Montgomery leads Week 1 winners

 Todd Montgomery did not drop a single set in Week 1 of the 3rd Annual Tan Holdings Tennis Classic to win the men’s open singles division of the annual competition for the first time.

Montgomery, who missed the first two editions of the Tan Holdings Classic, clinched the men’s open singles crown after sweeping Bobby Cruz in the finals yesterday at the AMP tennis court, 6-3, 6-2. The men’s open championship featured teammates who represented the CNMI to the 2010 Micronesian Games in Palau and netters who almost played the same game.
“Bobby and I both love to hit the ball flat, so it was a bit hard to match up with a player who plays like me,” said Montgomery, adding that playing in a regular tournament at the rehabilitated court at AMP was also tough.

“The surface is so fast, so what I did was be consistent with my serves so I can get many points,” Montgomery said.

The many-time CNMI National Team member advanced to the finals after beating youth netter Rafael Jones in the semis last Saturday, 6-1, 6-2. Montgomery also notched a straight set win over Jeff Belzer in the first round, 6-1, 6-1, while Jones prevailed over fellow junior netter Thea Minor, 6-4, 6-4.

In the lower half of the nine-player draw, Bobby Cruz defeated Daniel Lim in the first round, 6-4, 6-4, and then topped Amami Sakano in the semis, 6-0, 6-0, to march into the finals. Sakano barged into the semis after despite a 4-6 first set loss to Jeff Race, who retired in the second set with the scored in a deadlock, 4-4, due to an injury.

Joining Montgomery in the winners list in the singles division of the Week 1 of Tan Holdings Classic were Thea Minor, Jake Lee, Moris Villanueva, and Alina Ishikawa.

Lee downed fellow junior player Carl Dela Cruz, 6-0, 6-2, in the men’s 4,0 singles finals. Lee slipped past Guam’s Peter Lai, 6-3, 6-2, to arrange a title duel against Dela Cruz, who eliminated John Kang, 6-3, 3-6, 10-7. Villanueva took the men’s 3.0 crown after thumping Kazu Shintani in the title game, 6-1, 6-1. Villanueva won in the semis against Randero Romulo, 6-0, 6-0, while Shintani stunned top seed Dylan Ackerman in the other semis pairing, 7-6, 6-4.

Ishikawa needed three sets to thwart Isabel Heras in the women’s 3.0 singles, 6-2, 3-6, 10-6. Heras barged into the finals after a 6-3, 6-2 semis win over Adele Hudkins, while Ishikawa triumphed against Vickie Izuka in the other semis pairing, 6-0, 6-1.

In the women’s 5.0 singles, Thea Minor booked two wins to take the championship. She defeated Mikayla Lopez last Saturday, 6-2, 6-0, and Tammy Ackerman (walkover) last Saturday.

Two other women’s singles games were played yesterday, but results were unavailable at press time. In the women’s 3.0, Lydia Tan was scheduled to duel Cleofe Santos, while Carol Lee and Nina Engelhardt were slated to battle for the 4.0 crown.

Results of the two remaining women’s singles title games and the mixed doubles events will be published in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday edition.