Grind out finals matches in Verizon Cup

The Saipan Tennis Association took advantage of what little break in the bad weather Thursday and scrambled to conclude the finals of the men’s 4.5 and 3.0 in the ongoing 2nd Verizon Cup at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

The combustible duo of Lope Padilla and Nicolas Son showed how dominating they are once they control their emotions, as they went all the way in the men’s 4.5, toasting the championship after turning back tourney surprise Peter Loyola and Hector Gutierrez.

But Loyola and Gutierrez didn’t give the trophy to the May-September tandem on a silver platter. In fact, Padilla and Son were on the ropes and appeared vulnerable when the former sued for time after rolling his foot and getting an apparent sprain at 4-4 in the opening set.

Loyola and Gutierrez, however, failed to capitalize on the situation as Gutierrez lost his serve and then in the next game, Padilla and Son closed them out to win the first set.

In the second, Padilla and Son raised their game to another level, immediately breaking their opponents’ serve and went on to win the set handily and took the finals 7-5, 6-2.

“We played pretty consistently from the opening round to the finals. It was also a matter of getting the breaks. Nick [Son] and I complement each other well. I’m a serve-and-volley player, while he is great baseliner. It worked out well for us this tournament,” said Padilla.

For his part, the 15-year-old Son said that in the finals, he and Padilla tried to offset Loyola’s speed and Gutierrez’s all-around court savvy by mixing up their shots.

Padilla seconded Son’s remarks and said that drop shots were the order of the day against Loyola and Gutierrez. He also said that the victory was made sweeter by the fact that he had to overcome an injury to win the championship.

Padilla is still not off the hook yet, as he is also seeing action in the men’s open finals, this time pairing with Loyola as they face tourney top seeds Faheem Ebrahim and Roy Pangelinan.

Ebrahim and Pangelinan encountered a bit of rough sailing in their semifinals match against open newcomers Richard Asuncion and Buddy Garote before winning 6-4, 6-3.

In the men’s 3.0, Father Ryan Jimenez and Beltau Toshi also got to celebrate after rallying to a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 triumph over hyperactive Babu Malayil and sharp Noel Manalang.

It was a fairytale ending for Jimenez and Toshi, as they took the championship following an upset of top seeds Richard Brostrom and Gary Ramsey in the second round. The duo also got a big break when they advanced to the finals without even sweating it when semis opponents Doy Ligan and Audwin Mocorro of Tinian failed to show up.

Singles and mixed doubles play get underway this weekend with categories in the men’s 5.0, men’s 4.0, men’s 3.0, women’s 4.0, women’s 3.0, women’s 2.0, mixed doubles 5.0, mixed doubles 4.0, and mixed doubles 3.0.

Sponsor Verizon has committed $1,000 in cash and about $2,000 worth of cellular phones, phone cards, t-shirts, caps, and other merchandize to STA for the tournament.

For more information on the 2nd Verizon Cup please call Roy Pangelinan at 256-7769, Nelia Luna at 288-5151/287-0859, Agnes Salazar at 287-0858, Richard Asuncion at 287-0856, Babu Malayil at 286-9745, or Lope Padilla at 286-9733. Those interested can also e-mail STA at saipan_tennis@yahoo.com.