The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Teenage sensation Iesha Shephard was having a sensational run through the ladies’ singles of the Giorgio Baldacci Battle of the Elite Players Tennis Tournament until she ran into Danielle Thompson in the final.

Thompson, the 18-year-old No.2 seed, made sure she wasn’t a victim of 14-year-old Shephard on Saturday when she pulled off a 6-3, 6-2 decision at the National Tennis Centre to win the title in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s year-ending tournament.

As the No.4 seed, Shephard stunned No.3 seed Nikkita Fountain 2-6 7-5 6-0 in the first round and got a walk over win against top seed Larikah Russell in the semifinal in the limited field of female players.

On the other hand, nothing changed on the men’s side, as Devin Mullings produced another championship title. Mullings, who missed last year’s tournament due to surgery, had another epic match with arch-rival Marvin Rolle, pulling of a 6-2, 7-6 (6) win.

Thompson over Shephard

Two of the future tennis stars hooked up in the ladies’ final with Fed Cup player Thompson prevailing over Shephard, who hopes to one day become one of the players to carry the Bahamas flag at the major senior international event.

“It was pretty good,” said Thompson, who got a bye in the first round and was a walk over winner against Shay’Tonya Missick from Grand Bahama in the semifinal. “In the first set, I started off really shaky and she was able to take advantage of that and won a few games.

“In the second set, I was more aggressive, attacking from the baseline. In the second set, I was really surprised because I stepped up my game and that was really good tennis played. In the first set, she was able to keep up with me, so it was some good tennis played.”

In the end, Thompson said she gets to celebrate with the victory in a prestigious national tennis tournament, especially as it comes right on the eve of the Christmas festivities.

“It’s a nice Christmas present,” she said. “Giorgio has been around since I started playing at age five, so it’s a great feeling to be out here supporting his tournament. I’m sure that he’s looking down and is pleased to see that we are still keeping his memory alive.”

For Thompson, who was coming off three consecutive losses against her peers in the IC North American 16-and-under tournament against the United States, Mexico and Barbados a few days before, playing in the tournament was a big accomplishment for her, even if she didn’t win.

“I didn’t play as well as I expected,” she said. “I played my hardest, but she was just better than me. I never thought that I would have been here in the final, but I did. You win some and you lose some. You just have to keep going on, keep pushing.”

Mullings over Rolle

Since becoming a husband and father after he missed last year’s tournament, Mullings said he was delighted to come back and prove that he is still the best the country has to offer. But against Rolle, he admitted that he had to work extremely hard to prevail.

Mullings dedicated his performance to his wife Lateshia and his daughter Laia.

“It feels good. I think I returned very well in the tournament. I think I could have served better, even though I think I only got broke once at the end,” said Mullings, who has now won 12 of the 13 tournaments the BLTA has hosted in December to look at players for both the ladies Fed Cup and the men’s Davis Cup teams.

Mullings, 28, was broken for the first time in the second set by Rolle, who pulled even at 3-3. Both held serve to force the tie breaker. In the tie breaker, Rolle went up 4-2, but Mullings stormed back for a 6-4 advantage. Rolle extended his lead to 7-6, but Mullings rebounded to win the next three games for the victory.

“I was concerned because Marvin was serving big. He kind of picked up his serve in the second set,” Mullings said. “After he got the break, it was close. It was tough from there. I was just happy that I won.”

Despite the loss, 30-year-old Rolle said he’s not disappointed at all. “It was good. Playing Devin is always tough,” he said. “I had my chances, but I just didn’t convert and I lost. He was tough to beat. He’s been winning for so long, but we respect each other’s game. We know that when we meet it’s going to be a battle. But he’s a good player. He deserves to win.”

In getting to the final, Mullings had to get past Jamal Adderley on Saturday in a renewal of their Grand Bahama rivalry. Both players were trash-talking against each other and eventually had to have a referee intervene on the court. Mullings eventually won 6-3, 6-4. Rolle, on the other hand, got into the final as he took care of Kevin Major Jr in a marathon come-from-behind 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 decision on Friday.

MIXED DOUBLES

While they both fell short of getting into the final of their respective singles, the brother and sister No.2 tandem of Nikkita and William Fountain made good of their combo in mixed doubles to win the title on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over unseeded Jody Turnquest and Gabrielle Moxey. The top seeded team of Marvin Rolle and Larikah Russell didn’t play due to an injury to Russell.

LADIES DOUBLES

With only three teams entered, the withdrawal of top seeds Russell and Alanna Rodgers brought the draw down to a straight final. In the only match played, No.2 seed Nikkita Fountain and River Hart were a little too much for No.3 Danielle Thompson and Gabrielle Moxey to handle. The final score on Saturday was 6-2, 6-2 for Fountain and Hart.

MEN’S DOUBLES

The top seeded team of Marvin Rolle and Jadrian Turnquest lived up to their expectations, taking the title in a marathon three-setter 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 over the No.2 team of William Fountain and Ceron Rolle on Sunday.

The match brought the curtain down on the tournament that was held in memory of the late Giorgio Baldacci, a former executive of the BLTA who made a valuable contribution to the development of mAny of the players who participated.