CNMI netters bow out of Guam Open

The May-September tandem of Chuck Sayon and Nicolas Son represented the CNMI in the 5th Annual Guam International Tennis Open, but bowed out before the weekend was through.

The tournament is being held at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa.

Sayon and Son planed in from Saipan Friday and immediately saw action. With the buzz from the 45-minute flight still lingering in their heads, the duo put up a fight but couldn’t pull off a win, losing 4-6, 3-6 against Bill Camacho and Benjamin Dunn in the men’s doubles 5.0.

Son also saw action in the men’s 5.0 singles but lost in the quarterfinals against former Pacific Oceania Davis Cup player Lency Tenai, 1-6, 0-6.

Tanai holds the Pacific Oceania record for most total wins and doubles wins and he currently is the tennis pro at Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, working under Tennis Academy of Guam.

Other men’s singles 5.0 results saw Justin Dugan defeat Bill Camacho, 6-4, 6-2; Wendell Roden beat Benjamin Dunn, 6-2, 7-5; and Shozo Nishiguchi take out Jay Cruz, 6-1, 6-1.

Action in the men’s 4.5 singles saw Alex Penafiel defeat Peter Lai, 6-4, 6-4; Jan Rudolph win over Jeff Bristol, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5; Sam Lai beat Tae Heon Kim, 6-2, 6-2; and Jimmy Tsang thump William Koo, 6-0, 6-3.

Men’s 3.0 singles had Ian Batherson over Stanley Rice, 6-4, 6-0; Kazuya Shintani outclass Landon Nadler, 6-0, 7-5; and Jose Gallego eke out a 6-4, 6-4 victory Masahiro Hayashi.

Men’s 2.0 singles, meanwhile, had Christian Penafiel defeat Evan Hizon, 6-0, 6-0; Adrien de Thoisy beat Alfred Chan, 6-2, 7-6 (2); Corey Morrison fashion out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over Blake Bristol; Krisnan Penafiel exact a 6-1, 6-0 win over William Lee.

Matches were also played in the men’s 35+ singles, women’s 3.0 singles, women’s 2.0 singles, men’s 5.0 doubles, men’s 4.5 doubles, men’s 35+ doubles, women’s 3.0 doubles, women’s 2.0 doubles, mixed 5.0 doubles, mixed 4.5 doubles, and mixed 3.0 doubles.

This year’s tournament is in preparation for the hosting of a professional level tournament that will feature an invitational 16-Player Males Singles Challenge and an 8-Team Doubles Draw. The goal of the Guam International Tennis Open is to become a points-earning professional level tournament.

Confirmed players for the singles Challenge include Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke, currently ranked No. 197 in the world. Just a little over a year ago, Udomchoke was ranked No. 77 in the world. Udomchoke played in all four tennis grand slam events in 2007, including advancing to the third round of the Australian Open losing to the 2008 champion in four sets. His doubles rank is No. 289 in the world.