Champions crowned in Verizon Cup

The 2004 Verizon Tennis Cup, hosted by Saipan Tennis Association, is coming to an end with champions being crowned left and right.

Four champions stood out from the rest last Friday after topping their respective divisions at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Taking the spotlight again was top seed Faheem Ebrahim, who outclassed second seed Tim Quan in the Men’s Singles 5.0 finale.

Ebrahim was dominant from the start and set the tone of things to come by jumping out to an early lead. He wounded up controlling the entire set and quickly handed Quan a one-set deficit with a 6-1 win.

Quan, however, was not ready to just give in without a fight and began to put up a stronger resistance in the second set, but Ebrahim’s tactics were just too much to handle. Ebrahim went on to secure the championship with a 6-4 win.

For their part, the dynamic duo of Roy Pangelinan and young gun Kanani Ashraf completed their successful run in the Mixed Doubles 5.0 with a hard-earned victory over Nelia Luna and Peter Loyola.

Pangelinan and Ashraf got off on the right foot and were cruising in the first set en route to a 6-2 win. They, however, had a tougher draw in the second set as Luna and Loyola remained poised and showed they deserve a shot at the crown by fighting back and shifting momentum to their corner.

Luna and Loyola were finally locating their shots where they wanted them to be and took advantage of several unforced errors to force a third and decisive set with a 6-3 win.

Determined not to fall short of their goal, Pangelinan and Ashraf regrouped and unleashed a furious charge that was unmatched to take the coveted crown, 6-2.

Ashraf also found success in the Mixed Doubles 4.0 as she and father Dr. Mohammad Ashraf sizzled for a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Cleofe Santos and Ronnie Lacbayo.

Also crowned on top of their class were Ligaya Paculanang and Marlon Estigoy, who, like Pangelinan and Ashraf, were taken to the limit but still finished on top, defeating Agnes Salazar and Babu Malayil in the Mixed Doubles 3.0.

Paculanang and Estigoy simply ran all over their opponents in the opening set, powering their way to a lopsided 6-0 win.

Their impressive run would end there as Salazar and Malayil countered with a strong surge in the second set. The combo would rise to the occasion and level the match with a 6-2 win.

The tandem of Paculanang and Estigoy, however, would prove to be the better of the two for the day as they pulled off just enough tricks from their bag to close the tourney as champions, 6-1.

Other action from Friday included Mike Roberts slipping past Ed Casing in the Men’s Singles 3.0 semifinals, earning a right to face Malayil in the championship bout, which was scheduled to take place yesterday.

Roberts’ win came in dramatic fashion as he bounced back from a 1-6 first set loss and fought hard in the second set for a nail-biting 7-6 (8-6) win.

He continued to work relentlessly and staved off a respectable fight from Casing to earn his finale ticket, 7-5.