La Hunn salvages singles win vs. Turkmenistan

The CNMI did a better job against fellow unranked Turkmenistan in Group C of the Junior Davis Cup after La Hunn Lam won his singles match and Nason Wessel and June Yu dragged their doubles match into a tiebreak last Tuesday at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association in Colombo.

Wessel, the CNMI’s No. 2, was again the first to play and after being blanked in the opening set made a game of it against Selim Chagylov before ultimately losing, 0-6, 4-6, in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Lam, the CNMI’s No. 1, fortunately equalized the tie when he beat Imran Ahundov, 6-4, 7-6, in a protracted match that lasted a little over 2 hours.

Wessel and Yu then gave it the old college try in the doubles before yielding the tiebreaker, 0-6, 6-3, 10-4, in an hour and 11 minutes.

CNMI national coach Colin Ramsey said the tie against Turkmenistan could’ve gone either way as evidenced by the 2-1 result, but the breaks didn’t go their way.

“Tough, tough loss the other day that could have sent us into the playoff for ninth-16th place. Instead, we’re fighting for 17th-24th since we finished third in our pool of three. La Hunn had a great triumph in his singles match that took every ounce of his energy,” he said.

Overall, he believes the team is adjusting very quickly to the clay surface and discovering more about their individual game styles and trying new tactics that eventually will win them a greater percentage of points.

“We’ve had lots of little triumphs during the past few days that are being emphasized rather than the shortcomings. There is obviously lots to work on when we return and this tournament will serve as a great source to draw on and build lessons around. One thing that can’t be taught however is experience at these bigger events. We’ve only just begun to dip our toes into the world of high-level competition and we are here to stay.”

Ramsey said the CNMI’s maiden entry into the Junior Davis Cup would not have been possible without all the success that the CNMI has had in the past.

“All the thanks go out to all the players whose love for the game helped pave the way to these higher-level competitions. It can only serve to raise the level of tennis on our islands. It’s an honor to be a part of the journey.”

Last Monday, the CNMI made its much-anticipated debut in the Junior Davis Cup but got a rude welcome from Lebanon as they got swept, 3-0.

Playing against ranked junior players, Wessel was drubbed by world No. 1,901 Rami Saouli, 6-2, 6-0.

Lam did much better against world No. 1,205 Zahi Farhat but ultimately lost, 6-1, 6-3.

In the dead doubles match, Wessel and Yu dropped a 1-6, 1-6 game against Saouli and MD Georges El Mallah.

Ramsey said the CNMI being outclassed by third seed Lebanon shows how much a gap the Commonwealth needs to make up against the tennis powers in the Asia/Pacific region. “It was a tough day. I didn’t know but those boys [from Lebanon] had junior world rankings. It really shows us how far behind we are in the early development stages of the kids,” he said.