprise package R. Archnaah in today's semi-finals.
The unseeded Archnaah upset third seed Ti Jia Wei 5-7, 6-1, 7-5 in her quarter-final yesterday.
Second seed Adelle Boey defeated Svea Zuber 6-3, 6-4 and next face fourth seed Choo Lyn Yuen, who thrashed Chan Ji Qi 6-0, 6-0.

RESULTS -- Men's singles (q-finals): Si Yew Ming bt Razlan Rawi 6-3, 6-4; Khoo Er Yang bt Nge Hnaung 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2; Ahmad Deedat Abd Razak bt Marco Setipu 6-2, 6-0; Abd Hazli Zainuddin bt Syed Agil Syed Naguib 6-2, 6-4.


Women's singles (q-finals): Jawairiah Noordin bt Aslina Chua 6-1, 6-1; R. Archnaah bt Ti Jia Wei 5-7, 6-1, 7-5; Choo Lyn Yuen bt Chan Hia Qi 6-0, 6-0; Adelle Boey bt Svea Zuber 6-3, 6-4. - NST (Ajitpal Singh) - March 28

Khoo Er Yang, a future champion

Seremban-born Khoo Er Yang is the brighest young tennis player in Malaysia. The 17-year-old. who has won numerous local junior titles, is currently the highest ranked Malaysian player on the ITF Junior Circuit.
Er Yang is also beginning to make his presence felt in local senior tournaments. In February, he and national champion Syed Aqil Syed Naguib picked up the doubles title in

the National Circuit leg one at the National Tennis Centre....

Jelena Dokic hungry for more success

			AUSTRALIA'S Jelena Dokic will be hungry for more success after capturing her sixth WTA Tour title after almost nine years with a splendid performance at the BMW Malaysian Open. Jelena displayed renewed confidence built from her sensational run through the tournament as she defeated the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova 2-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-4 in a thrilling final on Sunday. The 28-year-old has now climbed to 61 in the women's rankings -- her highest since January 2010 - after her breakthrough in the Malaysian Open which the Australian kick-started with a stunning win over Italy's top seed and World No 5 Francesca Schiavone in the first round. "I surprised myself... and when you start winning matches and titles your appetite only gets bigger," said Jelena at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Club on Sunday. Jelena had only played once before in Kuala Lumpur, 10 years ago, and the title was her first since winning in Birmingham in 2002. Her other titles were in Rome, Tokyo and Moscow in 2001 and Sarasota in 2002. She was ranked World No 4 in 2002 but dropped out of the top 100 five years ago as she struggled with her form. Over the past few years, Jelena has shown glimpses of her potential, most memorably her run to the quarter-finals of the 2009 Australian Open. "I seem to improve really quickly. The more matches that I win. I gain confidence fast and that helps my game," said Jelena, who is travelling without a coach. The Malaysian Open was also a breakthrough event for many players, most notably Luxembourg qualifier Anne Kremer, who made her first tour quarter-final appearance since 2007, before losing to the Netherlands' Michaella Krajicek. The 36-year-old hopes her outing in KL will give her more confidence in her pursuit to play in more Premier tournaments. Russia's former World No 1 Dinara Safina was hoping to make an impact in the singles but failed to do so. She, however, clinched her first doubles title since 2008 with Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva. "My hope is to get back into the game strongly. I feel I am progressing in terms of performance," said Dinara. On the local front, S. Theiviya was Malaysia's sole representative in the tournament, but the hapless youngster was sent packing in the first round of the qualifiers. The Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia handed the other wild card to Vietnam's Trang Huynh Phuong Dai, who also lost in the qualifying round. - March 8, 2011