The 15-year-old netter survived Rafael Jones in her last match yesterday, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the boys 18-and-under singles finals at American Memorial Park.
“I thought to myself, this day was the day for revenge. When I was down 5-1 in the second set I thought I lost everything,” she told Variety after her three-hour match.
The win was a major turn around for Minor, who lost to Jones in the men’s open category last week. Earlier in May, Jones took the upper hand during their boys 18U showdown in the 30th Annual DFS Junior Tennis Championships.
Even Rafael’s brother, Angelo, had no luck against Minor and fell, 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Minor downed Amami Sakano, 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday to climb to the championship. Rafael Jones eliminated Jake Lee, 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 on Friday and defeated Primo Po, 6-0, 6-0 to meet Minor.
Meanwhile, Minor claimed her first boys 18U doubles title with partner Christian Miller. The duo edged Eda Seiya and Chris Cajigan, 6-3, 6-4 in the finals round and Justin Poon and Choi Jihoon, 6-1, 6-0 during the semis.
Minor and Miller was one of three teams to draw a bye in the quarterfinals while Seiya and Cajigan cruised past Colin Ramsey and Morris Villanueva, 6-4, 6-1. The finalists stayed alive after a 7-5, 2-6, 10-5 win versus Daniel Park and Jake Lee.
The boys division isn’t new to Minor, who’s been clashing with the opposite sex since she was 10 years old. Doing so improves her skill level according to tournament director Bobby Cruz.
In the boys 15U singles finals, Morris Villanueva outran Carl Dela Cruz, 6-4, 6-3. Villanueva drew a bye before beating Tommy Choi in the quarterfinals and Chris Cajigan (6-4, 7-6, 7-2) in the semis. Dela Cruz routed Aaron Lee, 6-1, 6-3 and Seiya, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 before reaching Villanueva.
Thea’s sister Theecel Minor topped the girls 18U singles division after winning a round robin series versus Yumi Ito and Alina Ishikawa. Minor defeated both netters, 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-3, respectively.
In the girls 15U doubles division, Carol Lee and Mikayla Lopez triumphed over Negahr Rastguiy and Tammy Ackerman and Isabel Heras and Julia Ishikawa. The Heras-Ishikawa duo notched one win to settle for first runner-up.
In the girls 15U singles finals, Lopez rallied to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Negahr Rastguiy. Lopez had earlier ousted Emily Jones, 6-0, 6-2 while Rastguiy defeated Tammy Ackerman via default.
Joining the champions’ circle were Vincent Tudela and Eda Haruya (boys 10U doubles), Michael Ren (boys 12U singles), Cole Chambers (boys 10U singles), Tania Tan and Ami Tsukagashi (girls 12U doubles), and Carol Lee (girls 12U singles).
Tan also ruled an eight-player field in the girls 10U singles division. She defeated Malika Miyawaki, 8-2 in the finals.
