Tim Quan wins in Australia

The CNMI’s very own Tim Quan made his home islands proud by winning the Wodonga Classic last Jan. 15 in Melborne, Australia.

Quan, who was part of the International Tennis Federation-Pacific Oceania 18 & Under touring team that had a two-week training stint in the Land Down Under, didn’t drop a set en route to the topping the boys’ 18-and-under championship of the tournament.

He opened his campaign with a difficult 6-5 (6-4), 6-2 win in the first round. He followed that up with another squeaker, advancing to the finals with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph in the semifinal round.

In the finals, Quan finally found his stride and won the championship in shutout fashion, 6-0, 6-0.

Also selected to the men’s team, which played five events over two weeks in Australia, were Johnson Taliki of Solomon Islands, Willence Seymour of Nauru, Daneric Hazelman of Fiji, and Sione Mu’amoholeva of Tonga.

Seeing action for the women’s team were Shantel Tavita of Samoa, Jackie Lahari of Papua New Guinea, and Tavu Fa of Fiji.

Last Dec. 31, Quan along with the seven other junior players from Pacific Oceania arrived in Melbourne and met up with ITF-Pacific Oceania official Dan O’Connell.

O’Connell didn’t waste time and immediately put the youth netters to the test and had them play in the Patsie Guthrie Cup.

In the next couple of weeks the Elite 8 saw action in the Shepparton Ducts Tournament, the Margaret Court Cup Team Event, the four-day Albury Tournament, and the Alburt Tournament, before finally wrapping up their Australia trip with the Wadonga Tournament.

The eight players then got the thrill of their young lifetimes when they attended the 2005 Australian Open.

“The Australian Open was a lot of fun, I saw so many players that are in the Top 10. The tour (International Tennis Federation-Pacific Oceania 18 & Under touring team) was also a lot of fun,” Quan said in an email to longtime coach Jeff Race.

The ITF and the Oceania Tennis Federation bankrolled the two-week trip of the ITF-Pacific Oceania 18 & Under touring team to Australia.

Quan is the son of Sidney Tenorio and Priscila Tenorio and is also the grandson of Joeten.

The 17-year-old high school student from Hawaii Preparatory Academy first showed his skill and savvy on the tennis court in the North Pacific Qualifying Tennis Tournament held last July on Saipan, where he finished second to Guam’s Dean Dedicatoria in the boys’ 18-and-under division.

He again proved his mettle during the 2004 ITF Pacific Oceania Junior Tennis Championships and 2004 Air Pacific Oceania Closed Junior Tennis Championships, both held in Lautoka, Fiji, two months later in August.