The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

While No.7 seed Iesha Shepherd returned to familiar territory, wild card John Kelly made a breakthrough and Joshua Turnquest had to dig down deep to regain some revenge as the trio were the only Bahamians to advance out of the first round of singles at the International Tennis Federation’s Goombay Splash Bowl at the National Tennis Centre on Monday.

The junior tournament, featuring players from all around the world, is slated to run through Saturday. In addition to the girls and boys 18-and-under singles, which the three participated in, the players are also competing in doubles. There is also a girls and boys under-14 segment.

Turnquest, who lost in his previous match to Dimitri Bird when they both played here in the under-14 division, won the rematch 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in what turned out to be a battle between “David and Goliath.” The towering Turnquest easily took advantage of his much shorter American opponent in the first set.

But in the second set, Bird broke to start the set, again at 3-1 and 4-2 before he closed it out with another for the win.

However, Turnquest got the break to start the third and after Bird broke him back, there was a period in which ITF referee Mickey Williams was called to intervene. Turnquest had argued a shot that Bird had called long, which resulted in the American holding serve for a 2-1 lead.

After the dispute was resolved, the two went on to hold serve until Bird broke Turnquest to go up 4-2. He held serve to extend his lead to 5-2. But in a remarkable turn around, Turnquest bounced back with vengeance and he broke Bird at 5-4 and 6-5 and powered his serve in for the game, set and match.

“In the first set, I played really aggressive. I was on my game,” Turnquest said. “In the second set, I let it up a little and I got frustrated, but I realised that I had to stay focused. I want to thank the Bahamian people for pushing me through. In the last set, I was able to get back on my game at the end and was able to pull it of.”

The CR Walker student said he wasn’t “focused” and he was “off” in the second set, but he was glad that he was able to regroup and now he will have to stay with his game plan to play every match one point at a time if he intends to go any further into the tournament.

Up next for Turnquest will be No.6 seed Zaharije-Zak Talic of Australia.

Shepherd back in second round

For Shepherd, this was her second consecutive appearance in the second round. She advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 win over American Alexa Buttera. “The match wasn’t what I expected, but I played well. I played aggressive,” said the 16-year-old Shepherd who attends Queen’s College. “It was a breeze for me. It wasn’t strenuous, so I’m looking forward to playing my next match.”

In the second set, Shepherd was not as aggressive as she was in the first. But she managed to surge ahead when she broke Buttera and held for a 4-3 lead in what started out as a keenly contested set. Buttera held to cut the deficit to 5-4. Then after double faulting, Shepherd was able to hold with a flashy behind the back return that Buttera hit wide.

“She (Buttera) got into the groove and was hitting some deep balls cross court and she was moving me around,” Shepherd said. “I lost my composure for a minute and I regained it and came out and won.”

Now that she’s back into the second round, Shepherd said she’s looking forward to advancing. She will be back on the court 9am today against M Brito Torres of Mexico.

Kelly made his breakthrough

Awarded one of the wild cards, Kelly made good of his opportunity to play in the main draw by beating American Ryan Mahatme 6-4, 6-3 in his debut in the tournament. “It was great. I thought I played very good. The guy was a tough opponent. He dictated the points very well and he made me play hard,” Kelly said. “Overall, I thought it was a very good match.”

Kelly, 16, said the tournament is a very good one and he’s looking forward to his next match today when he takes on No.8 seed Dan Martin from Canada.

Also yesterday, Bahamian O’Neil Mortimer was eliminated after he lost 6-1, 6-1 to No.7 seed William Grant.

The majority of the matches played yesterday were doubles.

Shepherd and Mandisa Walle def. Sydney Clarkwe and Anika Nissenb 6-4, 6-0, Bird and Roger Lyn knocked off Turnquest and Nagid Walle 6-4, 6-0, Simona Agapi and Paula Mihaela Onita def. the Bahamian duo of Sierra Donaldson and Afrika Smith 6-2, 6-3, Ryan Goetz and Adam Neff def. John Kelly and O’Neal Mortimer 6-0, 6-3, Jiawen Li and Ivon Mihaleva def. Bahamians Donesha Gibson and Shay’tonya Missick and Theodora Francu and Nadja Ochsner def. Bahamians Lauryn Daxon and Elana Mackey 6-1, 6-2.