The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SYDNEY Clarke will cherish the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association/International Tennis Federation 2018 Goombay Splash Under-18 Tournament for a long time. She had every reason to enjoy her delayed birthday celebrations until Saturday night after she clinched the girls’ singles title in dramatic fashion at the National Tennis Centre.

Jacobi Bain gave it his best shot, but he was overpowered by American Bruno Kuzuhara, but still managed to come out with a title as he and his New Zealand partner William Kesteron teamed up to win the doubles crown.

The girls’ doubles crown went to Leyden Games and her American counterpart Maya Rukosuev.

Sweet victory for Clarke

In a hard-fought battle, Clarke came up with a dominant performance in the third set to eventually win the girls’ singles title 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 over unseeded American Leyden Games. “It was a mixture of emotions. It was a roller coaster from the beginning. The first set I was really shaky, but I was able to win,” said Clarke, the top seeded player.

She played like that as she got the first break at 3-2 and broke again at 5-2 to hold serve for the first set. In the second set, Games got back a break for a 3-3 tie and she broke again to go up 5-3 and then served to even the score. “I kind of went right back down. I was kind of out of it,” she stated. “But in the final set, I kind of put it all together.”

It showed as she broke away from a 1-1 and was never challenged the rest of the way.

“I am so proud of myself. This is my first title at home and I really, really love the fact that I won,” she insisted.

Her confidence was bolstered when she went up 2-1 and with her rhythm back, she also regained her confidence and it spelt trouble for a frustrated Games.

“It was really hard for mew not to say any negative stuff,” said Clarke, about her letdown in the second set. “Sometimes I wanted too, but I just had to keep it going, keep a positive vibe and just stuck with it because she was really good. She was fighting and she was getting a lot of balls back, so I had to do the same and be patient just like her.”

Having made her parents and her friend really proud, Clarke said she was going to celebrate her birthday from last Sunday just before the tournament started and her clinching of the title five days later.

Bain fell short

Bruno Kuzuhara, the No.4 seed, utilized his speed and solid defensive game to pull off the 6-3, 6-3 triumph over unseeded Jacobi Bain for the boys title.

“It was a great experience, very nice food, good culture, great people here, very nice place, lovely beach. It was a very nice experience, especially being able to play and against some great players, especially Jacobi, who is one of my good friends, so it was a really fun tournament and I’m happy that I won,” Kuzuhara said.

With a flurry, Kuzuhara jumped out of the gate quickly in the first set, taking the first fives before Bain finally broke the jinx by holding serve for a 5-1 decision. Bain then broke and held to trim it down to 5-3, but Kuzuhara put together a big service game to clinch it.

“I feel like IU started off really well. He wasn’t moving too well, so I just kind of tried to move him around and around and to look for the short ball to attack,” Kuzuhara said. “That was one of the main reasons why I won the match.”

The 14-year-old Floridian kept the pressure on the taller southpaw Bain in the second set after he broke a 1-1 to go up a break 2-1. Kuzuhara broke again at 5-2, but Bain got a break of his own to trim it to 5-3. Kuzuhara got the final break, which counted the most as he won the game, set and match.

“My match was okay. I played okay, but I’m pretty sure I could have played better. I just missed a few important points,” said Bain 15. “In the first set, I went down 5-0, but I started to come back. In the second set, I had a bunch of break opportunities, which I wasn’t able to capitalize on.”

Bain admitted that Kuzuhara played a solid game from the baseline and he really missed.

“I just need to be a bit more consistent and wait for my chances,” Bain summed up.

Boys doubles final

With a little bit of time to recuperate from his singles loss, Jacobi Bain bounced back on the court as he and New Zealand’s William Kesterson were too much to handle as the No.3 teas as they held on for a 6-4, 6-3 win over Piotr Kusiewicz of Poland and Mark Lajal of Estonia, the No.2 ranked team, for the boys’ doubles crown.

Girls doubles final

Leyden Games, also with a chance to redeem herself after the singles loss, teamed up with her American counterpart Maya Rukosuev as the No.4 team easily won the girls double title with a 6-2, 6-1 upset decision over the Canadian duo of Petra Miszczak and Genevieve Quenville., who were the No.2 ranked team.

Note: On hand to watch the final was Bahamian retired tennis pro turned television commentator and coach Mark Knowles. He will share his views on a number of issues in The Tribune on Tuesday.