AFRUICA Gentle and Carol Humphrey showcased great team work to defeat the pair of Areta Dey and Nicola Ramdyhan 6-4, 7-5 to claim this year’s Guyana Bank for Trade & Industry (GBTI) Open Ladies’ doubles title. Although Gentle struggled a little at the beginning with her volleys she found better shots in the second set as Humphrey anchored the team with strategies and backup at the net points.
Dey and Ramdyhan played an exceptional game to come back in the second set but were unable to force a tiebreaker.
Meanwhile, youthful faces have been making it deeper in the main draws of the GBTI Open this year. Keenan Persaud and Jordon Beaton are the latest of the juniors to cause an upset in the tournament.
They took out Harry Panday and Joseph De Jonge 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the Men’s Open Doubles. It was a marathon of a match as the older players rallied deep into the night but were unable to secure the third set. The win gives them a match against the No. 1 seeds, Jason Andrews and Anthony Downes, in the semi-finals.
It will be a tough match since this partnership has been solid this season. Andrews and Downes dropped no games as they held court position and dictated the points in last night’s match against Bishan Dalip and Kester Abrams. It was a 6-0, 6-0 victory for Andrews and Downes.
The Men’s Singles Open had its fair share of highs and lows. Oswin Coggins started strong but struggled to end the match in the second set as Joseph De Jonge found his serve and rhythm to force a tiebreaker, which he easily won. Signs of fatigue and a resilient aggressive play by Coggins cost De Jonge the match.
Coggins secured a spot with a win of 6-1, 6-7(7-1), 7-5. On the other court Leyland Leacock took the first set 6-1 against Stephen Bailey. The score does not do justice for the tenacity in which Bailey played.
The once-student, Bailey, showed the coach a better match in the second set as he raced to a 4-1 lead but nerves and a physically drained Bailey succumbed at 7-5. No. 2 seed Leyland Leacock progressed to the quarter-finals where he will face old rival Benjettan Osborne.