Quan looks forward to more challenges

After becoming the first tennis player from the CNMI to win a tournament in Australia last month, 18-year-old Tim Quan is setting his sights on the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games.

Although the make-up of the team has yet to be finalized, it appears that the Hawaii Preparatory Academy student is a shoe-in for one of the six slots to Palau following his recent triumph.

“I am definitely looking forward to playing in the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games in Palau,” Quan told Saipan Tribune through an email.

The soft-spoken six-footer said his two-week stint playing against high-caliber competition, as part of the International Tennis Federation-Pacific Oceania 18 & Under touring team, has definitely improved his game.

“I was really happy and excited to go on the tour. The biggest thing I got out of the Australia trip was playing against all those talented players. The players were all good and I got to play with some of the best. They were very talented and from their talent, I got better,” he said.

It also marked the first time Quan played on a grass but the new surface didn’t really bother the youth netter and he simply treated it as a new challenge.

“In the end, it felt really good because the players I beat have been playing on grass and it was my first and maybe last experience to play on grass. I just tried to play consistent and won the big points,” he said.

As an added bonus, members of the tour also got to attend the 2005 Australian Open and Quan related it was an unforgettable experience seeing the likes of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Taylor Dent, Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsey Davenport, and Tim Henman in person.

He also found a better appreciation of his island roots by spending two weeks with fellow teenagers from the Pacific.

“My teammates were really friendly and talented. We were all kind of living a similar lifestyle, being that we were all from the Pacific. We got along right from the start. I had already known some of them, when I went to Fiji,” he said.

Johnson Taliki of Solomon Islands, Willence Seymour of Nauru, Daneric Hazelman of Fiji, and Sione Mu’amoholeva of Tonga joined Quan in the men’s team.

The women’s team, meanwhile, was made up of Shantel Tavita of Samoa, Jackie Lahari of Papua New Guinea, and Tavu Fa of Fiji.

He also thanked the Aussie families that so graciously hosted them in Melbourne.

“Most of all I really enjoyed living with the local families. I got to experience their culture and learn many things about them,” he said.

Quan and his teammates’ campaign in the Land Down Under also generated a lot of press for the little island nations that dot the South Pacific, as the squad was featured in the sports section of several newspapers.

For the record, Quan capped his succesful stint in Australia by capturing the Wodonga Classic last Jan. 15

He didn’t drop a set en route to the topping the boys’ 18-and-under championship of the tournament.

Quan 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.

Following his extraordinary performance, Quan was offered a full scholarship at a college in the mainland.

Quan is the grandson of Joeten. His father is the late Sidney Quan and his mother is Priscila Tenorio. Joseph Guzman serves as a dotting stepfather.