ANTHONY Downes and Jason Andrews combined well to defeat Heimraj Resaul and Jordan Beaton to win,for the first time ,the Men’s Doubles final of the Guyana Tennis Association organized Trophy Stall sponsored event over the past weekend.According to a release, the Men’s Open Doubles final was a one-sided affair in the first set as Downes and Andrews unleashed a plethora of serves and volleys that quickly pushed the junior team of Resaul and Beaton to the breaking point of 5/0.
That fast approaching bagel unnerved the juniors who tactfully set up a few points to create a slight opening.
Resaul/Beaton’s flat forehands penetrated the net play of the agile seniors, rewarding them with a service and a break to go up two games. But the seniors regrouped, cleaned up their act and took the first set 6/2.
“I think we settled in and we were able to play better. We started to apply more pressure and started our offensive strategy and stopped playing defence,” Resaul stated.
This was evident in the second set as Resaul/Beaton found their rhythm and challenged the seniors. This proved fruitful with the set tied at 5/5.
Downes and Andrews did not enjoy this challenge and dropped a service game with well-placed serves to take a 6/5 lead.
Resaul then served hoping to take the match into a tie-breaker. But after looking very confident and saving two match points, the team again made a few unforced errors and was unable to deliver. Downes/Andrews clenched their first Trophy Stall Doubles title,and their 4th overall, with their 6/2, 7/5 win.They did’nt lose a set.
The tournament will close with the final Men’s Over 35 match between top Berbicians Godfrey Lowden/Tony Ameerally against Sandeep Chand/Alex Almeida.