Lee inches closer to finals

Carol Lee, seen here returning a shot during an ITF Juniors event in Guam this year, is in the semifinals of the doubles event of the ITF Waikato-Bays Under 18s Championships in New Zealand. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI’s Carol Lee is a step away from advancing to the finals of the doubles event in the ITF Waikato-Bays Under 18s Championships in New Zealand.

Lee and her partner Ayana Rengiil clinched a semis berth in the doubles competition after sweeping Japan’s Sophie Hamada and New Zealand’s Sophie Michl in their quarterfinal game yesterday at the Waikato Tennis Centre in East Hamilton. The two Pacific Oceania players, who are seeded second in the main draw, cruised to a 6-1 victory in the first set against their unranked opponents and then played even better in the second, 6-0, to move a step closer to a finals stint in the ITF Junior ranking tournament.

Lee and Rengiil will vie for the finals ticket today when they take on the Australian pair of Chiara Di Tommaso and Ivana Popovic. The fifth-ranked Aussies made it to the Final Four and arranged a semis showdown against Lee and Rengiil at the bottom half of the draw after a 6-3, 6-2 upset over the No. 4 seed duo of Shaylee Syme and Caitlin Ward on New Zealand.

The other semis pairing will have top-ranked Kiwis Janvhi Clark and Ashleigh Harvey battling No. 3 Tallulah Farrow and Lisa Mays of Australia. Clark and Harvey barged into the Final Four following a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over sisters Lauren and Paige Alter, also of New Zealand. The Aussies took only two sets, too to beat No. 6 and New Zealand’s Brook Kenny and Holly Stewart, 6-3, 6-4, and move into the next round.

Meanwhile, in the singles event, Lee bowed to No. 9-ranked Popovic. The CNMI netter engaged Popovic in a back-and-forth match in the first set of their quarterfinal duel before losing, 5-7. The Australian went on to complete the sweep with an easier 6-2 win in the second to book a semis ticket opposite the second-seeded Harvey, who outlasted Georgia Townsend, 1-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (3). Mays and Clark will collide in the other semis tiff following their victories over Oleksandra Kalachova, 6-2, 6-3, and Christy Robinson, 6-2, 6-0, respectively.

The tournament in Hamilton is Lee’s second in New Zealand and is tougher than the one she had in Auckland last week.

“Compared to playing in the indoor in Auckland, it’s pretty difficult to play in the outdoor court in Hamilton. The tennis ball changed into head, the ball now is harder, and it bounces and goes fast, so I need to play smarter and take it earlier. The weather in Hamilton is pretty bad, too—more windy. Games are getting harder and harder as the tournament progresses,” the 14-year-old player said.