The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER their match was suspended on Friday evening because of inadequate lighting at the National Tennis Centre, brothers Baker and Spencer Newman completed their gruelling men's final of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association's annual Giorgio Baldacci National Tennis Open Challenge at Old Fort Bay.

Spencer Newman, the number two seed and runner up, took the first set 6-4, but Baker, his younger brother and defending champion, rebounded to hold serve at 2-2 in the second set when chair umpire Bradley Bain halted play.

Apparently, when the lights came on, they were not adequate for both players to continue playing.

Although all of the lights came on, some were twisted away from the court following Hurricane Matthew and did not provide the necessary lighting required, so the players opted not to continue under the conditions.

They decided to resume on Friday night at Old Fort Bay, where they are residing instead of coming back on Saturday morning as previously indicated by the BLTA to complete the match.

In the process, the 22-year-old Baker Newman managed to come back and pull off a gruelling three-set victory, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to repeat as champion and clinch the top spot for the men's Davis Cup team as they prepare for the American Zone II Davis Cup team against Venezuela in February.

Spencer Newman, 25, will again go in as the No.2 player.

The men's third place match was not played as Kevin Major Jr suffered a back injury during his semi-final against Baker Newman. He was unable to play against No.3 seed Marvin Rolle, who was awarded the match.

Rolle, who lost to Spencer Newman in the other semi-final, will return to the team as the No.3 player. Rolle, the oldest member of the team at 33 and the most experienced having played on a number of Davis Cup teams, was the player/captain.

Major Jr, the youngest member of the team at 21, will make up the quartet. It's the same Bahamas team that went to Bolivia in July and earned promotion from zone III.