The men's singles quarterfinal line-up at the CRC Open 2007 is finally set after the most wildly contested gunslinger of a battle between Goran Bosalevski and Jason Lijewski ended late last night in favour of the No. 3 seed, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(2). In the ladies' draw, Feng Yi Di, Sher Pui Wing and Wu Ho Ching have booked themselves a place in the semifinals, with the remaining quarterfinal between No. 1 seed Tong Ka Po and Shene Pui Yee scheduled for Thursday.
The men's round of eight line-up pits two-time champion and number one seed, Wayne Wong, against 2003 winner, Hu Bing; while also in the top half of the draw, No. 4 seed Andrew Town will entertain 2004 SCAA Open winner, Sean Cooper.
Unknown quantity Yu Nai-Zheng, a native of Jiangsu, has bulldozed his way to the quarterfinals with straight-set wins against Andrew Lee and Adrian Montesinos in the opening two rounds, but to progress further, he will have to beat this year's SCAA Open champion and No. 3 seed Goran Bosalevski next up. The other match-up from the bottom half of the draw sees second-seeded HK Davis Cupper, Michael Lai, take on former Hong Kong junior number one, Jason Sankey, for a place in the semis.
Number two seed for the ladies' singles, Maya Takizawa, who was also a finalist at the SCAA Open last month, was upset by teenager Feng Yi Di, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinals. However, in order to reach the final, Feng Yi Di will have to first get past Sher Pui Wing, whom she lost to in the semifinals of School Girls' singles, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Up top, reigning HK National G18 winner, Wu Ho Ching, is making her first appearance at this stage of the ladies' singles at the CRC Open after defeating Jessica Lee in the previous round. Her likely opponent in the semis could well be No. 1 seed Tong Ka Po, who has yet to play her quarterfinal against Shene Pui Yee.
Tong Ka Po (1996-97, 1999, 2001, 2004), who was once ranked as high as No. 236 in singles and No. 154 in doubles in the world, is gunning for her record-breaking sixth CRC Open ladies' singles crown. Should she prevail, she will break the present record of five she shares with former HK Fed Cupper, Paulette Moreno (1981-82, 1984-85, 1992), who first triumphed here before her 13th birthday.
In the ladies' doubles, Tong Ka Po and former Malaysian Fed Cupper, Tan Lynn-Yin, the number two seed, is the first pair into the semifinals after the duo defeated Monique Cheung and Anthea Look, 6-4, 6-2. Next up, they will face either Geraldine Leong/Katherine Ip or Michiyo Koido/Mika Katsuhara for a place in the final. Up top, the No. 1-seeded tandem of Lam Po Kuen and former WTA No. 578, Chattida Thimjapo, is slated to face Melda Tsang and Yu Sze Wai in the quarterfinals, while the first round match-up between Jessica Yang/Yang Yi and Sher Chun Wing/Sher Pui Wing have yet to be played.
The men's doubles has also reached the quarterfinal stage, as top seed Yu Hiu Tung/Michael Lai is set to face Lai Kwai Cheong/Shepherd Cheung, while also in the top half of the draw is the face-off between Andrew Town/Adrian Montesinos and Andrew Lee/Ambrose Wong.
In the bottom bracket, former HK Davis Cuppers, Melvin Tong & John Hui, will go against the pairing of Jason Sankey/Graeme Foster, while the gunslinging duo of Goran Bosalevski/Jason Lijewski will take on Ross Elliot/Christiaan Hart.
In the mixed doubles, the No. 1-seeded combination of Yu Hiu Tung/Lam Po Kuen has already reached the final, as they await the outcome of the remaining semifinal between second-seeded Andrew Lee/He Chun-Yan and Ethan Farbman/maya Takizawa, which is scheduled for Saturday night according to the latest order of play at the time of writing.
Don't forget, there's LIVE action of Court 7 via the internet. Go to www.crcopen.com and click on "Live Information" on the left menu.