The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Iesha Shepherd, the last Bahamian playing in the main draw of the International Tennis Federation’s Goombay Splash Bowl, got ousted in the quarter-final of the girls’ singles after putting up a gallant effort against top ranked Jacqueline Pelletier of the US.

Shepherd, the No.7 seed, suffered a heartbreaking 6-0, 7-5 loss after she missed out on a golden opportunity to play for the third and final set yesterday before a small crowd of spectators on Court One at the National Tennis Centre.

“After losing the first set, I regrouped in the second set and I tried my hardest and I played my best game,” said a disappointed Shepherd after the loss. “I fell short. She’s a good player. Hopefully I can learn from this, but it was good for me to get a chance to play against the No.1 seed.”

With the first set a complete wash, Shepherd showed a great deal of perseverance as she rallied from a 3-0 deficit as she broke Pelletier and held on an ace to cut the deficit to 3-2. Both players held serve until Pelletier double faulted and Shepherd took advantage to get a break to even the score at 4-4.

And with a lucky bounce of the net went on to hold serve for a 5-4 lead. But after holding serve, Pelletier managed to break on a shot that Shepherd missed at the net. That turned out to be the momentum that Pelletier needed as she went on to hold serve for the win.

“She was a tough player. She really had me going in that second set. It really could have gone either way,” said Pelletier of Shepherd. “I really respect her for the way she played, but I’m really happy that I was able to win it and not have to go to the third set.”

Having made the adjustment after the first set, Pelletier said Shepherd caught her by surprise in the second set and she made her play for every point.

Despite the loss, Shepherd advanced further than she did last year when she got eliminated in the first round. After winning her first round over American Alexa Butera 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday, Shepherd knocked off Mexican M Brito Torres 6-1, 6-4 in the second round on Wednesday.

“I’m just glad that I was able to play in the quarter-final,” said Shepherd, who has an ITF junior world ranking of 1,385. “Maybe next year, I can go on to play in the final.”

Looking back at her performance, though, Shepherd admitted that she still needs to work on her “mental skills and her speed. I think if I can work on those few things, I can be in a much better position to play even better in the new year.”

As for Pelletier, the 18-year-old from South Carolina is hoping that she can pick up where she left off last year when she advanced out of the qualifying round all the way to the final, only to fall short at the end.

“This is my last year playing as a junior so it would be really nice to go out as the champion,” said Pelletier, who is ranked at No. 518 in the world. “This is a really nice tournament. I love coming here to play because it’s the only one where you have an umpire on the court watching as you play.”

The tournament is slated to continue today with the semi-finals in both the boys and girls singles as well as the doubles competition. No Bahamians are left in either segment.

There is however an under-14 division, where there are a few more Bahamians still alive. The action starts at 9am and wraps up on Saturday.