Christian outlasts Rafael in Fall Classic

Christian Miller defeated Rafael Jones in the finals of the boys’ 14-and-under yesterday at the conclusion of the 2008 Fall Classic Junior Tennis Championships.

Best friends off the court, but competitive rivals on it, Miller and Jones treated the 20 or so tennis enthusiasts that watched the game at the American Memorial Park with a nip-and-tuck match that saw the latter race to a 2-0 lead.

Miller, however, quickly came back by holding serve and breaking Jones in the next two games to knot the count at 2-2.

Both players held serve the next eight games before Miller and Jones exchanged break of service games to make it 6-6.

Jones was plagued by a couple of double faults that prevented him from opening up a more comfortable lead, while Miller stuck to the baseline waiting for his opponent’s missteps.

Miller was the aggressor in the 13th game, holding serve easily as Jones found the net in more than several occasions.

With Jones serving, Miller relied on his consistent baseline shots and didn’t flinch when the latter charged the net.

After taking the first point in what turned out to be the final game, Jones played catch up the rest of the way.

Leading 40-30, Miller hit the ball hard and Jones failed to make a successful return when the ball nipped the top of the net anew delivering the championship to his fellow 2008 Pacific Oceania Junior Championship campaigner.

Miller, whose win upped his championship record against Jones to 3-1, said overall he was happy with his effort in the finals.

“My serves were more than an advantage to me. My first serves were coming in more consistently and my backhand was definitely better. I think he (Jones) could’ve played his approach shots better,” said Miller, who dedicated the win to his grandfather who died recently.

For his part, Jones took the loss in stride and vowed to improve on parts of his game to become a better player.

“My baseline game was pretty good but not my net play. I think I need to work more on my volleys. If I’m going to go up the net I should make a better attacking shot. [I should] make a move so when he returns it I should have enough time to get ready and hit that volley,” he said.

While he lost, Jones said he couldn’t be happier for his best friend Miller.

“I wouldn’t really call him an enemy I just call him a friend because we usually spend a lot of time with each other off the court,” he said.

Miller advanced to the finals after topping Jake Lee, 8-4. Jones, for his part, had a rougher road to the finals, needing a 9-7 score to oust Lucas Nutting.

Three other division finals were settled yesterday at the American Memorial Park tennis courts with the result of the championship match in the girls’ 10-and-under between Tammy Ackerman and Emily Jones still not available as of press time.

Tinian tennis sensation Benjie Decena won the boys’ 18-and-under after beating Woo Suk Chang in the finals Sunday, 8-2.

Both players cruised to the championship with Decena recording an 8-2 win over Joseph Jang, while Chang was more impressive following an 8-0 blanking of Nathan Nutting.

In the girls’ 18-and-under, POJC veteran Thea Minor was head and shoulders above the competition, winning the compass draw-format competition after beating sister Thecel (8-2) and Jodel Fernandez (8-1).

Ilia Corella, for her part, went undefeated in the girls’ 14-and-under, while Kennedy Izuka topped the boys’ 10-and-under after beating Dylan Ackerman, 6-4, in a closely contested finals.

The awards banquet of the Tan Holdings Corp.-sponsored tournament was held last night at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan. The three-day competition was organized by the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association.