Three players – Daania Daniella Hazli of Malaysia, Korea’s Shin Jaejun and Gao Ruochen of China – are chasing the double at the J30 Phnom Penh tennis championships at the Morodok Tennis Centre.
Daania, who won the girl’s singles title today, will be gunning for the girl’s doubles title as well.
Both Jaejun and Ruochen will be up against each other in the finals of both the boy’s singles and doubles.
Phnom Penh has turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Daania.
Less than a week after clinching the Tep Kunnah Memorial Cup, the 15-year-old is a winner again. She cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over China’s Zijie Yang in the girl’s singles final.
“Winning back to back title feels incredible. it’s always special to win a tournament, but doing it two weeks in a row gives me a lot of confidence. It shows that the work I’ve been putting in is paying off, and it motivates me to keep pushing,” said Daania, who will next represent Malaysia at the SEA Games in Thailand.
With an exception to a slight hiccup in the quarter-finals, top seeded Daania’s path to the title has been spotless. Ironically every single of her opponent at the tournament has been against Chinese players.
After receiving a bye in the opening round, she crushed Chen Qingan 6-2, 6-0 before overcoming a first set deficit to beat Yuan Shiqing 6-7 (5) 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
She bounced back with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Qu Mingxi in the semi-finals.
“I think the key today was staying composed in the important moments. I trusted my game plan and stayed aggressive when it mattered. I felt physically strong and mentally sharp, and that made the difference,” said Daania after her singles win.
The victory at the J30 Phnom Penh is her third title of the season, having also won the J30 Surabaya earlier this year.
”Phnom Penh has been amazing for me. The atmosphere and the support have been great, and the tournament was very well organised. I’d definitely love to come back for future events,” said Daania.
Daania had won the J30 last weekend, defeating Singapore’s Chanya Kai Ning in the final.
They paired up in the girl’s doubles competition, and were stretched to the limits by China’s third seeded Hanyu Wang-Zijie Yang before prevailing 0-6, 6-4, 10-7.
The scratch pair will take on the Korean-Chinese pairing of Park Ha-An-Zican Yang in the final tomorrow.
Jaejun won a grand double at the Tep Kunnah Memorial Cup last weekend and is poised for another double tomorrow.
“I hope to repeat by winning both titles this week. But I know is not going to be easy,” said Jaejun.
Seeded fourth, the 15-year-old Korean picked up a clinical 6-2, 6-0 semi-final win over second seeded Joachim Mika Gunawan of Indonesia in the semi-final.
His opponent, top seed Ruochen, did not play last week, but was equally impressive in his 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Koo Bon Hong of Korea. The Korean third seed had lost to Jaejun in the final last week.
Ruochen will be looking add to the J30 Macao title he won earlier this year.
“I think I’m a little nervous because he (Ruochen) will be the first left-handed player I am playing in this Cambodian competition in the past two weeks,” said Jaejun.
Bon Hong can still go back from the tournament with a title as he and Jaejun will feature in the doubles final.
Jaejun-Bon Hong, who won the Tep Kunnah Memorial Cup last weekend, impressed in their semi-final defeat of China’s Run Ze Shi-Fanyu Zhao (Chn). Their 6-4, 6-1 victory has earned them a final appearance against top seeded Ruochen-Joachim.
Ruochen-Joachim came back from a game down to edge out China’s Yefei Song-Haoxuan Xu 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 in their semi-finals.
RESULTS
Girl’s singles final: Daania Daniella Hazli (Mas) bt Zijie Yang (Chn) 6-1, 6-3
Girl’s doubles semi-finals: Ha-An Park-Zican Yang (Kor-Chn) bt Riya Gangamma Pudiyokkada-Mingxi Qu (Ind-Chn) [4] 7-5, 3-6, 10-2; Daania Daniella Hazli-Kai Ning Chanya Ng (Mas-Sgp) [1] bt Hanyu Wang-Zijie Yang (Chn) [3] 0-6, 6-4, 10-7
Boy’s singles semi-finals: Gao Ruochen (Chn) bt Koo Bon Hong (Kor) 6-2, 6-2; Shin Jaejun (Kor) bt Joachim Mika Gunawan (Ina) 6-2, 6-0
Boy’s doubles semi-finals: Shin Jaejun-Koo Bon Hong (Kor) [2] bt Run Ze Shi-Fanyu Zhao (Chn) 6-4, 6-1; Gao Ruochen -Joachim Mika Gunawan (Chn-Ina) [1] bt Yefei Song-Haoxuan Xu (Chn) 3-6, 6-3, 10-7
