Port Moody’s Ho caps week with junior singles tennis crown
Sophia Ho wrapped up a perfect week, claiming her first singles International Tennis Federation Junior Circuit title on Saturday at Panorama Recreation Centre.
Ho, of Port Moody, defeated Jessie Gong of Richmond 6-3, 6-3 to take the girls’ crown. She had already claimed the doubles’ title with partner Risa Fukutoku, of Japan, as they defeated Ashleigh Jacobs and Karin Hamilton of Alberta in two sets on Friday.
Ho, the No. 3 seed, broke No. 2 Gong four times in the second set Saturday to put an exclamation mark on the week in the inaugural Panorama International Junior ITF Championship.
“I think that was the difference, but I tried to just really focus on myself and not her and just do my best,” said Ho, who also toppled her doubles partner and No. 1 seed Fukutoku 6-1, 6-4 in the semi-finals on Friday.
“It was a good week. I think I played pretty well. This is my first ITF win, so that’s pretty good,” added Ho, who turns 16 next month and will now play more ITF events in Central America in the next two weeks .
Gong downed Jacobs, the No. 4 seed and a fellow Canadian, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals. She had also won the Victoria International Junior Tennis Tournament at Panorama in October.
“My serve was not on today and that’s usually one of my strengths so that kind of made the difference,” said Gong, 17. “It was a good week though. I got to the finals, so that’s not bad.”
After losing the first set, Gong double-faulted to start the second and then missed an easy overhead smash, catching the tape of the net as Ho broke her in Game 1. Gong rebounded to take a 2-1 games lead, but doublefaulted yet again at deuce in the pivotal fifth game to fall behind 2-3.
Ho went on to take a commanding 5-2 lead on yet another service break before Gong broke back and rebounded from a 15-40 deficit in the deciding game, only to lose it at 45-40 to cap the 90-minute long match.
In junior boys play, R.J. Fresen of New Jersey defeated Joshua Lapadat of London, Ont., 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
Fresen is the the son of former world top 10 women’s player Kathy Horvath. He breezed by Vancouver’s Raul Dobai in the semi-finals, 6-1, 6-0, while Lapadat defeated No. 4 seed Stefan Leustian of Sacramento in the other by 6-1, 6-4 counts.
Neither boys finalist was seeded coming into the event, which attracted 85 juniors from around the globe competing in singles and doubles,
In boys doubles, Leustian and American partner Milledge Cossu defeated Toi Kobayashi of Japan and Theodore McDonald of Seattle in two sets.