Abel wins first-ever men’s open title

Thomas Abel won his first career men’s open title after overcoming No. 1 seed Colin Ramsey in the finals of the 12th TanHoldings Tennis Classic last Sunday at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan tennis courts.

The 44-year-old former tennis player at California State University in Los Angeles beat the defending champion and CNMI national player in a very competitive and highly entertaining match, 6-4, 2-6, 10-6.

Abel, who was born in Slovakia, joked that he finally figured out the wind and that’s why he won the finals against Ramsey.

“I practice with Colin a lot and he’s a great tennis player with very few weaknesses, so the main strategy is to keep the ball in play and hope for an opening that I could attack from. Fortunately, it worked out this time, but the conditions were challenging for both of us.”

Abel said winning his first-ever men’s open championship on Saipan—against an opponent he lost in the finals in many occasions—was great but what made it sweeter is he entered the tournament as the third seed.

“It’s a good feeling, of course. In any given tournament, I would say anyone from the seeded players can beat anyone else on a given day. Higher seeds carry higher expectations with them, so that can sometimes add pressure. Someone once said that pressure is only for tires, so I remind myself of that often.”

The championship is also a culmination of Abel’s personal renaissance in the sport.

“I started when I was 4 years old, played throughout high school, college, and then some challenger and satellite tournaments on the mainland. I only played sporadically in the last decade, and only restarted more seriously in the CNMI, thanks to the wonderful tennis community here.”

He then dedicated his TanHoldings men’s open championship to his family, friends, and other tennis players on island.

“My dad was the person who got me started in tennis when I was very young. I also want to dedicate this to all the players here in Saipan who have found time to practice with me—Colin, Bobby [Cruz), LaHunn [Lam], Jun [Wang], Carol [Lee], Sean [Lee], Moris [Villanueva], and everyone else.”

Abel, who also lived in Hawaii and California before calling Saipan home, advanced to the finals after defeating another CNMI national tennis player, Nason Wessel, 6-1, 6-1. Before that he beat national team alternate Simon Tang, 6-2, 6-1.

Ramsey edged Kevin Wang, 6-4, 7-5, in the second round following a bye in the first. He then took care of boys 18 champion and fourth seed David Kwon, 6-1, 6-4, in the semis.

In the men’s singles 3.0, Jacky Chen overcame the challenge of Daniel Kang, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to win the championship. Chen advanced to the semis with a 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 tightrope win against Haoyang Song, while Kang made the finals following a 7-5, 6-6 (retired) win over Chris Zhu.

In the men’s open doubles, national team members Wessel and June Yu went undefeated in two matches to claim the title. They first rallied to beat Seungwoo “Henry” Choi and Jonathan Jackson, 2-6, 6-0, 10-7, before winning it all following a masterful 6-4, 7-5 win over Ramsey and Jun Wang. Ramsey’s original partner, Moris Villanueva, was a late scratch.

Bong Gamab and Ed Javier reigned supreme in the men’s doubles 4.0 after beating Marlon Bercilla and J.R. Jacinto via walkover and Wataru Kodakura and David Kwon, 6-1, 6-4.

Results of the other men’s divisions and men’s age group division as well as the entire women’s division will be published in tomorrow’s issue of Saipan Tribune.

The 12th TanHoldings Classic would like to thank the following sponsors of the tournament: Grand Slam Sponsors Quality Distributor of Guam, Mobil Oil Marianas, ASC Trust, and TSL Foundation; Match Point Sponsors IT&E, D&Q, and Shirley’s Guam, Ace Sponsors Alliance Metal Specialties and IShop; Advantage Sponsors Take Care and Tsang Brothers, and in-kind sponsors McDonalds of Guam & Saipan, All-Star dba Boarderline Athlete’s Foot, and Marpac.