Hong Kong's 16-year-old world junior No. 47 Venise Chan made her tournament debut on the ITF Women's Circuit a winning one, as she defeated Filipino number one, Czarina-Mae Arevalo, 6-1, 6-4, to capture the US$10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit 1 title in the Philippines over the weekend.

No female player from the territory had won a pro circuit tournament since former Hong Kong number one, Tong Ka Po, won both singles and doubles titles at the C10 Tianjin in June 2002, which turned out to be the final tour event of a career that saw her peak at No. 236 on August 20, 2001.

In all, Venise had eliminated three seeded players along the way – eighth seed Natasha Khan in the first round; third seed Rebecca Fong in the quarters; and top-seeded world No. 668, Lyoo-Suh Hee-Sun of Korea, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, in the semifinals.

Although past results render the likelihood of winning in the present in no certain terms, the odds for the final were with the Hong Kong Junior Fed Cupper, as she had beaten Arevalo once before – a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, victory in the second round of the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan earlier in September – where Venise went all the way to quarterfinals until she was halted by Tashkent native and eventual champion, the 178th ranked Akgul Amanmuradova.

Arevalo, a Filipino Fed Cupper, had earlier knocked out No. 5 seed Chen Yi of Taiwan in the semifinals, 7-6(2), 7-5.

Presently ranked 1072nd in the world, Arevalo reached the semifinals at the C10 Mumbai 2 and the quarterfinals at the C10 Pune in October. Together with the points she garnered here in Manila, she will be ranked when the world pecking order is released next week, since a player on the ITF Women's Circuit must have participated in a minimum of three tournaments in order to hold a computer ranking.

Travelling Coach Chattida Thimjapo, a former touring pro ranked in the WTA's Top-600, reported from Manila: "It was great for Venise to win this tournament, especially having beaten three seeds along the way. She played really well in the first set but in second set, I think she was a bit nervous towards the end there at 4-4, with the finish line being so close. It was a great result especially that this is her first women's circuit event. I am so proud of her."

Venise's opponent in last Saturday's semifinals, No. 1 seed Lyoo-Suh Hee-Sun, is currently ranked at a career-high No. 668 in the world and was a runner-up at this tournament same time last year. Lyoo-Suh is 2-0 lifetime against Hong Kong's Lam Po Kuen, most recently defeating the HK Fed Cup player, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the C10 Seogwipo earlier in July.

Just a fortnight ago, the Korean won through three consecutive rounds to qualify for the C50 Busan before she was knocked out in three sets in the opening round.

"I didn't expect to win against the number one seed, but I thought I had a chance after beating the third seed in the quarterfinals," said Venise.

Lyoo-Suh disrupted the Hong Kong protégé's rhythm by resorting to moon-ball tactics in the opening, which worked long enough to earn the Korean the first set. However, Venise countered that beautifully by going for more angled shots while mixing it up with drop shots as well to dominate the second set and third sets.

According to Venise's father, Leslie: "This win will definitely help Venise get a foothold in the senior tournaments and the plan is for her to focus mainly on ITF Women's Circuit events, plus the Junior Slams in 2006. After she returns from Manila, she will have six weeks of intensive training in Hong Kong before heading to the Australia Open Junior Championships in January next year".

Venise had been training exclusively in tennis programmes under the HKTA since 2002 when she began with the Talent Group. She was promoted to the National Training Squad and became a full-time player under the HKTA Academy since November 2004. Although she took a sabbatical from formal schooling, the former Marymount Secondary School student continued her education with online tuition, similar to the ones enrolled by Brian Hung and Martin Sayer, who had since been accepted to NCAA Division I universities in the US on tennis scholarships.

As the singles champion of the US$10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit 1, Venise will receive six WTA computer ranking points and US$1,568 in prize money, while runner-up Arevalo will pocket US$980. Both legs of the circuit are supported by the ITF Grand Slam Development Fund and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Originally down to play in the qualies for this week's US$10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit 2, the win on Sunday had instead earned Venise a maindraw spot where the projected seeds are: (1)Hwang I-Hsuan of Taiwan (No. 504), and (2)Wilawan Choptang of Thailand (No. 518), and (3)Lyoo-Suh Hee-Sun (No. 668). As if by fate, she is scheduled to tee off against the third-seeded Lyoo-Suh in her opening match on Wednesday.

At the meantime, Zhang Ling qualified for the second leg in Manila by defeating Edilyn Balanga-Margate of the Philippines, 7-6(7), 6-1, in round one and then accounting for another local entry, Trudy-Gine Amoranto, 6-1, 6-1. However, she went out in the maindraw's opening round to fifth seed and world No. 715, Pichittra Thongdach, of Thailand in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.

The Bangkok native went out in the first round last week to eventual finalist, Czarina-Mae Arevalo, 7-5, 6-2.

Venise and Zhang Ling also qualified for the women's doubles by beating Ara Micayabas and Aileen Rogan of the Philippines, 4-1, 4-1.

Results
US$10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit 1
Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, Manila, Philippines
November 7-13, 2005

WOMEN'S SINGLES
First Round
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (8)Natasha Khan (GBR) 7-6(5) 2-5 (retired sick)

Second Round
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. Lim Sae-Mi (KOR) 6-1 6-2

Quarterfinals
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (3)Rebecca Fong (GBR) 6-3 6-0

Semifinals
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. (1)Lyoo-Suh Hee-Sun (KOR) 4-6 6-0 6-3

Final
(q)Venise Chan (HKG) d. Czarina-Mae Arevalo (PHI) 6-1 6-4

Results
US$10,000 Holcim/ITF Women's Circuit 2
Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, Manila, Philippines
14-20 November 2005

WOMEN'S SINGLES

First Round
(5)Pichittra Thongdach (THA) d. (q)Zhang Ling (HKG) 6-4 6-2


WOMEN'S DOUBLES

First Round
(1)Hwang I-Hsuan/Wilawan Choptang (TPE/THA) d. (q)Zhang Ling/Venise Chan (HKG) 7-5 6-2


WOMEN'S SINGLES QUALIFYING

First round
Zhang Ling (HKG) d. Edilyn Balanga-Margate (PHI) 7-6(7) 6-1

Qualifying Round
Zhang Ling (HKG) d. Trudy-Gine Amoranto (PHI) 6-1 6-1


WOMEN'S DOUBLES QUALIFYING

Qualifying Round
Zhang Ling/Venise Chan (HKG) d. Ara Micayabas/Aileen Rogan (PHI) 4-1 4-1