The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITHOUT any time to celebrate her doubles victory with her American partner Kariann Pierre-Louis, Kerrie Cartwright was right back in action in her third and final 12th Lyttos Beach ITF Pro Circuit Tournament in Heraklion, Greece.

Cartwright, 25, pulled off a 7-5, 6-3 decision over Domenika Turkovic from Croatia in the third round to advance to the main draw that will get started today at the Lyttos Beach Hotel.

It's the third tournament in three weeks that Cartwright is playing in Greece and she told The Tribune that she's performing as well as she expected.

"I think I'm playing really good," she said. "I'm staying calm and trying to play smart, not making any bad decisions."

While the main draw will get underway today, Cartwright is not scheduled to play until Wednesday.

"I don't know who I play next and I do not like to look into the draw," stated Cartwright, who will be matched against Tatiana Pieri of Italy in the first round of the main draw. "I am just going to take it one step at a time."

Cartwright may also have double duties that day as she teams up with American Harris Caldwell, who replaces Kariann Pierre-Louis, whom Cartwright teamed up with to win the doubles title on Saturday. Pierre-Louis, 19, suffered a shoulder injury in the last tournament and had to withdraw from this tournament. Caldwell, 17, lost in her first round singles in the qualifying round.

"Harris and I haven't played together before so it will be new for both of us," Cartwright said. "With Kariann, she knows my game and I know her game and that makes a difference when playing with someone new. It's just going to be more like going with the flow while we are playing and seeing what works and what doesn't."

In the first two tournaments in Greece, Cartwright got eliminated in the quarter-final in singles and she and Pierre-Louis didn't get out of the quarter-finals in doubles in the first tournament that ended on March 4. And in the second tournament that was completed on Saturday, Cartwright got knocked out in the first round in singles and her and Pierre-Louis went on to win the doubles crown.

Cartwright, the only Bahamian female with a ranking in the Women's Tennis Association, is listed at 1,005 in singles.