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Heo now ranked 1,425 in juniors
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Posted on Jul 02 2008
The good news: Ji Hoon Heo is now ranked 1,425 in the International Tennis Federation junior rankings.
The bad news: The CNMI wunderkind is still being bothered by an ankle injury he sustained in a tournament in New Caledonia last week.
It was the primary reason he lost his second round singles match in the Air Pacific South Pacific Open Junior Championships 2008 Monday.
The 16-year-old Marianas High School student got a bye in the first round and won the first set against New Zealand’s Ari Davis in the second round at the Dr. Robin Mitchell Tennis Centre in Lautoka, Fiji.
However, his mobility was limited by an ankle sprain and Davis was smart enough to capitalize on the injury to win the next two sets and the game in a score of 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Davis is number 1,484 in the ITF junior rankings.
Heo blamed the loss on the injury.
“I’m still injured in my ankle and I can’t play properly but I played anyways. I lost in the second round against Ari Davis in three sets. I could have beaten him so easily but my ankle couldn’t support me very well in the second and third sets.”
For now, Heo would have to satisfy himself with the thought that he now has an ITF ranking and can now play in more ITF tournaments and could get more consideration in the main draw.
While he lost in singles, Heo is still pretty much alive in the doubles division, where he and partner William O’Connor of Fiji advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over the Kiwi pair of Davis and Niehana Randall.
Heo and O’Connell’s next assignment will be a third round match against another New Zealand tandem, Sam Barr and Stuard Robertson. Barr and Robertson come into the match ranked 802 and 737, respectively. O’Connell, meanwhile, is listed at No. 1,588 in the ITF junior rankings.
“We will be playing our doubles today (Wednesday) at 3pm. My ankle is not healed up but I am better off playing doubles for now. I wish I hadn’t sprained my ankle. But everything’s fine. If I win my doubles today, I will be getting more points so hopefully I’ll win.”
The Air Pacific South Pacific Open Junior Championships 2008 began last Monday, June 30, and runs until this Saturday, July 5.
