AFTER numerous interruptions for rain, action in the 11th annual Guyana Lawn Tennis Association-organised, Nigel’s Supermarket-sponsored Junior Tennis Classic got under way and saw Toshan Jamuna, Kishan Reece and Shavani Persaud emerged as winners in the Under-10s and Under-12s categories. The Under-10s and Under-12s matches had to be switched to the National Gymnasium after the first day was lost to the inclement weather, instead of being played at the Non Pariel Courts as was earlier stated.
Nine-year-old left-hander Jamuna of Diamond won the Boys’ U-10 after defeating all his opponents in the round robin competition, with the runner-up position going to Nkozi Beaton while Ray Gorakh of Soesdyke finished third.
Jamuna defeated Beaton 6-5, Gorakh 6-4 and Damian Braam 6-5 to take his first title, even though he started playing the game two weeks ago, showing remarkable consistency and deliberation with his shots.
Beaton got the better of Braam and Gorakh with the scoreline reading 6-5 and 6-4, while Braam failed to win a game as he was defeated6-4 by Gorakh.
In the Boys’ Under-12 category, Reece won in convincing fashion as he played unbeaten throughout the round robin tournament, defeating eventual runner-up Anthony Grant 15-3, Hemraj Resaul 15-13 and Mark McDonald 15-6.
Grant defeated Resaul 15-12 and McDonald 15-13 whilst Resaul’s lone win was over McDonald with a 15-7 scoreline that earned him the third place in this category.
The Girls’ Under-12 was won by the promising Shavani Persaud who emulated Jamuna and Reece, by defeating eight-year-old Kaylca Frazer 15-13, Ashmeta Toolsie 15-7 and Tiffany Grant 15-2.
Frazer took the runner-up position when she defeated Toolsie 15-7 and Grant 15-14, while Grant claimed third with a 15-6 victory over Toolsie.
At the Pegasus Courts, only one match was completed before the rain intervened and this was in the Boys’ Under-14 category where Deonauth Mohabeer defeated Dominic Braam 4-0, 4-2.
Matches in both the Under-14 and U-18 categories will continue at the Non Pariel and Pegasus Courts respectively, commencing at 09:00hrs each day as the juniors continue to battle for supremacy in the round-robin format of the tournament before advancing to the knockout stages.