Lee wins two titles in Guam tennis tourney

Vivian Lee hardly showed rustiness in the 3rd Annual Quality Cup Tennis Tournament held in two weekends at the Hilton Tennis Courts in Guam.

Lee had a seven-month layoff having played her last tournament in February in New Zealand. But despite a long break, she managed to claim two division titles in the tournament organized by the Tennis Academy of Guam.

In the first weekend of the tournament (Oct. 18-19), Lee competed in the girls’ 18-and-under singles and topped the event after beating Pacific Oceania Junior Championship veteran Alea Dugan of Guam in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

Lee drew a bye in the opening round and advanced to the finals after downing Ayuri Sugahara, 6-3, 6-2.

Dugan earned a title match with Lee after prevailing over Terea Tapu, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Last weekend, Lee along with two other junior players from Saipan, returned to Guam for the second week of the annual tournament.

Lee played in the women’s open division and took her second title after defeating Tapu in the finals, also in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Lee reasserted her mastery over Sugahara winning their semifinals match in the women’s open, 6-4, 7-5. Tapu advanced to the finals after slipping past April Flores, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

“It’s nice to be back,” said Lee in an interview with the Saipan Tribune Monday night after a scrimmage at the Hyatt tennis courts.

“Surprisingly, I did not have a hard time playing in Guam despite a long layoff. Though the weather was really hot and I played two games around 1pm, I was able to survive and win,” added Lee, who thanked Jerry Tan for supporting her trip to Guam.

After her tournament in New Zealand, Lee spent the rest of the month having scrimmages at Hyatt.

“I played with different types of players to keep my form. But still, it’s different when you are regularly participating in tournaments. Hopefully I will have two more before the year ends,” the 16-year-old netter said.

Lee said she is hoping to play in a Junior ITF-sanctioned event either in the Philippines or Indonesia next month. She added she is also looking forward to play in Japan in December.

With these two tournaments, Lee is hoping to get back to the ITF Junior Rankings.

“I used to rank in the 900s in the ITF Junior Rankings in 2006, but when I stopped playing in 2007, I lost my ranking,” the Grace Christian Academy 11th grader said.

“Hopefully I get to earn points from these tournaments and get back to the Junior ITF rankings,” Lee said.