The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), last Friday, launched its 7th consecutive annual tennis tournament. In celebration of the country’s 50th independence, the Guyana Tennis Association decided on a commemorative name to this year’s tournament.
At the opening ceremony held at GBTI Recreational Centre, the Assistant Coordinator of the Tournament, Daniel Lopes noted 136 entrants in 11 categories: Boys Singles, Girls Singles, Mens Open Singles, Ladies Open Singles, Mens Over 35 Singles, Mens Over 45 Singles, Novice Medley Singles, Mens Open Doubles, Ladies Open Doubles, Mixed Open Doubles, and Novice Medley Doubles.
A statement from the bank said Lopes also expounded on his desire for sound sportsmanship to be exemplified throughout the tournament while noting that the tournament generally features the best players in Guyana and therefore a high level of performance. He noted however, that there is room for improvement as he remains optimistic that this year with the introduction of revised guiding principles, the tournament can set a great example for the future.
GLTA Tournament Committee Chairman, Robert Bostwick provided the attendees with the recent history of the annual tournament where astounding consecutive wins have come from the five-time defending Mens champion Anthony Downes and three-time Ladies Champion Nicola Ramdyhan. The Chairman challenged the players to play with their heart and seek to earn the coveted titles.
Additionally, the Marketing Manager of GBTI expressed the bank’s commitment and gratitude towards the development of tennis in Guyana. She reiterated that the indicator for the sport’s development lies in the outcomes of tournaments and as such she wishes for great challenges to dethrone the defending champions.
According to the statement, the first two days of matches saw keen contests from players who seemed to be too anxious to compete. The highlight match however, was between Khawn Rodney and Bobby Adelson of the United States. Adelson whose flamboyant style of play created a buzz during the tournament in 2015 was initially stunned by Rodney and went down in the first set 4-6. In the second set Rodney was again up 4-1 maintaining a flurry of solid groundstrokes. Adelson then switched up his game and played more defensive which drew errors from Rodney and leveled the set for a tie-break. Adelson managed to win the tie-break 7/5. In the third set, Rodney developed cramps in his hands which hampered his consistency and Adelson raced away to take third set 6-1. The full set of results so far are:
Boys Open Singles Round of 32: Mark McDonald def Adesh Khayyam 6-0, 6-0; Joshua Kalekyezi def Vadeanand Resaul 6-0, 6-0; Keenan Persaud def Malik Williams w/o, Jeevan Dalip def Michaia Andrews w/o, Vijay Sharma def Ariel Khan 6-0, 6-0; Viraj Sharma def Shimron Lewis 6-1, 6-0
Girls Open Singles Qtrs: Shivani Persaud def Margaret Subryan 6-3, 6-2; Ciara Pooran def Alana Chung w/o, Sarah Klautky def Nathalie Ramdyhan 6-0, 6-1; Kalyca Fraser def Charlese Adam w/o
Mens Open Singles Round of 32: Bobby Adelson def Khawn Rodney 4-6,7-6(7/5),6-1, Stephen Bailey def Philbert Clarke 6-4,6-0, Mark McDonald def Bishan Dalip 6-4,3-6, 6-1, Nicholas Glasgow def Martin Campbell w/o, Daniel Lopes def Leroy Chapman 6-0, 6-0, Surendra Khayyam def Harrinand Persaud w/o, Andre Erskine def Akeem Bailey 6-1, 6-0, Heimraj Resaul def Rudy Grant 6-1, 6-1, Kester Abrams def Robert Bostwick 6-2, 6-4
Ladies Open Singles Round of 16: Aretta Dey def Patricia Hope 6-0, 6-0, Fiona Bushell def Alana Chung w/o
Novice Medley Singles Round of 16: Alvin Doris def Shaquille Bourne 7-6(8/6), Brian Primo def Akeem Bailey w/o. Qtrs: Devon Gonsalves def Martin Campbell 6-4, Asif Subhan def Amanda Roberts 6-4
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