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3 jr. players to join Aussie tourneys
From left, Carol, Sean, Anne, and Dong Min Lee pose for a photo during a break in their training session last week at Kanoa Resort. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Siblings Carol and Sean Lee and Conatsu Kaga will bring their acts to Australia as they compete in junior tournaments in the Land Down Under.
Carol will be joining the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open (Juniors) in Melbourne and the AGL Loy Yang Traralgon Junior International G1, while Sean and Kaga will be participating in the Margaret Court Cup in Albury and the Victorian Grass Court Championships in Wodonga. Kaga and Sean left Saipan for Melbourne last Monday and are scheduled to travel to Albury in New South Wales today in time for the team event of the Margaret Court Cup, which will begin tomorrow. The individual play will run from Jan. 5 to 9 with both Sean and Kaga entered in the U14 age group.
From NSW, the two CNMI players will head to Wodonga in Victoria for the Victorian Grass Court Championships, which will be held from Jan. 10 to 13. Then on Jan. 14, Kaga and Sean will return to Melbourne to watch games in the Australian Open before heading home on Jan. 17.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and I will do my best to get as many wins as I can in the tournament. I would love to play against the junior players in Australia and New Zealand,” Sean told Saipan Tribune in an interview last week during a break in his training session at Kanoa Resort.
As for his older sister, Carol, the world No. 212 will try again to make it to the main draw of the Australian Open (Juniors) after falling short in her bid last month in China.
The 16-year-old Carol only made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2018 Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off Tournament in Zhuhai and despite missing a wild card entry to the first Junior Grand Slam event of the year under the ITF Juniors Circuit, she was thankful for the chance to play in the competition in China.
“The Australian Wild Card Play-Off was a good experience for me. I lost in the quarters against a junior player who only competed in the pro circuit and I’m actually lucky to play against her. Of course, it was difficult to win a wild card to the main draw of the Aussie Open juniors, but I fought for it and tried my best so I’m happy with that. There were a lot of tough players out there but I kept my confidence high,” said Carol, who returned to Saipan after the tournament in Australia and trained here for weeks.
She will be flying to Melbourne this Friday, together with her father Dong Min Lee, who will act as the Commonwealth player’s coach and chaperon.
“I am proud to see two of my children going off-island to compete in very challenging tournaments. I am sure they will do well because they’ve been training hard for the competitions,” said Dong Min.
Before the qualifier for the Australian Open, which will take place from Jan. 17 to 18, Carol will first play in the AGL Loy Yang Traralgon Junior International that will start on Jan. 13. Competition in the main draw for the Australian Open will run from Jan. 20 to 27 at the Melbourne Park.
