The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Day one of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s (BLTA) Spring Classic Tournament served up 21 matches yesterday as the event got underway at the National Tennis Centre.

The junior tournament consists of athletes in the under 12, 14, 16 and 18 categories in competition geared towards helping tennis players gain points for national rankings and measuring their overall game. This year’s event makes it the third edition of its kind post COVID-19 and the number of junior competitors has steadily grown each year.

Perry Newton, president of the BLTA, talked about how impressed he was with day one’s Spring Classic tourney action.

“I am excited to see what they have been working on because whenever you get to compete in a tournament, it allows you to see and gauge your improvement and you get to see where other players have improved which shows you where you need to work hard,” Newton said.

He added that it has been very exciting to watch them play and noticed that some players came out with a game plan to win but nonetheless it was great to see the first timers and national players compete.

The Royal Bank of Canada’s Spring Classic Tournament saw one of the sport’s top seeds Synaj Watkins shine in the under 14 and 16 boys singles action.

Watkins got a big win against Atharva Hombal, putting up 6-2, 6-4 to secure the victory. In the young athlete’s second matchup on Thursday evening, he beat Jordan Nixon 6-2, 6-2 making it his second win on day one.

Watkins said it felt pretty good to get the win against Hombal.

He added that despite the decent play of his opponent, he believes that he just wanted the win more and got it.

In more under 14 boys singles action, Alessio Battello knocked off Zamere Davis on day one. Battello pulled off a first and second set of 6-2 in yesterday’s win.He talked about earning the win against his singles competitor.

“It wasn’t as easy as the score made it seem. I think I played well, my serve worked in the key moments and I just did it [and] It was nice,” he said. The 12-year-old added that his opponent did not make it easy but his plan was to put one more ball back than him.

In the under 16 boys singles match Patrick Mactaggart closed out his opponent 6-0, 6--0 on the evening. He played against Joshua Eldon. Also, in under 12 boys singles action Chase Newbold defeated Oneal Hanna 6-1,6-1. Mactaggart and Newbold recently was apart of The Bahamas’ national team and represented the country in the Dominican Republic’s World Juniors Tennis championships.

The young ladies shined bright on the tennis court on day one of the tournament. Millie Beukes comfortably defeated Victoria Sandl-Aguilar 6-0,6-0 in the under 14 girls singles action. Claudia Drgon experienced a similar feat as she won her sets against Gabrielle Deveaux 6-0,6-0. Beukes and Drgon will look to bring the same energy against each other as they will face off today.

Drgon said it felt good to win and she felt very confident at the end of match despite it being a windy day on the tennis court .

Beukes shared similar sentiments as she said her win felt good as well and although it was windy she still enjoyed the match.

Jasleen Salkey, winner of the under 14 girls singles match, came out on top against Ellie Nash after beating her competitor 6-2 in set one and 6-0 in set two.

Salkey talked about yesterday’s singles match up against her competitor.

She said it felt really good to get the win and her special strategy was just to move the ball and her feet. However, she added the windy weather conditions led to her adjusting her approach by continuously keeping the ball moving and not hitting the ball to the end.

The remainder of day one’s winners include Panaglotis Mousis, Srae Rodgers, Ethan Butler, Dylan Sykes, Olivia Schick, Gabrielle Clarke, Cameron Ferguson, Ayal Bethel, Jack Boals, Spencer Taylor, Atharva Hombal, Jordan Nixon, and Aiden Ritchie.

Day two of the RBC Spring Classic tournament will feature 59 matches on the day. The tennis showdowns will begin at 9am this morning at the National Tennis Center.