The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

In what could be described as a “changing of the guard,” rising young teenager Iesha Shephard pulled off one of the biggest upsets of her life with a stunning 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 victory over veteran Nikkita Fountain to highlight Thursday’s action at the Giorgio Baldacci Open Challenge tennis tournament.

Shephard, a former student of Fountain, said she was more than elated to still be alive in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s year-ending tournament that will be used as guideline in selecting the women’s team going to the Fed Cup in February in Paraguay and the men’s Davis Cup team heading to Puerto Rico in June.

While Shephard knocked out one of the big challengers for the title on the ladies’ side, the top three seeds all prevailed on the men’s side over qualifiers with defending champion Devin Mullings defeating William ‘JJ’ Fountain, Kevin ‘KJ’ Major coming from behind for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 decision over Justin Lunn and Marvin Rolle taking care of Shannon Francis 6-3, 6-2.

The tournament is slated to continue today with the semifinal in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The tournament is scheduled to wrap up on Saturday.

Shephard over Fountain

For 14-year-old Shephard, the victory was one that she will cherish for a long time. “I got a late start in the first set, but I regrouped in the second and third and I swung straight through and I took control of my game,” Shephard said. “In the third set, I came back stronger and I came out victorious.”

After holding serve for a 5-2 deficit only to go on to lose the first set 6-2, Shephard bounced back from a 4-2 deficit in the second set with three breaks at 5-3, 5-5 and 7-5 for the win. In the third set, she got the three breaks at 2-0, 4-0 and 6-0 to clinch the win.

“I feel good,” she said. “Beating her was phenomenal.”

Shephard, fresh off losing all of her matches in the IC North American 16-and-under tournament earlier in the week against the United States, Mexico and Barbados, will not have any time to rest on her laurels as she will take on top seed Larikah Russell in today’s semifinal.

“I’ve never played her,” Shephard said. “But I’m looking forward to playing her just as I did against Nikkita.”

In her defence, Fountain admitted that she wasn’t at full strength and it showed in the critical third set. “It was okay. My back started to tighten up in the second set and I just couldn’t move,” Fountain said. “She hit the ball very well, but there was nothing I could do in the third.”

Mullings over Fountain

As the top seed, Devin Mullings knows that whoever he plays, he will have his hands full. The Grand Bahamian native, however, just wanted to make sure that he was prepared for the challenge.

After breaking at 5-2 to eventually win the first set, Mullings stepped up his game a bit in the second set to cruise to victory.

“The match was good. I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but then I got relaxed. It was very windy out there, but I think I played good throughout the match,” he said. “I was looking to come forward. It was a good match.”

The 28-year-old long-time Davis Cup team member comes into the tournament as a married man and a proud father of his first child. He noted that he’s playing as energised as he’s ever been before and he’s looking forward to the rest of the tournament.

Fountain, who made his exit out of the singles draw just before his sister, admitted that Mullings was hard to beat.

“Devin was tough. He proved why he’s one of our best tennis players. He’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever had,” Fountain said. “I went out there and tried my best, but it was very difficult. He pushed the ball on the court and I couldn’t go through with my game plan. He was too good for me.”

Rolle over Francis

In a showdown of youth vs experi ence, Rolle was not yet quite ready to turn his position over to Francis, but he did admit that the youngster and others are coming.

“At the beginning, he came out strong. I didn’t expect that. I had to rise my level,” Rolle said. “He’s one of our up and coming young junior players, so I had to be very careful. I couldn’t let him beat me, at least not yet.”

After shaking off the rust in the first set from not playing at home in a tournament in a while, Rolle started to click on all cylinders in the second set as he coasted to victory.

“The young guys are coming now. They’re trying to take over our spots,” said Rolle, who is hoping for another appearance on the Davis Cup team next year. “Time has to change soon. Eventually it will come, but I just hope it doesn’t come right now.”

Rolle, 30, will be taking on 18-year-old Kevin Major Jr in today’s semifinal.

Francis, who played for the Bahamas in the IC Tournament earlier this week, said he went out there and he gave it his best shot.

“In the first set, we were going deuce-ad, deuce-ad before he eventually won it,” Francis said. “In the second set, I just lost focus and he took advantage of it.”

But the 16-year-old qualifier said it was a good experience for him because he doesn’t have “this kind of experience playing at home, so anytime I got an opportunity, I’m going to try and make the most of it.”

Major Jr over Lunn

What started out as a marathon affair turned into a rout at the end as Major Jr breezed past Lunn, who wasn’t able to contain his composure in the critical third set.

“It was tough. It was rough tough. I needed that match,” Major Jr said. “I kept telling myself that once I get a chance I was going to capitalise on it. I got the break in the third set and I made sure that I took advantage of it.”

Lunn, who continues to amaze people playing with his deformed right arm, got a break at 3-3 and was able to surge to the first set win. However, Major Jr got the break he needed in the second set and he was able to level the playing field. While Lunn got frustrated with himself, Major Jr was more calm, cool and collective in the third to seal the win.

Now Major Jr has to prepare to play Rolle and he’s confident that he can stay focused and it should be a competitive match today.