Ramsey takes men’s open championship

In the culmination of the two-weekend 14th Tan Holdings Tennis Classic 2024 last Sunday, NMI National Tennis Team player Colin Ramsey won the men’s open singles championship at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan tennis courts.

Ramsey, who was the No. 2 seed, upset veteran player and No. 1 seed Tomas Abel in two sets, 6-1, 6-1, in their finals matchup.

The 25-year-old Ramsey flew through Week 2 of the tourney that began last Friday with a win over junior netter Ryan Choi, 6-0, 6-0. He then disposed of No. 3 seed David Minsoo Kwon, 6-4, 6-0, last Saturday to punch his ticket into the finals.

Ramsey said of his win, “I felt really solid this tournament. I’m feeling great physically and mentally and it led to a successful tournament for me.” When asked if he’s played against Abel before, he said, “Tomas and I play a few times a week and the matches are usually much closer. I just started strong that day and didn’t let up. Although we battled rain throughout the weekend, the conditions on Sunday couldn’t have been better.”

With that, he said, “I’m very happy we got to squeeze in one more tournament before going to the Davis Cup in Bahrain. That will be the biggest stage I’ve had the privilege to play on.”

In the men’s singles 4.0 division finals, another upset was recorded as No. 2 seed J.R. Jacinto took down No. 1 seed John Casauran in three tough sets, 2-6, 6-3, 10-4.

The men’s singles 3.0 division was won by No. 1 seed Daniel Minsu Kang over No. 2 seed Matt Zhu, 6-3, 6-4.

In the men’s singles 40 division, No. 2 seed George Poquiz had a tough matchup against unseeded Salvador Garrote but won after three sets, 1-6, 6-3, 10-6.

And in the women’s singles 2 division, unseeded Anarin Abad upset No. 2 seed Tina Yeo Kyung Hart, 6-3, 6-4.

Results of the doubles events will be posted in the next issues of Saipan Tribune.

Last Nov. 1-3 was the first week of the tourney which featured the youth.

After the last games on Sunday, an awards ceremony was held at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan to award all winners from both weekends.

Sponsors of the event were ASC Trust, Mobil, D&Q Distributors, Quality Distributors, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, National Park Service, AMS, iShop, Century Insurance, CTSI Logistics, TakeCare, and TBC.

The classic had a yearlong hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and made a return in 2021.