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Lee still in contention in ITF Juniors event
Carol Lee gestures after making it to the semis of the singles event in the Open Junior BNP PARIBAS de Nouvelle-Caledonie in Noumea, New Caledonia, yesterday. (Oceania Tennis Federation)
The CNMI’s Carol Lee is still in the hunt for both the singles and doubles championships in the Open Junior BNP PARIBAS de Nouvelle-Caledonie in Noumea, New Caledonia.
She is in the semifinals of the girls U18 singles and in the quarterfinals of the doubles contest with Palau’s Ayana Rengiil.
The 14-year-old Lee, who is playing in the ITF Juniors ranking event as part of the Pacific Oceania Touring Team, made it to the Final Four of the singles event after winning her first two matches at the lower half of the draw. She first swept Australia’s Chiara Di Tommaso last Wednesday, 6-1, 6-1, and then had another straight set victory against the sixth-ranked Janvhi Clark, also of Australia, yesterday, 6-2, 6-0 to set up a Final Four showdown opposite Madison Bishop.
Bishop, the No. 5 seed in the main draw and another Land Down Under bet, moved into the semis after eliminating Japan’s Mayu Tezuka, 6-2, 6-2, and Rengiiil, 6-1, 7-6 (2), in the lower bracket matches.
At the upper half of the main draw, it will be No. 1 seed Lisa Mays of Australia against her compatriot Sheila Cliffe. Mays barged into the semis after ousting Japan’s Otoha Aoki, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, and Singapore’s Ashley Yim, 7-5, 6-2, while Cliffe joined the former to the Final Four after knocking out the Solomon Islands’ Georjemah Row, 6-2, 6-1, and fellow Australian Holly Stewart, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The Final Four in the singles division will be played today.
In the doubles, the second-ranked Lee and Rengiil drew a bye in the opening round and will be paired against Stewart and Ivy McLean in the quarterfinals, which will also start today.
Joining Lee and Rengiil in the Round of 8 were the CNMI’s Isabel Heras and Tania Tan, who defeated Australia’s Luciana Kunkel and Mia Katharina Savio yesterday, 7-6 (4), 6-3. The two Commonwealth bets will next face the third-seeded Bishop and Clark at upper half of the bracket.
