Unranked players stand out

Sean Lee returns to Rintaro Miyawaki during their boys U12 singles game in the 8th Annual TanHoldings Tennis Classic last Friday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan court. (Contributed Photo)

Unseeded Sean Lee stunned the top-ranked Ji Min Woo in the finals, 6-4, 6-2, to clinch the boys U14 singles crown in the 8th Annual TanHoldings Tennis Classic.

Lee was at the bottom half of the eight-player draw and earned his first boys U14 age group crown this season. The lefty swept Rintaro Miyawaki last Friday, 6-0, 6-0, to move into the semifinals against the second-ranked Seung Jin Paik. Lee went on to pull off a 6-4, 6-4 upset over Paik, a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Chris Kim, before catching a bigger fish in the top-ranked Woo after prevailing in their title match yesterday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan court.

Woo barged into the finals after shutting down Daniel Heo and Sam Ryu over the weekend. Ryu made it to the consolation game against Paik, but the latter took the battle for third place, 8-3.

In the boys U12 singles, the unseeded Jae Yun Jung allowed no more than a point to each of his foes to dominate the division. He first blanked Sam Cope, 6-0, and then stunned No. 1 seed Danny Jeoung in the semis, 8-1, to set a finals encounter against the second-ranked Lahun Lam. Jung went on to win his debut in the annual tournament after an easy 6-1 victory over Lam, who entered the finals following a 6-2 triumph over Nason Wessel.

Meanwhile, Daniel Kang and Michael Ren completed the champions list in the boys singles competition of Week 1 of the TanHoldings Tennis Classic.

The top-ranked Ren bagged the boys U16 singles crown after downing No. 1 seed Michael Ren in yesterday’s finals, 7-5, 6-1. Ren moved into the title game following his wins over Andy Cho, 6-0, 6-0, and Sean Lee, 6-1, 6-4, while Ren also swept Allan Lee, 6-1, 6-0, and Vincent Tudela, 7-6 (5), 6-3, to gain a finals entry.

Tudela, which got a semis ticket after eliminating Jeffrey Seo last Saturday, 6-1, 6-0, settled for the third place honors following his 8-1 victory over Sean Lee, who made it to the Final Four after knocking off Woo in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

In the boys U12 singles, there was an upset with Kang winning the finals showdown between the Top 2 seeds in the division. The second-ranked Kang eked out a tough 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory over No. 1 seed Richard Steele yesterday at the Fiesta court.

Kang did not drop a single set en route to his title win as he took the short way to beating Jiwoong Kwon in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-1, and No. 4 seed Seung Won Lee in the semis, 6-4, 6-4. Seung Won booked a Final Four berth after eliminating Andrew Chung, 6-2, 6-3, while Kwon entered the Round of 8 following a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Min Gi Jung at the bottom half of the draw.

At the top half, Steele dominated Isaac Heo in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-2, and edged No. 3 seed Anthony Gregoire in the semis, 6-4, 6-1, to barge into the finals. Gregoire and Heo arranged their duel against Steele after ousting Andy Kim, 3-6, 6-2, 11-9, and Jaehoon Son, 6-4, 6-4, respectively. Gregoire went on to join Kang and Steele in the Top 3 following an 8-3 triumph over Lee in the consolation match.