SOME of the island’s top players emerged victorious in the finals of the 2022 TSL CNMI Junior Tennis Tournament at American Memorial Park on Sunday.
In the boys singles-18 category, Ji Min Woo bulldozed his way to the top with ease. In the semifinals, he displayed control and speed to dominate Andy Kim, 6-2, 6-1.
Jun Wang, for his part, reached the finals by beating Isaac Heo, 6-0, 6-3.
In the title match, Woo’s ability to change speed and deliver a variety of returns overwhelmed Wang who went down in defeat, 1-6, 2-6.
B16
In the boys singles-16 category, David Kwon swept Jesse Sablan in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-0, but faced a tougher opponent, Cody Shimizu, in the semifinals.
It was a fairly even match at the start with both players exchanging leads.
Kwon’s clutch plays, however, allowed him to clinch first-set victory, 7-5.
But Shimizu was not going down easily as he fought back in the second set which he won, 6-4, to force a final set.
It was back-and-forth action in the third set, but in the end, Kwon managed to outhustle Shimizu to win their match, 10-6, and advance to the final round where he faced Simon Tang.
Against Tang, Kwon played steadily to win both sets 6-4, 6-3 and take home the title.
Winners, too
Also winning their matches were Henry Choi who defeated June Yu, 6-7(4), 7-5, 10-7 for the BS14 title; Ryan Choi who bested Ian Chae, 6-3, 6-2 for the BS12 title; and Jinho Cody Park who took down Minjoon Michael Jeon, 6-3, for the BS10 title.
In the girls’ division, Hye Jin Elliot outplayed Serin Chung 6-1, 6-4 to claim the GS18 title; Irin Chung dismantled Hoo Wang, 6-1, 6-0 for the GS14 title; and Jenna Pascual powered past Vivian Chung, 6-1, for the GS10 title.
David Kwon connects the overhand serve during a TSL CNMI Junior Tennis Tournament game on Sunday at American Memorial Park.
Simon Tang makes the adjustment for the return during a TSL CNMI Junior Tennis Tournament game on Sunday at American Memorial Park.
