ONCE again Anthony Downes proved that he is one of the best players to come out of Guyana, by notching his 7th consecutive GBTI Men’s Open title with a dominating win over Daniel Lopes in straight sets.
The result was a repeat of last year’s final which had a similar score line. Lopes had teamed up with Leyland Leacock the night before to upset Downes and Jason Andrews in the Men’s Doubles and revenge would certainly have been on Downes’ mind as he wrapped up the match in less than one hour, dropping just one game.
Downes has been prominent on the local scene, participating in his first Men’s Singles final when he was 14 years old and has battled with other top players such as Phillip Squires and Jeremy Miller over the years.
It would be interesting to see how he would match up against other former players to come out of Guyana such as Andy Wong, Marvin Jeffrey, Diwani Lewis and Marvin Hinds who all had dominant stints locally.
Downes, whose game stands above his peers locally, has had the opportunity to train periodically with former world-rated player Jack Brassington and an exhibition match is being planned for local enthusiasts later in the year.
Now 25 years old, Downes is hoping to hone his skills and further his tennis career through playing future tournaments internationally and may play his first such tournament in August in Colombia.
Other outstanding performers in the tournament were 16-year-old Ladies Champion Afruica Gentle who once again carted off the three Open titles Ladies’ Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles; Leyland Leacock who won the Men’s 35 Singles and Men’s Open Doubles title; Godfrey Lowden with the Men’s 45 Singles and Doubles title and 35 Doubles runner-up, and Andre Lopes who won the Men’s 35 doubles and was runner-up in the Men’s 35 Singles.
Daniel Lopes also medalled twice taking the runner-up position in the Men’s Singles and winning the Men’s Doubles title.
In the Junior categories, Jordan Beaton was the winner of the Boys’ Singles title, whilst Kalyca Fraser captured the Girls’ Singles. There was also a win for newcomer Delon Fraser who edged Surendra Khayyam to win the developmental Novice Medley category.
The presentation ceremony which immediately followed the final match was attended by acting CEO of GBTI Ms Shaleeza Shaw and Marketing Manager Pamela Binda. Ms Shaw stressed the importance of the partnership with the Guyana Tennis Association which was renewed 8 years ago