Ben Mekdeci recorded two wins whilst Nyron Joseph, Travis Whitehead and Patrick Fraser suffered mixed fortunes on the third night of action in the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Wood-pecker Products-sponsored national junior championships at the Georgetown Club courts Thursday night.
Competing in the Boys Under-11 and 13 combined category, Mekdeci defeated Alec Melville and Travis Whitehead while Whitehead returned later to defeat Adesina Trim in his second match of the evening.
Joseph, the defending Under-13 champion, took care of Alexander Cheeks in his first match in the Under-11 and 13 Boys combined category, before going under to Jason Ray Khalil in an Under-15 encounter.
Fraser was beaten by Matthew Phang in his first match but defeated Trim in his second.
Also in winners’ row were Steven Xavier, Oliver Downes and Victoria Arjoon but the match of the night was the Whitehead/Mekdeci clash which took place on court number two.
It could have been termed ‘David versus Goliath 2’, as the pint-sized Whitehead faced up to the much bigger Meckdeci.
Mekdeci led 6-2 with his powerful strokes both in the front and back court and then 10-5.
However, a never-say-die attitude from Whitehead saw him roaring back from game ball at 5-10 to level the scores with some deft shots of his own in the front court before Mekdeci prevailed 12-10.
Mekdeci raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second set using his power serves and the corners well against the much smaller Whitehead.
But, watched by his dad, Whitehead refused to give up but he paid the price for refusing to call for a let on a play, which handed the point and serve back to Meckdeci, who took the second set 11-5.
Mekdeci rushed to a comfortable 9-0 lead before Whitehead managed to place his name on the scorer’s sheet.
This time around, there was no comeback story from Whitehead, as his opponent closed out the match 11-1.
In the Khalil/Joseph matchup, Khalil raced to a 9-0 lead in the first set before Joseph, who had competed against Cheeks 25 minutes before, managed to score his first point which was to no avail as Khalil closed the set off 11-1.
Traded rallies were the order of the night in the second set as a determined looking Joseph fought tooth and nail with the defending champion who led 3-0, before he scored his first point, courtesy of a drop shot in the front court that was out of Khalil’s reach, but that was all he was allowed as Khalil closed it off 11-1.
A determined looking Joseph played like a true champion
Before Khalil closed out the match 11-5.
The full results from Thursday night’s action are as follows:
Girls Under 13
Taylor Fernandes defeated Rebecca Xavier 11-8, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9 and Gabrielle Fraser defeating Taylor Fernandes 11-4, 11-9, 11-2.
In the Girls Under 15, 17 & 19 combined category, Victoria Arjoon steam rolled Kristina Cheeks 11-0, 11-0, 11-2.
Action in the Boys’ Under 11 & 13 combined saw Ben Mekdeci defeating Alec Melville 11-9, 11-9, 11-3, Immanuel Barker getting past Adesina Trim 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, Nyron Joseph stopped Alexander Cheeks 11-4, 11-3, 11-0, Matthew Phang defeated Patrick Fraser 12-10, 13-15, 14-12, 11-8, Alec Melville defeated Barker 11-8, 11-2, 11-3, Travis Whitehead overcame Adesina Trim 11-4, 11-0, 11-3.
In the same category, Ben Mekdeci defeated Whitehead 12-10, 11-5, 11-1, whilst Fraser took care of Trim 11-5, 11-3, 11-5.
In the Boys’ Under 15 category, Jason Ray Khalil humbled Joseph 11-1, 11-1, 11-5 and Steven Xavier defeated Ryan Da Silva 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 whilst in the lone Boys’ Under 17 & 19 combined match, Oliver Downes defeated Nicholas Naraine 11-0, 11-5, 11-8.
Action in the tournament which culminates tomorrow will continue tonight at the same venue.
