By TENAJH SWEETING
tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) wrapped up the final day of the Royal Bank of Canada Spring Classic tournament yesterday at the National Tennis Centre.
The junior tournament featured more than 100 matches as the young athletes looked to compete and show off their progress in this past weekend’s matchups.
The final day consisted of eight intense head-to-head singles tennis showdowns as the tournament’s best of the best looked to take home trophies in their respective divisions.
Among yesterday’s star junior tennis players was Saphirre Ferguson.
The young tennis player came out of this year’s Spring Classic tournament as the only double crown winner. In her first matchup on the day, she defeated Tatyana Madu 6-0, 6-4 in under 16 girls singles action.
Ferguson once again came out on top in another tennis match, this time in the under 18 girls showdown versus Caila Bowe.
The double crown winner picked up the second victory 6-2, 6-0.
Ferguson, talked about how it felt to be victorious in yesterday’s Spring Classic tournament finals.
“It was good. I mean it was hard work but I continued to stay disciplined so I am proud of myself, “ she said.
Ferguson said her strategy in day four’s matchup was to hit topspin balls instead of trying to hit back and forth but she still had to keep her intensity up.
Patrick Mactaggart competed in two matches on the day. In his first match he comfortably defeated Reeves Mahelis 6-0 in both sets. The Bahamas’ national team tennis player looked to take match one’s momentum into his next matchup against none other than his older brother Jackson Mactaggart. In a competitive showdown between the Mactaggart brothers they did not disappoint as they split the first two sets. After the ten-point tiebreaker Jackson Mactaggart took home the victory 10-7 winning the battle of the brothers.
“It was fun to play I kind of struggled in the first set it is always difficult to play your brother especially mentally but then I came back, worked hard, and got the win,” Jackson said.
He added that he used mind games and distractions to throw his younger brother off his game and he also tried to keep the ball in play and tried to make the least amount of unforced errors.
The younger Mactaggart said it was tough mentally to play against his brother and he said his brother distracted him and got into his head a bit leading to the loss.
In more of yesterday’s tennis matchups Dentry Mortimer Jr bested Sharano Hanna 6-0 in both sets. In the under 12 boys singles action Chase Newbold came out on top against Cory Conyers 6-0,6-2. For the girls, Caitlyn Pratt took care of business against Danielle Saunders beating her fellow competitor 6-3,6-3. Additionally, in the under 14 girls singles finals Tatyana Madu served up a win against Briana Houlgrave 6-1, 6-3.
Perry Newton, president of the BLTA, said despite some worries about weather conditions he is just happy the Spring Classic tournament went on seamlessly with no injuries or other issues.
Newton added that he wanted to congratulate all of the athletes that competed in the RBC’s Spring Classic tourney and he was very impressed with the execution of the things that they were taught, especially the newcomers in the juniors tournament.
The newcomers on this year’s tennis scene were Ethan Butler, Daliyah Culmer, Jordan Storr, Spencer Taylor, Theo Weir, Donato Adderley and others. Taylor and Butler shined at this past weekend’s tourney as they both advanced to Round 16 of the tournament. Meanwhile, Storr, Taiden Culmer, and D Culmer all advanced to the quarter finals in their respective divisions showing remarkable signs of tennis growth.
Newton was joined by former BLTA president Mickey Williams who also agreed and added that it is always good to see the kids showcase their talents and he believes that matchplay and tournaments are what the players need and hopes to see more.
This year’s sponsor RBC noted that they were proud to be this year’s sponsor for BLTA and they recognize that recreation plays an important role in building vibrant communities.
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