Gavin Lewis reclaims Boy’s 18 title from Longe

Jul 24, 2012 Sports

Niamatalli upsets Barckoy to reach Men’s 35 finals

Gavin Lewis, who took a break from competing in the Boy’s 18 category last year, returned to wrest the title away from defending champion Seanden David Longe in straight sets 6-3 6-2 at the GBTI Open.
Lewis superior groundstrokes were too much for a game Longe who had surprised Khalif Gobin 6-1 6-3 in the semi-finals while Lewis took care of Benedict Sukra in two sets. Lewis is also competing in the Men’s Open where he will again face Sukra before a likely matchup with top seed Jeremy Miller.

Gavin Lewis

In the Girl’s finals, Shawna Gentle claimed the title from Krystal Sukra after her opponent defaulted due to an injury sustained from their marathon battle only a day earlier which propelled Gentle into the Ladies Finals. Gentle had won the first set 6-2 and was leading 3-2 in the second before Sukra could not continue.
It was a good day for the Berbice contingent as Mario Niamatalli showed that his excellent match earlier in the tournament against Andre Erskine was not a one off event as he turned the tables on the favoured Gilbert Barckoy in their semi-final encounter in the Men’s 35 Singles. Berbician Mixed Doubles pair Godfrey Lowden/Carol Humphrey then pulled through a testy and temperamental match against Leyland Leacock and Aruna Ramrattan to also book themselves a place in a final.
In Niamatalli’s game, the first set was evenly contested with the more composed Niamatalli prevailing 7-5 as he moved Barckoy around and capitalised on unforced errors. Barckoy then bounced back as he started to reel off some winners and took the second 6-2. In the super tiebreak, Niamatalli’s better game plan saw him easily winning 10-3 to book himself a place in the finals.
Lowden/Humphrey had to battle hard to overcome Leacock/Ramrattan as the pairs were evenly matched. The first set saw Lowden coming out on a mission and with his team mate romped to a 6-1 first set win. Leacock/Ramrattan then regrouped and seized their chance in the second as they played some good tennis to secure a break and capture the set 6-3. In the third set, tempers flared as the teams battled passionately for a place in the finals and after a back and forth set Lowden/Humphrey prevailed 6-4.
In the other match top seeds in the Men’s Doubles Jason Andrews and Jeremy Miller played excellent tennis to turn back the challenge of Nicholas Fenty/Andre Erskine in surprisingly easy fashion 6-1 6-1 .Miller and Fenty traded service bombs but in the end it was the more experienced team which took home the win and a place into the finals.
Matches continued last evening.
In results:
Boys 18 Final Gavin Lewis defeated Seanden David Longe 6-3 6-2
Mixed Doubles Semi-Final Carol Humphrey/Godfrey Lowden defeated Aruna Ramrattan/Leyland Leacock 6-1 3-6 6-4
Men’s 35 Singles Semi-Final Mario Niamatali defeated Gilbert Barckoy 7-5 2-6 10-3
Men’s Doubles Semi-Final Jeremy Miller/Jason Andrews defeated Nicholas Fenty/Andre Erskine 6-1 6-1.