Tenai dominates Guam International Tennis Open

Former Pacific Oceania Davis Cup player Lency Tenai won the men’s open singles as well as the men’s doubles open of last weekend’s 5th Annual Guam International Tennis Open.

Playing at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, where he work as the tennis instructor under the Tennis Academy of Guam, Tenai won the men’ singles championship after handily beating Shozo Nishiguchi, 6-2, 6-2, in the finals held last May 25.

Tenai earlier teamed up with Ken Klocke to win the men’s doubles open, upending the tandem of Bill Camacho and Benjamin Dunn, 6-3, 6-2.

Camacho and Dunn were the same pair that defeated CNMI netters Chuck Sayon and Nicolas Son in the first round of the competition, 6-4, 6-3.

Tanai holds the Pacific Oceania record for most total wins and doubles wins. In six straight years that he represented the islanders in the Davis Cup, the 40-year-old netter from Solomon Islands compiled a 27-21 win-loss record, including 16-15 in doubles matches.

He saw action in a total of 29 Davis Cup ties for Pacific Oceania.

In other men’s championship matches in the singles division, Alexis Penafiel topped the men’s singles 4.5 after outlasting Sam Lai in three hard-fought sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; Jose Gallego defeated Ian Batherson, 3-6-7-5, retired, to win the men’s 3.0; Christian Penafiel beat Cory Morrison, 6-1, 6-4, to claim the men’s 2.0 title; and Shozo Nishiguchi scored a 6-1, 6-3 win over Craig Tsuda to win the men’s 35-and-over.

In the women’s category, Yumika Sugahara won the women’s open championship following a clinical 6-1, 6-0 victory over Terea Tapu; Melycel Penafiel scored a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (1) win over Aki Shintani to win the women’s 3.0; Arlie Bonto bested Alina Bonto to take home the women’s 2.0 tiara; and Rosanna Castro upended Peggy Paulino, 6-3, 6-3, to win the women’s 35-and-over.

Champions in the doubles competition, include Peter and David Lai (men’s 4.5), Nagagaki and Tan (men’s 3.0), Hawes and Smith (men’s 35-and-over), Catherine De Thoisy and Sandy Klocke (women’s 4.0), Sumikura and Doi (women’s 3.0), Sugahara and Dugan (mixed 5.0), Stadler and Cepeda (mixed 4.5), Cepeda and Wong (mixed 2.0), and Wyatt and Kastura (mixed 35-and-over).

Organizers of the 5th Annual Guam International Tennis Open earlier said that 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.