The Tribune

By Amajahl Knowles

FOURTEEN-year-old Bahamian tennis prodigy Jacobi Bain had an impressive international singles performance over the weekend, winning the Cupa de Vara a Municipiului Bucuresti tournament in Bucharest, Romania.

Bain was victorious over Alexandru Givan in the final round, winning 6-0, 6-0. Even more impressive, Bain finished the event without dropping one set.

Bain, who has enjoyed some success in doubles competition early on in his young career, seems to be making strides as a singles competitor evident by his most recent victory.

One of the more promising young prospects in the country, he competed in three tournaments in 2014 and won the doubles crown along with teammate Lyle Frost at the BLTA’s Goombay Splash Bowl.

Bain’s father, Bradley Bain, credits the international training and exposure as the main reason for his son’s game moving to the next level.

“The whole idea of exposing him to red clay, adds another dimension to his training, also just generally hitting a lot of balls has improved his game,” he said.

Bain also noted that playing against foreign competition also has made his son a much better overall player.

He mentioned that prior to the tournament he faced a top player in the region and lost in very close sets but walked away from the session knowing he could compete with the best under-14 tennis players in the world.

“Patience is what was needed, it’s what he needed to build his game and playing in Europe where the best players play only expanded his game,” said Bain.

Bain also noted that the win was secondary in significance but it was the experience and building confidence in his son that was the most important.

“The victory was a good feeling but the fact the he is playing on an international platform at a high level shows that he is ready,” he said.

Bain also brought up the fact that because his son trained with players who were older than him, it helped build his confidence and he feels that his son is ready for competitive singles action.

He said Jacobi is very excited about his victory and is happy with his training. Jacobi is preparing for a tournament next weekend and the Nationals here on June 29.