Anthony Downes came back from being down one set to win the next two and close out Jeremy Miller to claim the boys’ 18 and under title last night in the Banks DIH Plus Energy Open lawn tennis tournament.
Downes told Stabroek Sport after the game that he gave all credit to his opponent who made the match truly memorable.
“He [Miller] played real good early as he played a lot of top-spin shots that really put me off balance.
“What also made him tough in the first set was the fact that he chased down all my shots and because I had a lot of unforced errors I found myself in the hole early,” he said.
The second set came to a halt when Miller’s left calf muscle cramped up while Downes led 3-2 in the second set. Miller never seemed to recover from the cramps and Downes made no mistake in taking advantage of Miller’s immobility to claim the second set 6-4.
The determined Miller returned in the third and final set and managed to come back from trailing 3-0 and drew as near as 4-3.
Detecting that his opponent was creeping up close, Downes played a more consistent shot and reduced his unforced errors.
Downes regained his confidence as he advanced to 5-3 and dispatched every shot that miller threw at him to claim the under 18 title after winning the final set 6-3.
On Thursday, Rudy Grant claimed the men’s 35 title when he defeated Andre Lopes in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
Carlos Adams won the men’s 45 singles as he got past Stephen David-Longe with relative ease, wining 6-0, 6-3.
Results for Thursday matches:
Men’s Singles Semis:
Phillip Squires def. Lealon Leacock 5-7, 6-3,6-0
Men’s Doubles Semis:
Jason Andrews/Jeremy Miller def. Oswin Coggins/Saevion Longe 6-1,6-4
Men’s 35 Singles Finals:
Rudy Grant def. Andre Lopes 6-1,6-4
Men’s 45 Singles Finals:
Carlos Adams def. Stephen David-Longe 6-0,6-3
Men’s 45 Doubles Finals:
Carlos Adams/Bobby Khan def. Keith Eversley/Omar Persaud 6-2,6-3
