Thursday, March 27, 2008 Siso questions calls in loss to Malaysian foe
AFTER a booming start, Sally Mae Siso faltered in the second day of the International Tennis Federation Asian Under-14 Tennis Championships yesterday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The headstrong 13-year-old squandered her toiling under the scorching Indonesian heat for more than three hours as she eventually bowed to Malaysia’s Adelle Boey, 6-4, 2-6, 4-6 to even her win-loss slate to 1-1.
The game, which started at 10 a.m., wrapped up at 1:30 in the afternoon. The heat and her frustration caused Siso to be edgy.
Siso, known even during her younger years as a serious player, started off strongly as she took the first set, 6-4. However, calls from the umpires, which Siso felt were unfair, made her lose her concentration to eventually hand over the match to her Malaysian foe.
Disappointment
Unlike her past losses, which Siso took in stride, yesterday, she could not contain her disappointment as she felt the calls from the umpires were against her.
“Several times, when I was about to take a game, the umpire will call my shots out,” Siso said to her mother Sally.
Boey is a top-rated player of Malaysia and her win was a long-delayed revenge after Siso defeated Boey in last year’s Under-14 series which was held in Manila. Boey was the top-seeded player and Siso was ranked fourth.
Price
The other day, Siso and doubles partner Shanine Olivarez defeated Boey and partner Theviya Selvarajoo in the doubles competition. And yesterday, Boey redeemed herself but it came at a high price.
After playing for long hours, with each point completed approximately five minutes each, Boey fainted and suffered a high fever after the match.
“Luoy kaayo si Adelle na sun stroke,” Siso said.
Siso will still be playing one more game today as well as her teammate Olivarez in the girls division and Arjohn dela Cruz, Enrique Ferrer and Dheo Talatayod. (MCB)
