Twin wins for Schorr

Robbie Schorr goes for a backhand return to Moris Villanueva during the second set of their title game in the men’s open singles division of the 9th Annual TanHoldings Tennis Classic yesterday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan courts. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

CNMI junior player Robbie Schorr had a strong finish in the 9th Annual TanHoldings Tennis Classic as he bagged two more division titles in the final week of the competition.

Schorr, who took the boys U18 singles crown in the opening week, added the men’s open singles and doubles to his collection after prevailing in back-to-back title matches yesterday at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan court. The 15-year-old player first defeated 18-year-old Moris Villanueva, 6-3, 7-6 (2), in their men’s open singles championship match in the morning before Schorr teamed up with Peter Loken in beating Bobby Cruz and Villanueva in the doubles finale in the afternoon, 6-2, 6-4.

Loken and Schorr were seeded first in the doubles and automatically moved to the semifinals. Then in the Final Four, the eventual winners slipped past Guam’s Mason Caldwell and Camden Camacho, 2-6, 6-2, 10-1, to march into the title game. Caldwell and Camacho, before losing to the No. 1 seed pair, came from a tough 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) victory against Saipan’s Steven Goodwin and Vincent Tudela last Friday at the upper half of the draw. At the lower half, the No. 2 seed duo of Cruz and Villanueva made it to the finals after sweeping Tony Kim and Ken Song, 6-3, 6-2.

In the singles play, Schorr was unseeded and qualified to the Final Four after dominating Caldwell, 4-1, 4-2. The Saipan International School student was then pitted against Cruz in the semis and also needed only two sets to win, 6-0, 6-3. Cruz arranged a semis duel against Schorr at the bottom half of the draw following a 4-0 (retired) triumph over Tony Kim.

At the top half of the eight-player draw, the No. 1 seed Villanueva outlasted Camacho, 5-4 (3), 5-3, to make it to the semis opposite Song, a 4-1, 4-0 winner over Tudela. Villanueva then eliminated Song, 6-3, 6-2, for a finals date against Schorr.

Meanwhile, after falling short in the men’s open singles and doubles, Cruz came out victorious in the mixed doubles as he and Isabel Heras survived Villanueva and Malika Miyawaki in an extended finale yesterday afternoon.

Cruz and Heras coasted past their foes in the first set, 6-0, but missed a sweep when Miyawaki and Villanueva labored a 6-3 victory in the second. Then in the super-tiebreak third set, the finalists stood toe-to-toe before Heras and Cruz pulled off a 10-8 win.

The eventual champions moved into the finals after outclassing Conatsu Kaga and Song in the semis, 7-6, 6-0, while Villanueva and Miyawaki also took only two sets to down Tania Tan and Michael Ren in the other Final Four pairing, 6-1, 6-2.