The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net Urszula Radwanska of Poland wanted to get the match over as quickly as possible. Simone Pratt didn't want the first time experience for the Bahamas to over any time soon. With the match starting about an hour and-a-half behind schedule, Radwanska wasted little time in putting away Pratt with a 6-0, 6-1 win in the first round of the main draw of the second Bahamas Open Women's Tennis Tournament at National Tennis Centre Monday night. "I was feeling very good tonight, even though it was pretty late," Radwanska said. "This was my first time being in the Bahamas so for me it was a new experience, but so far I like it." The small crowd on hand certainly loved it as they cheered for the 16-year-old Pratt, a native of Grand Bahama, who has proven that she has the potential to play at the international level in the future. "At the beginning...the first game I was a bit nervous but at the end I played my game," said the 16-year-old Grand Bahamian who made history as the first Bahamian to play in the main draw of an international tournament. "It was a great match. I tried my best." Radwanska, the No.4 seeded player in the tournament, made it look so easy at the beginning of the match when she took a 3-0 lead, blanking Pratt in all three games. But from there, Pratt started to pick up her game and took Radwanska to advantage before she held for a 4-0 lead. The next two games, Pratt got a 15-0 lead but Radwanska went on to break and hold for the set. In the second set, Radwanska opened a 2-0 lead but Pratt gained a lot of confidence and made her play for every point the rest of the way. In fact, Radwanska double faulted to start the sixth game and eventually fell behind 0-40 as Pratt managed to get the break for a 5-1 deficit - her first point achieved in the match. But that was short lived as Radwanska came back and returned the favour by breaking Pratt to end the match. Radwanska said there's no doubt that Pratt still has a lot more work to do to play at the international level. But she noticed that Pratt kept on fighting which forced her to step up her game down the stretch. "I was ready. She can play. I was just focused from the beginning," Radwanska said. She added that she came to the Bahamas to win this tournament and if she plays her game, she definitely feels she has a chance at achieving her goal. For Pratt, even though the score wasn't what she expected, she still felt as if she gave it her best shot. "I just need to play more matches at this level," she said. "I have to improve on my consistency, my footwork and my serve. There are a lot of things that I can improve on." But she noted that it's a learning experience that she hopes to cherish. "I'm very proud to make history in this tournament and I hope to be here again next year," she said. The two players, by the way, are expected to team up in another historic match when they square off against the returning Bahamian wild card entry team of Nikkita Fountain and Grand Bahamian Larikah Russell in tonight's feature match. The tournament produced a number of players who were back from last year and some who were making their debut. Just before the Radwanska-Pratt singles match, the first doubles match in the main draw saw the defending champions Maria Sanchez and Yasmin Schnack of the US get stunned in a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 loss to the team of Jill Craybas of the US and Australian Anastasia Rodionova. In that match, Craybas and Rodionova were serving at 9-8 when the lights on the stadium court were inadvertently turned off. It took about 15 minutes before they came back on and another five before the match resumed. In matches played yesterday: Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova, the No.1 seed in the qualifying round, advanced to the main draw with her 7-5, 6-4 win over S Fichman. She was joined by Rika Fujiwara of Japan, the No.3 seed, who won 6-4, 7-6 over Marie-Eve Pelletier. No. 4 seed Gail Brodsky of the US advanced as well with her 6-4, 6-1 decision over Valeria Solovieva of Russia and Coco Vandeweghe got in with a 6-1, 6-0 decision over Catalina Castano. When play in the main draw got underway, the tournament's top seed Pauline Parmentier of France led the way with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over German Kristina Barrois. Other winners included Jill Craybas with a 6-0, 6-0 win over fellow American Ryann Foster, Stephanie Dubois over Alexandra Stevenson 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in a 4-1 retired match over Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia, No.3 Anne Keothavong of Great Britain 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 over Petra Rampre, No.2 Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 over Nina Bratchikoa of Russia, No.5 Alksandra Wozniak of Canada over Olga Savchuk of the Ukraine 7-6, 6-1 and Alize Cornet of France over Julia Cohen of the US 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The tournament is slated to continue 10am today.