Netters get mixed fortunes in draw

The four CNMI junior tennis players competing in the 2012 Australia Post Margaret Court Cup had mixed fortunes in their first tournament in Australia this year.

Thea Minor and Tammy Ackerman made it to the main draw of their respective events, while Christian Miller and Rafael Jones must go through qualifying tournaments before advancing to the main field. The qualifying games at the Albury Tennis Courts in Albury, New South Wales, will be played on Thursday, while matches in the main draw will run from Jan. 6 to 10.

Minor is entered in both the girls U16 singles and doubles. She will collide with Australia’s Sarah Mitchell in the first round of the singles contest, which features 16 players.

In the doubles event, only five pairs made the list, including Minor and teammate Annie Shannon of Fiji. Minor and Shannon will first face Australia’s Marta Brzozowska and Lauren Smileski and then meet Alesi Molotii of Tuvalu and Lorish Puluspene of Papua New Guinea in the second round. Next up for Minor and Shannon is the Australian pair of Priscilla Dawson and Julia Stutsel and the last one is the tandem of New Caledonia’s Assaya Trimari and Australia’s Isabella Spring. The pair with the most wins after the round-robin competition takes the U16 doubles crown.

Ackerman will also compete in both singles and doubles events in the U12 age group. Her opening round assignment in the singles draw is against the host’s Jasmin Ruby Starr. Ackerman will be battling the U12 singles title against 30 other players.

In the doubles event, 12-year-old Ackerman will join forces with Australia’s Mercy Jane Eze and they will play against the Australian duo of Jenae Anne Bangweni and Jaslyn Zoe Skilbeck in the first round. Sixteen teams are entered in the U12 doubles.

The boys U16 singles has spots for 32 players and Miller will be fighting for one of the eight remaining tickets. Miller is at the bottom half of the 64-player qualifying draw and must win three games to make it to the main draw. His first match will be against Australia’s Lachlan Anthony Shrimpton. If Miller survives the first round, he will collide against No. 8 seed Dominic Marquis.

In the boys U16 doubles, Miller and teammate Heve Kelly of Tahiti are in the main draw and they will duel Australia’s Cameron Cole and Nathan Ponton in the first round.

In the tougher men’s open singles field, Jones is at the top half of the 64-player qualifying draw and will go up against Conrad Lim of Australia in the first round. Jones will need a string of wins to advance to the main draw. In the men’s doubles, he and partner Chris Hargrove are in the main draw and will be pitted against brothers Jack and Jamie Swindells.

Jones, Miller, Ackerman, and Minor are in Australia as members of the Oceania ITF Touring Team. They left Saipan Sunday morning and arrived in Melbourne yesterday afternoon. From Melbourne, they will travel to Albury to attend a two-day camp before competing in their first event in the Land Down Under.

Then from Albury, the group will head to Wodonga for the 2011 Victoria Junior Grasscourt Championships that will run from Jan. 11 to 15. The CNMI junior netters will then return to Melbourne to watch a couple of games in the 2012 Australian Open.