Lee keeps streak, blanks foe

The CNMI’s Carol Lee is still on a roll, winning her opening match in the 2014 Victorian Junior Grasscourt Championships via shutout.

Fresh from her title conquest in the girls U12 singles event of the 2014 Australia Post Margaret Court Cup last Tuesday, Lee showed no mercy against Chloe Smith in the opening round of the grasscourt tournament yesterday at the Wodonga Tennis Centre in Victoria. The 6-0, 6-0 triumph against Smith was the 11th and 12th set she won in the girls singles play since last Friday. She went 10-0 in the five singles matches in the Margaret Court Cup, including a 6-1, 6-3 stunner against the top-ranked Kelly Gilmour.

Gilmour is in the same tournament and is also the No. 1 seed in the 21-player field. The Australian is at the top half of the draw and plays Imogen Cameron in the second round today after getting a bye in the first round. Lee is still unseeded despite her title win in the tournament in New South Wales last Tuesday and squares off against Naia Guitton of Tahiti in the second round match at the bottom half of the draw today. Guitton also swept her first round foe, Sarah Elise Burke, 6-1, 6-0, to arrange an all-Pacific Oceania ITF Touring Team duel in Round 2.

Lee will start her doubles bid, too today with Australia’s Hana Kim as her partner. The CNMI bet and Kim meet Japanese Mirano Osaki and Honoka Yoshimura in the first round of the doubles events. If Lee and Kim win, the former will have an early collision against his finals rival in New South Wales as the unranked pair would have to challenge the top-seeded duo of Gilmour and Angelina Teakaraanga in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Michael Ren will also see action in the main draw of the boys U12 singles event of Victorian Junior Grasscourt Championships after surviving yesterday’s qualifying tournament. Ren pulled off an upset over No. 2 pick Lucas Enders, 6-2, 6-1, to bag one of the eight qualifying berths in the main draw.

Christopher Cajigan had to compete in a qualifying tournament, too, to earn a ticket to the main draw of the boys U16 singles. He won his first match against Alex Rofe, 6-1, 6-4, and will need only one more win to advance to the tournament proper.

In the doubles, Cajigan is in the main draw and will join forces with Victoria’s Ainsleigh Timms. The unranked pair was scheduled to battle fellow unseeded Graham Hawkins and Krishan Raju in a first round match yesterday afternoon.

Also set for yesterday afternoon was Ren and Patrick Findlay’s opening round doubles tiff against Talen Andrews and Lachlan Graetz in the main draw of the boys U12 age group.