Ebrahim wins as CIC Tennis Classic wraps up

Faheem Ebrahim’s win over youth netter Tim Quan in the men’s open finals Friday night at the American Memorial Park tennis courts served as a fitting conclusion to this year’s Century Insurance Co. Tennis Classic.

The Club Elan manager had trouble figuring out Quan’s game in the opening set and also fell into a maze of errors before taking it. That was after the 6’1” Pacific Oceania Junior Championship qualifier went down 0-3 in the first.

In the second set, Ebrahim finally found his stride and had his mystery man solved going up 4-0 before the 16-year-old Hawaii Preparatory Academy student held serve.

But it was too little, too late for the serve-and-volleying Quan, as the Hong Kong-born-and-raised tennis ace closed out the match by winning the next two games to hoist the championship trophy 6-4, 6-1.

“It was my first time to play against Tim [Quan] so it took me time to get a feel of his game and make the proper adjustments. It also didn’t help that I felt tired early in the game and I was making all those mistakes on the court,” said Ebrahim.

Always the teacher, Ebrahim said that his opponent would need to work more on his consistency and confidence. He said Quan was playing well when he managed to match Ebrahim point for point in the first set, but seemed to lose his focus after going down by a big margin in the second.

In other finals played Friday, Bacolod City, Philippines’ pride Dodong Espanola defeated Elmer Guzman 6-1, 6-1 to win the men’s 4.0 title.

The Commonwealth Health Center nurse pelted the opposite court with forehand winners and deftly placed slice shots to beat the Pacific Security Alarm account executive and former FILATA president.

Guzman barged into the finals after eliminating Tony Santos 6-2, 4-6, 4-1 (retired) Thursday.

Three men’s finals were also played Thursday with Hector Benitez winning the men’s 3.0, Rolly Samson taking home the title in the 2.0 division, and Buddy Garote proving equal to the task in the men’s 4.5.

Benitez fell into Babu Malayil’s trap in the opening set but changed strategies in the next two to win 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. After letting Malayil dictate the pace in the first, Benitez took the fight to the 38-year-old Indian national in the second and third sets to win the championship.

Samson, meanwhile, had a far easier time in dispatching Yesman Gurung 6-4, 6-1 to top the beginner’s division.

Richard Asuncion didn’t know what hit him in his finals match against Garote, as the Star Water employee used his blinding speed and accurate drop shots to win 6-4, 7-5.

In the women’s division, Mayuko Arriola continued her comeback from last month’s shocking loss in the North Pacific Qualifying Tennis Tournament by besting Joy Minor for the 4.0 championship 6-0, 6-4 Thursday.

“I didn’t had trouble in the first set but my opponent [Minor] made a game of it in the second so I really had to work for it to earn the win,” she said.

Ayumi Suzuki then took the women’s 3.0 crown after dropping Rose Pedersen in straight sets in the finals held Friday. The match took a long time to conclude that FILATA went ahead with the awarding ceremonies before it ended.

The week’s upset special happened in the mixed open doubles final as Boyet Minor and Yuko Kobayashi surprised the No. 1 seeded team of Young and Daniel Son 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 Thursday.

Daniel was so frustrated with his play that evening that he broke his $200 racquet after a missed shot. He, however, said that the equipment has a warranty and he’ll just get a new racquet.

There was no such drama in the mixed doubles 4.0 finals also held the same day. Edwin Maratas and Nelia Luna played to their potential in dismissing the brother-and-sister tandem of Reo and Mayuko Arriola 6-4, 6-3.

In the awards banquet held immediately after the Ebrahim-Quan match – and during the Suzuki-Pederson game – FILATA president Eli Buenvantura thanked CIC for again agreeing to sponsor the tournament.

CIC general manager Nel Matanguihan, meanwhile, congratulated all the winners of the tournament and said that the company will continue to help FILATA in promoting tennis on the island.