The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT took Sydney Clarke’s “toughest” match and Jacobi Bain’s “amazing” performance to reach the girls’ and boys’ finals of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s International Tennis Federation 2018 Goombay Splash Bowl.

Like a little dynamite, top seed Clarke shot out of the blocks and controlled the tempo of her half of the girls semi-finals yesterday to prevail with a 6-0, 6-4 decision over American Madison Smith.

Today, Clarke will get to take on Leyden Games in the final.

Games, also from the United States, eliminated American No.2 seed Nicole Kieper 6-4, 6-1.

Bain, relying on his tall, slender height, knocked off No.8 seed Riley Odell 6-3, 6-2 in his half of the boys’ semi-final at the National Tennis Centre.Unseeded Bain will now face No.4 Bruce Kuzuhara, another American, in the final.

Kuzuhara earned his spot in the final with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) decision over American Derek Raskopf.

It will mark the first time that the Bahamas will have a player featured in both the boys’ and girls’ final of the same tournament.

Clarke overpowers Smith

The diminutive Clarke used her speed to win the first seven games, including a 6-0 shutout in the first set, to stun the taller and more powerpacked Smith in her semi-final match.

Smith, just 13 years old, managed to regain her composure and held serve to get on the scoreboard for a 2-1 deficit in the second set. They both held serve with Clarke eventually holding serve at the end for the win. “It was the toughest one,” said Clarke about the match. “I am very proud of myself. I was kind of nervous in the first set. I just had to stick to my game plan after I went over it last night.

“The girl I played today was really good. She is solid, she hit a big ball, so I knew I had to do a lot of defending. When I had a chance to take the offence I had to take it.”

After bringing her A game to the semi-final, Clarke admitted that there’s nothing left for her to do than to go all the way and clinch the title today.

“I expect to play the same way tomorrow (today) and even better,” she projected. “If I play like this tomorrow, I know I can definitely take the title.”

Clarke, who celebrated her 17th birthday on Sunday, said she’s excited to be joining Bain as the first two Bahamians to play in the final in the same tournament. They are slated to play the boys’ and girls’ finals on separate courts at 9am.

Bain swept Odell

After playing two tough three setters in the second and third rounds, Bain got back to winning ways in the first round by stopping Odell in two straight sets.

Bain jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first set and held serve for the win. In the second set, Odell managed to take the early 2-0 lead, but Bain went up a break at 3-2 and he coasted to victory the rest of the way.

“I thought I played amazing. I thought I played way better than I did in my last three matches, so it was a much better performance for me,” Bain said.

“It was pretty close in the first set before I finally got a break and I starting holding more and breaking more. In the second set, he started playing better and I fell down 2-0. I just had to come back and fight.”

Like Clarke, Bain said if he can duplicate his performance from yesterday, he should be able to pull off the final today.

“I just have to be consistent and keep the balls on the court,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. It will be a good one. It would be even special if I can win it at home.”

Bain, 15, said he’s just excited to join Clarke as the first two Bahamians to play in the finals in the same tournament.

Boys’ doubles semi-finals

Bain will have double duties as he and his American partner William Kesterson, seeded at No.3, advanced to the boys’ doubles final today with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 decision over the top seeded team of Riley Odell and Jc Roddick from the USA.

Bain and Kesterson will now face the No.2 team of Piotr Kusiewicz and Mark Lajal, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No.4 seeds Bruno Kuzuhara and Derek Raskopf.They are scheduled to play the doubles final at 11am.

Girls’ doubles semi-finals

The finals for the girls’ doubles will come down to a showdown between the No.2 and No.4 teams.

In one half of the draw, No.2 seed Petra Miszczak and Genevieve Quenville, both of Canada, won 6-3, 7-5 over Americans Rachel Treibick Caplan and Ashley Vielma. The other half of the draw saw No.4 seeds Leyden Games and Maya Rukosuev, both of the USA, win 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 over fellow Americans Baylen Brown and Madison Smith.

The doubles match is scheduled to start at 11am.