Latest update February 11th, 2025 2:15 PM
Latest News
- Govt. makes move to cancel CGX, Frontera Corentyne block license in 30 days
- ExxonMobil paying taxes in Bahamas but not a cent to Guyana
- Canadian company completes airstrip, roads to kick off 5.4M ounce gold project in Guyana
- Hamas threatens to postpone next hostage release, claiming Israel has broken terms of ceasefire deal
- Twelve-year-old girl missing for three weeks
Day 3 highlights of the GBTI Tennis: Juniors make their presence felt
For many years the open categories have seen mainly adult entries but refreshingly enough, in 2015 the juniors have made their visibility felt. The question dawned; can a junior player make it deep into the main draws? The answer to
Kester Abrams (right) shakes hands with Viraj Jugdeo after his win.
that question came when spectators saw the two junior players, Shivani Persaud and Sarah Klautky, slugging it out on court 2 in the Ladies Singles Open. We were witnessing our country’s tennis future in these two youngsters.
Klautky lost the first set 6/0 to a more seasoned Persaud; however she gained some momentum in the second set. She slammed first serves and blasted winners in rallies that lasted over 10 strokes. It was evident that the consistency levels of the girls were high and can be attributed to the exposure gained on the regional tennis circuit. In the second set, the girls went on serve until 5/5, Klautkytook two quick points on her serve but lost the third point, hereafter in that game she lost her confidence and with that Persaud kept her cool and took control to close the match 6/0, 7/5.
The juniors kept the ball rolling in the Ladies Singles Open with Kalysia Fraser taking out the senior, Tracy Shamsudeen 6/1, 6/1. The young Fraser kept her cool as she hit clean lines to create angles which forced her opponent to move. The two under 10, Vedanand Resaul and Joshua Kalekeyzi stole the show in their debut match against the two seniors, Daniel Lopes and Nicolas Glasgow. They played fearlessly against their opponent. They earned every point and never looked out of the game as they encouraged each other along. This positive spirit gave them 2 games which will boost their egos as they continue improve. Lopes and Glasgow advanced with a 6/0, 6/2 win to face Hemraj Resaul and Mark McDonald. This young combination has already pulled off the biggest upset so far in the tournament and will be coming into the match with a renewed sense of belief.
It was a treat to watch Harry Panday and Chetham Narayan fence it out with their racquets in the over 35s Singles Category. Panday is known for his consistency in returning any ball that is hit at him but he was forced out of his comfort zone by the imposing Narayan, who hits the ball with flat acute angles. Panday displayed resilience to stay in the match but the Indian National, Narayan, attacked the backhand of Panday with deep inside-out forehand shots to opening the court. He then executed finishing shots of smashes and tenderly touched volleys. Narayan closed the match 6/3, 6/2.
All eyes were drawn to the main court to view a three hours marathon between Viraj Jugdeo and Kester Abrams. Jugdeo took the driving seat of the match from the first game and secured a straightforward first set at 6/3. At this point in the match it seems Abrams would be swept away by the precision of Jugdeo’s shots, but he proved the prediction wrong. From the serve of the second set it became a tumultuous match with the momentum being swung between the two players. At 4/4 Abrams got broken and Jugdeo was on serve for the match. When asked about his thoughts at this moment he said, “I decided to just play, whether I won or lose. I had nothing to lose”. He managed to save the match to set a tiebreaker which he won 7/3 to give him the set 7/6.
He rode the confidence boost into the third set to a 5/1 lead with his unconventional double fisted back and forehand shots which became more deadly in the final set. All hopes of a win seem to have fleeted from Jugdeo after Abrams set up 2 match points which were erased by Jugdeo’s conviction in his winning shots. The final game had 5 deuces until Abrams capitalized on the 4th match point. He won the match 3/6, 7/6(7/3),6-1 and will face the No. 1 seed, Anthony Downes.
Stephen Bailey and Oswin Coggins teamed up in the Men’s Doubles Open to defeat Dominic Fraser and Nomechandra Persaud, 6/1, 6/4. Bailey and Coggins were favoured for the win with their great teamwork and communication nonetheless, Fraser and Persaud put up an admirable fight in the second set.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Are we better off today than we were before first oil?
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News-If you had asked me ten years ago what I wanted for Guyana, I would have said a few things:... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
