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Carol marches into quarterfinals
Carol Lee, seen here going for a backhand return during a local tournament at the Pacific Islands Club hard courts, made it to the quarterfinals of the ITF/CAT North African Circuit 2017 last Wednesday at the Oceanic Club Casablancais in Casablanca, Morocco. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
CNMI junior player Carol Lee remained in contention for the singles title in the ITF/CAT North African Circuit 2017 after beating her second round foe last Wednesday at the Oceanic Club Casablancais in Casablanca, Morocco.
Lee eliminated Algeria’s Lynda Benkaddour after only two sets to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Grade 3 tournament. The Commonwealth player won by 4 points in the opening set, 6-2, and played even better in the second to demolish Benkaddour, 6-0.
With her second straight victory in the 32-player draw, the 16-year-old Lee set a Round of 8 date with No. 1 seed Sina Zuger of Switzerland. The top-ranked player marched into the quarterfinals after easing past Russia’s Maria Dzemeshkevich, 6-1, 6-1. Zuger and Lee were scheduled to duel for a spot in the semifinals of the upper half of the bracket last night (Saipan time) and the result of their game was unavailable at press time.
Pending the outcome of Lee’s match over Zuger, the CNMI junior player has yet to drop a single set in the tournament. She also swept her first round foe, stunning No. 5 seed and world No. 261 Irene Garceran of Spain, 6-2, 6-3, last Tuesday.
Lee, in a message to Saipan Tribune, said Garceran was the finalist in the same tournament last year and although she was nervous in the early stages of their match, she did not let her Spanish opponent intimidate her.
“Even though she was seeded No. 5 and went to the finals last year, it didn’t mean she was the No. 5 in the Grand Slam or something bigger, so I tried to remind myself about that. I was nervous a bit, but at the same time I was confident and I always tell myself that I can do it. I had my game plan and it worked,” Lee said.
After the opening round upset, world No. 353 entered Round 2 even more confident and went on to ease past her Algerian foe.
“The second round was an easier match than the first. I was able to defend her strength which is her forehand, and after I won the first set, I started to play aggressively and attacked her,” Lee said. “Today (yesterday) I will be challenging the No. 1 seed. My plan is the same—hit high depth on her weakness, get one more ball in, play with confidence, be aggressive, and focus on my game.”
