Chambana Sun

Illinois men's tennis players Karlis Ozolins and Kenta Miyoshi achieved significant victories at the ITF M15 Anseong tournament in South Korea. Miyoshi secured his first professional doubles title, while Ozolins won his first professional singles title.

Miyoshi, alongside partner Edward Winter, won the men's doubles title after losing only one set throughout the tournament. They defeated Yeonsu Jeong and Jangjun Kim in the first round with a score of 6-2, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, they overcame top seeds Yeongseok Jeong and Minkyu Song with a straight-set victory of 6-3, 7-5. Their semifinal opponents Min Seong Kim and Minjong Park retired after trailing 2-1 in the opening set. In the final match against Ethan Cook and Naoki Tajima, Miyoshi and Winter claimed victory in a decisive third set with a score of 10-6.

Ozolins had an impressive run in singles play. He began by defeating Jun Ha Hyun with scores of 6-1, 6-2. In the second round, he faced Edward Winter again after losing to him last week but emerged victorious in three sets: 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. The quarterfinals saw Ozolins win against Masamichi Imamura in three sets: 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-3. He then advanced to the finals by defeating Chase Ferguson with scores of 6-3, 6-2.

In the final match against top-seeded Sanhui Shin, who was ranked significantly higher than him in ATP rankings, Ozolins won in two sets. After a tiebreaker concluded the first set at 7-6(4), he dominated the second set with a score of 6-0 to secure his singles title.

Miyoshi also competed in singles but was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Last week he reached similar stages at ITF M15 Harmon in Guam. Throughout his sophomore season at Illinois, Miyoshi earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors and led his team with numerous wins.

Ozolins reached semifinals in doubles play alongside Illini assistant coach Zeke Clark during this event and previously competed up to semifinals both in singles and doubles at Daegu.

Both players continue their participation on tour as Ozolins is scheduled to compete next week in Changwon, South Korea.