McDonald triumphs in Bakewell Junior Championship wrap up

Oct 14, 2015 Sports

It was unmistakable that Mark McDonald had lots to prove in Saturday’s Boys U18 finals against Heimraj Resaul, after being defeated by Resaul, 2-4, 4-0, (10-4), the previous day in the Boys U14 finals at the GBTI Recreational, Bel Air. In the Boys U18, McDonald had his revenge against Resaul 2-6, 6-2, (10-6) to claim Bakewell Boys U18 Championship title, which adds to his 2015 GBTI Boys U18 title. It is clear that McDonald fought to set himself apart from his new rivalries and secure a spot in this month’s Tennis Inter Guiana Games (IGG) to be held in Suriname.

It was clear that both players showed signs of nerves as the battle started for the prestigious title. Mark started off shaky with tentative ball placement, which gave Resaul confidence to pounce on every opportunity and take the first set easily. However, at change over it was an energized McDonald that proceeded on court and he raced to a quick 4-1 lead in the second set. It was over for Resaul who appeared under the weather as McDonald stepped up his aggression, took the second set and transferred the momentum into the tiebreaker never relinquishing the lead.
While in the Girls U14, Shivani Persaud tried her best to force the match against Afruica Gentle. The tiny Persaud matched the powerful hitting by Gentle but came in as runner up after Gentle displayed her thirst for the win and secured the championship title at 4-1, 4/4 (7-5). Gentle too would have won both the Girls U14 and Girls 18 categories. In the Boys U12 the promising Joshua Kalekyezi emerged as champion over Viraj Sharma in straight sets 4-0, 4-2 to take the title.
CEO of Bakewell, Ragindranauth Ganga was able to witness the last match of the day. He recognized that the tournament was bigger than its first year last year and congratulated the GTA on its effort to make tennis a prominent sport and the tournament a greater success. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Regional Development Officer for the Caribbean, John Goede who was also present, emphasized that the development of Tennis Guyana is not exclusive to the executive of the Guyana Tennis Association, but there is heavy dependency on parents, players, sports administrative bodies and the wider Guyana. He posited, through partnership and hard effort among those stakeholders we can “attain and get to a quality that is an irresistible product, like Bakewell.”
He highlighted to the players after watching them play that there needs to be a strategy or a plan in life and this should also apply to playing a match on court. Aggression and fitness, he pointed out were key areas to be worked on.
He said for tennis to take off in Guyana, there needs to be more courts. “These two courts are not enough. Probably we need about 24 courts in Georgetown with lighting. We need about three hundred players,” this he said would improve the quality of competition and players in general.
President of the GTA, Grace McCalman, on that note, announced plans to develop tennis in Berbice, Linden and outlying regions. This would significantly contribute to a bigger tournament by expanding competitions and drawing entries from a wider cross section of players.
The ITF Regional Development Officer will be meeting with sports stakeholders, parents and conduct clinics with players during his visit to Guyana.

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