Jones off to Junior ITF tourney

CNMI tennis player Rafael Jones left for Fiji yesterday to participate in his first Junior ITF tournament.

Jones will be debuting in the Air Pacific South Pacific Open Junior Championships, which will be played at the Dr. Robin Mitchell Regional Tennis Centre in Lautoka from June 26 to July 3.

The Commonwealth’s junior netter is entered in the main draw of the boys U18 singles, earning a slot on the Grade 4 event after topping the 2011 North Pacific Qualifying Tournament in Guam last week. A Grade 4 tournament awards 40 Junior ITF ranking points to the champion, 30 to runner-up, 20 to semifinalists, 15 to quarterfinalists, and 10 to losers in the Round of 16.

If Jones makes it to the Round of 16, he will be the second CNMI netter to gain Junior ITF ranking points. Ji Hoon Heo was the first one after winning a tournament in New Caledonia and then the same event Jones will be competing in.

The 16-year-old Jones is grateful for the opportunity to compete in Fiji where he will be facing tough junior players from New Zealand, Australia, other Oceania Tennis Federation-member nations, and Asia.

“I am a little nervous, but I won’t let that stop me from playing my A game and hopefully I’ll be able to earn some points out of that tournament,” Jones said in an email to Saipan Tribune.

In the Fiji tournament, Jones is one of the five players without ranking points. Australia’s Jay Adrijic and New Zealand’s Cameron Norrie are the Top 2 ranked players in the field of 34, holding the No. 304 and 350 spots in the Junior ITF rankings, respectively. Players from Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Great Britain, and Uzbekistan are also entered in the Grade 4 event.

After the Junior ITF event, Jones will be staying in Fiji for a month to train and prepare for the 2011 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships, which will run from Aug. 8 to 12.

“My goal is to finish in the Top 8 of the POJC so that I may advance to the next tournament, the Oceania Closed Junior Championship, which also awards ranking points,” Jones said.

For the POJC, Jones will be playing for the North Pacific Team and will be joined by nine other CNMI netters, four from Guam, and two each from Palau and the Federates States of Micronesia. Jones and company will try to defend their championship against the West and East squads.