Lee still perfect in Jr. Davis Cup

Sean Lee, seen here getting ready to return a shot during a local tournament, won his second doubles match in the Junior Davis Cup qualifier last Tuesday in Sri Lanka. (Contributed Photo)

Sean Lee continues to impress in his first appearance in the Junior Davis Cup, as he got another straight set victory in the Asia/Oceania Pre-Qualifying Event last Tuesday in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The CNMI player had a different doubles partner in Vanuatu’s Clement Mainguy, but showed the same dominance that led to their 6-2, 6-1 win over Turkmenistan’s Allanur Dayanjov and Serdar Vepamyrarov. Last Monday, Lee teamed up with Tahiti’s Manovai Elie and they also swept Cambodia’s Chaya Chhieu and Samnang Nel, 6-1, 6-2, to complete Pacific Oceania’s 3-0 triumph in their first pool play assignment in Group A.

Pacific Oceania went on to complete the elimination with a perfect 6-0 record, as Elie and Mainguy also won their respective singles matches against Turkmenistan’s bets. Elie played in the first singles game and topped Amir Bashimov, 7-5, 6-2, while Mainguy crushed Vepamyrarov, 6-0, 6-0.

With its unbeaten record, the No. 1 seed Pacific Oceania advanced to the playoff round and is likely to face Group C and No. 3 seed Lebanon in the quarterfinals. Lebanon lost to Singapore in the opener, 1-2, but avoided elimination after a 3-0 triumph over Saudi Arabia last Saturday.

In other results, Syria went 2-0 to march into the quarterfinals, leaving Vietnam and Bangladesh to dispute the remaining playoff berth in Group B. In Group D, Malaysia also had a 2-0 record (pending results of yesterday’s game against host Sri Lanka) to make it to the next round. Sri Lanka swept its first two assignments (versus Oman and Bahrain) and will dispute the No. 1 ranking in their group against Malaysia.

The two remaining squads after the single-elimination playoffs will earn tickets to the 2019 Asia/Oceania Qualifying Finals.

In the Junior Fed Cup, Pacific Oceania also barged into the playoff round after sweeping pool play, following a 3-0 win over Qatar in Group B. The Solomon Islands’ Zorika Morgan and Fiji’s Saoirse Breen defeated Dana Mohammed Al Mudahka, 6-2, 6-2, and Taima Zoheir Hassiba, 6-0, 6-2, respectively, to give Pacific Oceania the sure win. Breen also played in the doubles with Samoa’s Eleanor Schuster and they overwhelmed Al Mudahka and Hassiba, 6-1, 6-0, to hand Pacific Oceania a 6-0 mark after the elimination round.

Pacific Oceania’s foe in the first round of the playoffs has yet to be determined, as some teams were still playing their last pool play games yesterday and results of their matches were unavailable as off press time.