Carol misses finals bid

Upset marked the semifinal round of the singles event in the 2019 Oceania Closed Junior Championships with the CNMI’s Carol Lee and Australia’s Natasha Russell losing to their lower-ranked opponents yesterday at the International Tennis Federation Regional Training Center in Lautoka, Fiji.

The No. 1 seed Lee was defeated by No. 3 Talia Gibson of Australia, while No. 7 Amy Stevens topped Russell, who is seeded second in the main draw. Lee, who was seeking a return trip to the finals, moved a set away from doing so when she eked out a 7-6 (5) win over Gibson in the first set. However, the Australian countered in the second set with a 6-4 triumph and completed the upset in the deciding third, 6-2, to oust Lee and set up a title showdown against Stevens.

The other semis game was also played in three sets with Stevens pulling off a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3 victory. Stevens and Gibson will dispute the singles championship today with the latter aiming for her third straight title in a little over a month.

Before coming to Fiji, the 15-year-old Gibson won two tournaments in Australia. Her latest was the Mapei Gold Coast Junior International in Gold Coast last July 21 and incidentally, the finals victory was against Russell, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-5. Gibson also competed in the Rod Laver Queensland Junior Championships in Brisbane and defeated Malaysia’s Sara Nayar in their title game last month, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0. Both events in Australia were Grade 4, while the Oceania Closed is ranked higher at Grade 2.

In the doubles event, there was no upset in the semis at the upper half of the bracket, as No. 1 seed Roopa Bains and Russell downed No. 3 Stevens and Lara Walker, 6-3, 1-6, 10-5. Bains and Russell will vie for the division title against the duo of Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Elena Micic, who won the battle of unranked teams at the lower half of the draw after prevailing against Catherine Aulia and Vivian Yang, 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.

In the boys doubles finals, it will be No. 1 seed Cihan Akay and Nikita Volonski against No. 8 Tai Sach and Matthew Shearer. Akay is also in the championship game in singles and the No. 3 seed will challenge No. 2 Stefan Storch.

Meanwhile, after bowing out of competition in the Oceania Closed, Lee will head to New South Wales, Australia to play in another high-ranking event—the Grade 2 Australian Winter International.

In the Aussie tournament, Lee will be meeting several players that also competed in Fiji. The main draw will also feature players from Japan, New Zealand, and Malaysia.