Gregoire gets first U12 singles title

Anthony Gregoire attempts a return from the baseline during his boys U12 title match against Jacob Jackson in the 9th Annual TanHoldings Tennis Classic yesterday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Anthony Gregoire won the battle of the Top 2 seeds in the boys U12 singles finals in the 9th Annual TanHoldings Tennis Classic after outclassing Jacob Jackson, 7-5, 7-5, yesterday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan courts.

Gregoire was seeded second in the 11-player draw and did not drop a single set en route to winning his first boys U12 singles championship. He drew a bye in the opening round of the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association’s first tournament for the 2017-2018 season and then swept Akash Rai in the quarterfinals to march into the semis. Rai moved into the Round of 8 after ousting Ru Ma Lee, 6-0, 6-0.

In the Final Four, Gregoire was paired against Jonny Jackson, a 6-0, 6-1 victor over La Hun Lam. Lam, before losing to Jonny, eliminated Jun Cheol Hwang, 6-2, 5-7, 10-8. Jonny was eventually booted out, too, as Gregoire foiled a family affair in the championship game after posting another straight set win, 6-2, 6-4, at the lower half of the draw.

At the upper half, the No. 1 seed Jacob also registered two victories via two sets to set up a final showdown against Gregoire. Jacob first topped Nason Wessel, 6-1, 6-1, and then defeated No. 4 David Kwon, 6-2, 6-1. Wessel made it to the quarterfinals against Jacob after dominating Alvin Bang, 6-1, 6-1, while Kwon marched into the Final Four following his victory over Brandon Lee, 6-1, 6-0. Kwon ended up joining Jacob and Gregoire in the Top 3 after beating Jonny in the consolation game, 8-4.

Meanwhile, No. 4 seed Hye Jin Elliot stunned No. 2 Anika Camacho in the girls U12 finals, 6-1, 6-0.

Elliot earlier eliminated top-ranked J.C. Ferrer in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-0, to book the first finals ticket. Ferrer barged into the Final Four following a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Serin Chung, while Elliot shut down Jin Hee Hoo, 6-0, 6-0, in the other quarterfinal pairing at the top half of the draw.

At the bottom half, Camacho eased past Hoo Wang, 6-0, 6-1, to set up a semis duel against No. 3 Helen Kim—a 6-4, 6-2 winner versus Dana Lee. Camacho went on to oust Kim, 6-2, 6-3, before her streak ended in the finals after losing to Elliot.

Eight other events (doubles and singles) were played in the opening week of the TanHoldings-sponsored tournament and results of the remaining games will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Tuesday and Wednesday editions.