Rai survives Elliot in extended finale

Aditya Rai, left, and Jamin Elliot shake hands after their title match in the boys U12 singles event of the 6th Tan Holdings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan tennis courts. (Contributed Photo)

Rai drew first blood in the finale, notching a 6-3 win in the opening set, but failed to close out the title match early when Elliot came back swinging and escaping with a 6-4 triumph. In the deciding third set, the finalists went back-and-forth with Rai prevailing in the end, 7-5, to rule the nine-player field.

The boys U12 title showdown pitted the second-ranked player in the draw in Rai against the upset-minded Elliot, who stunned the No. 1 seed and 2012 U10 singles champion Sean Lee in the quarterfinals last Saturday, 6-1, 6-4. Before eliminating Lee, Elliot also won his first match in the tournament via straight sets against Daniel Kang last Friday, 6-2, 6-1.

With two victories under his belt, Elliot earned a semis date with Ji Min Woo, who drew a bye in the first round and advanced to the Final Four after ousting Allan Lee, 6-1, 6-3. Elliot went on to bag his third consecutive win in the opening week of the annual tournament after booting out Woo in the upper bracket semifinals, 6-4, 7-5.

In the lower bracket semis, Rai also took only two sets to top Eugene Park, 6-4, 6-2. Rai made it to the semis after defeating Brian Kim, 6-2, 6-1, while Park advanced following his hard-earned victory over Jeffrey Seo, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

With his loss to Rai in the Final Four, Park dropped to the loser’s bracket where the latter also fell to Woo in the battle for third place, 4-8. Three other consolation matches were scheduled last Sunday with Sean Lee settling for fifth place after beating Seo, 11-9, and Kim landing at seventh with his victory via default against Allan Lee. Allan Lee later showed up in his match versus Kang, who clinched the eighth spot after recording an 8-3 victory last Sunday.

Meanwhile, after falling short in his title bid in the boys U12 singles, Woo hit his target in the boys U10 singles.

Woo ruled the youngest age group contest after downing Kang in the finals, 8-3. Woo marched into the finals following an 8-1 win over Jae Yun Jun, who made it to the semis after a 8-2 victory over Anthony Gregoire in the upper half of the bracket.

In the lower half, Kang drew a bye in the first round and then eliminated Eu Bin Park, 8-3, to set a finals date with Woo. Eun Bin Park earlier edged Seung Jun Paek, 8-5, to arrange a semis duel against Kang.