Miller dethrones Jones in boys U18

 Christian Miller won his very first 18-and-under title of the CNMI Junior Tennis Championships after outlasting defending champion Rafael Jones in a three-set finals last Sunday at the American Memorial Park.

With the scorching midday sun baking the Garapan public courts, Miller ended Jones’ reign with a 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Jones actually rallied to take the first set, holding serve and breaking Miller’s to win the last two games and force a tiebreak.

In one or two occasions in the first set, a visibly frustrated Miller was so upset with himself for letting a golden opportunity slip away that he slammed his racquet on the court.

He, however, recovered his cool and in the process sharpened his game in the second set to dominate Jones.

The defending champion was visibly spent after the opening set, as he took longer than usual breaks in between points and used his large towel to try and shield himself from the unforgiving rays of the sun.

Jones battled back in the third and deciding set, but a fresher and more composed Miller eventually won out and took the championship.

It was a morale-boosting win for the Saipan Southern High School student, who took a month-long sabbatical from tennis last year to concentrate on his studies.

Aside from the championship trophy, Miller also had his name etched in the CNMI Junior Tennis Championships perpetual trophy as the 2012 champion of the boys 18-and-under singles.

Miller barged into the finals after skunking Amami Sakano, 6-0, 6-0, in the semis. Before that he didn’t even lift a finger in his opening round assignment as he won via walkover against Primo Po.

Jones had a relatively more difficult road to the finals, as the Saipan International School student beat Hunter Thorpe, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round before defeating Jake Lee, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the championship round.

Also winning championships in Week 2 of the boys singles event were Christian Cajigan, Alex Park, and Robbie Schorr.

Cajigan topped the boys 15-and-under singles division after defeating Carl Dela Cruz, 6-3, 6-3. He advanced to the finals with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Tommy Choi.

Dela Cruz, meanwhile, got into the championship round following a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Seiya Ada.

Park, for his part, annexed the boys 12-and-under crown with a hard-earned 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win against Luther Lizama.

He also needed three sets to make it to the championship round after outlasting Vincent Tudela, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2.

Lizama, on the other hand, barged into the finals with an easier 6-2, 6-4 triumph against Clayton Izuka.

Schorr, meantime, captured the boys 10-and-under title following his 9-8, 7-4 win over Ken Song. Schorr and Song reached the finals with wins over Haruya Eda (8-6) and Joshua Abracean (9-7), respectively.

Results of the girls singles and boys and girls doubles will be published in the Saipan Tribune later this week.

The 2012 CNMI Junior Tennis Championships was organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association with Angelo Jones serving as tournament director.

The top finishers in the season-ending youth tourney will get ranking points. These points will be compiled by NMITA and will help determine the CNMI’s representatives to the 2012 North Pacific Qualifying Tournament in Guam in June.

The Top 5 players in the ranking list in the U15 and U12 age groups and Top 4 in the U18 will earn slots on the team.