Top seeds set to battle for Men's title this afternoon

Saturday afternoon saw former Hong Kong number one and four-time CRC Open winner, Tong Ka Po, come up with enough of her old power and ruthlessness, as she held a stranglehold over much of the final to defeat top seed and two-time defending champion, Lam Po Kuen, 6-3, 6-3, to claim her fifth Ladies' Singles crown at the CRC Open 2004.

Since 1977, only former HK standout, Paulette Moreno ('81-82, '84-'85, '92) has won five or more Ladies' Singles titles at CRC.

[CRC Open - Roll of Honour] (1948 - 2004)

In the first set, it was Lam who drew first blood by breaking the number two seed in opening game to jump out to a quick-fire 2-0 lead. But Tong responded by breaking the top seed's next service game before both players held for 3-3. The four-time CRC Open Ladies' Singles winner then went on a three game run, breaking Lam in the pivotal eighth game even though the No. 1 seed saved two break points to force deuce, to grab the all-important opening set, 6-3.

After Tong secured an early double break to go up 4-1 in the second set, it turned into a break-serve fest the rest of the way, as the final four games all went against serve, with Lam throwing down her seventh double fault at match point to eventually concede the title she has won for the past two years.

Tong, who retired from competitive tennis in 2002 after capturing the US$10,000 ITF Women's Circuit title in Tianjin, once held a career-high women's world ranking of No. 236 back in August 2001. During her five-year stint on the pro circuit, she has battled most of the leading players in the region, including anchoring the territory's Fed Cup team, and has registered wins against top ranking Chinese opponents such as Yi Jing-Qian and Li Na, not to mention Korea's Jeon Mi-Ra, who was the number one seed at this year's Asian Championships in Tashkent.

And don't forget, today (Sunday) is the final day at the CRC Open 2004, and there will be three finals featured, including the much hyped Men's Singles showdown between No. 1 seed Wayne Wong of Hong Kong and No. 2 seed Peter Clarke of Ireland.

Today's Order of Play:

Ladies' Doubles Final (starts 2pm)
(1)Lam Po Kuen/Cindy Lee v. (2)Evelina Leung/Wendy Lau

Men's Singles Final (not before 3:30pm)
(1)Wayne Wong v. (2)Peter Clarke

Men's Doubles Final (not before 5:30pm)
(1)Melvin Tong/John Hui v. Jamie Holmes/Giovanni Muratore

First held in 1948, the Chinese Recreation Club (CRC) Open Hardcourt Tennis Championships is the final leg of the three local majors, following the Hong Kong Nationals and the SCAA Open earlier in the calendar year.