“Peter and I have had a lot of memorable matches. In this one I was glad that I got off to a great start. From the first ball until I was up 5-0, 40-0 in the first set, I think I only had one unforced error. Peter was able to come back in that game with a couple of good serves and win it. Then he broke me and he was playing better, gaining momentum while I began missing a few,” said Race in an email to Marianas Variety.
Race said he tried to focus on winning individual points and tried to let them pile up into a game to close a set.
“When he [Peter] served at 2-5 I tried to be aggressive and get to the net to put the pressure on him. He hit a really good low passing shot crosscourt that just ticked the top of the net. That made it several times more difficult to play, but fortunately I managed to pull out this incredible reflex volley for an angle winner,” Race added.
It was the shot of the match for Race.
He acknowledged Loyola as a “great” competitor saying not many players down 0-5, 0-40 are working so hard to stage a comeback. Loyola, he said, never gives up as he plays every point as hard as he can regardless of the score.
Race eliminated Raffy Jones, 6-3, 6-3 and Loyola defeated Bobby Cruz, 6-1, 6-3 to face each other in the finals round. Both players downed Peter Loken and Lope Padilla to claim the men’s open doubles title two weeks ago.
In the second set, despite Race taking the first set, Loyola maintained his momentum to go up 2-0.
According to Race, game three was really closely fought as both players went back to deuce several times.
When Race broke Loyola in the next game, he felt like the momentum was shifting back to him.
“I was thinking during these games what I tell my students — ‘You’ve got to ride the rollercoaster,’ — meaning in tennis you usually have ups and downs throughout a match. When you’re on the downside the only way to go back up again is to stay positive, keep fighting and play one point at a time,” said Race.
Variety learned that Loyola had an injury that worsened as the game wore on.
Race, meanwhile, gained confidence on his forehand, especially on the return. “I tried to keep serving well and getting to the net, while keeping my unforced errors as low as possible. Sometimes that’s tough against Peter because he hits a lot of big looping balls to the backhand corner that are difficult to keep in play.”
But Race persevered to get most of them back and run out several games in a row to win the match.
Boys 15-and-under division champion Christian Miller topped an eight-player pool in the men’s 4.0 singles division, beating Daniel Park, 6-3, 6-2. Amami Sakano fell victim to Miller’s winning streak, losing, 7-5, 6-4 in the semifinals. Arthur Boromeo met the same fate with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 loss.
Carl Dela Cruz ruled the men’s 3.0 singles division with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Dylan Ackerman in the finals round. Thea Minor dominated the women’s open singles category after beating Mikayla Lopez, 6-0, 6-2 and women’s open doubles finalist Lydia Tan, 6-0, 6-1. Tammy Ackerman edged Carol Lee, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to win the women’s 3.0 singles finals.
The tournament organizers would like to thank the following sponsors: Pacific Islands Club-Saipan, Pacific Trading Company, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, Capricciosa, Tony Romas, and PIC Boutiki.
