The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

KERRIE Cartwright knew that if she wanted to regain her ladies title in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s 2019 Giorgio Baldacci National Open Tennis Tournament, she would have had to play her best against defending champion Sydney Clarke.

As the top seed, Cartwright determined her own destiny on Saturday at the National Tennis Centre as she prevailed with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 decision over Clarke, the No.2 seed.

“It feels great. This is what we all train for. This is what we all want. I’m glad that I pulled it off,” said a jubilant Cartwright. “I’m here and I got the job done.”

The 27-year-old, now residing in Washington DC, admitted that it didn’t come without a battle. In both sets, she jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, only to watch as the 17-year-old collegiate bound Clarke rallied back to make it an exciting contest in front of the crowd.

“I wanted to get up there quick so that I could have more of a breathing room, but obviously after I went up 3-0, I went back to 3-3 real quick,” Cartwright pointed out. “So that’s something I need to work on. I have to keep steady and not have a mental letdown. But I’m glad that I got through it.”

Last year, Cartwright was one of the players who opted not to continue playing when the main draw was set because of the seeding. With the BLTA fixing the draw from the break, Cartwright said she was more eager to play and hopefully regained the crown she won the year before.

Against Clarke, who decided to play through the controversy, Cartwright didn’t want to take anything for granted.

Neither did Clarke as she rebounded from two breaks in the first set. Clarke got a break to get on the scoreboard at 3-1 and another at 5-5 as they both held serve.

Cartwright emerged the victor in the tie breaker.

Then in the second set, Cartwright went up a break 3-0, but Clark got a break for a 3-2 deficit. Cartwright, however, got the final break to go up 5-3 and she held serve to close out the game, set and match as they also had to battle through windy conditions.

“I think she handled the pressure very well,” said Cartwright of Clarke. “I think she placed her balls very well. Her accuracy was very good. I hope she continue imp[roving because I need her for Fed Cup next year. We are about to dominant.”

Cartwright was referring to the American Group II Fed Cup that will be played in April in Panama. By virtue of finishing as the champion and runner-up, Cartwright and Clarke automatically earn the top two spots on the team. The BLTA will determine the final three spots.

In preparation for the tie, Cartwright is encouraging all of the players to stay fit and in communication with each other so that they can ascertain what they are doing and develop a bond a little more before they head into Panama and perform their best.

While she’s looking forward to playing on the team again, Clarke said she was just delighted to have made it back to the tournament final.

“It was a great match. I felt I played very well. There were times when I felt I should have been more disciplined and concentrated more,” Clarke said. “But I was able to come back, even though I was down 3-0 twice and somehow I worked with the wind, watched my opponent better, placed more shots more on the court and it got better.

“But I felt down a bit mentally today. Kerrie played really well. I just have to stay physically fit and be mentally ready and work on my net game more so I can be a more solid player all around. I’m happy with the performance. I just needed a little more fight and fire at the end.”

While she look forward to representing the Bahamas once again on the Fed Cup team, Cartwright is hoping that she can turn things around from the dismal year she had.

“They changed the rules like it is on the ITF tour and they made the draws smaller, so it made it more difficult for players to get into the tournaments,” she noted. “All of the girls that were in the top 500 in the world, they were not getting into the main draw and so they had to play the qualifying rounds.

“They said they will change it again and make the draws bigger, so players can actually have a chance to get in. This year, my foot was acting up so I only played in a few tournaments. So I feel great. I’m looking forward to 2020 and wishing for the best.”

If there’s one goal on Cartwright’s agenda, it is to get her ranking back up. She previously was sitting around the 500 mark in doubles and about 800 in singles.

“I don’t want to set my goals too high. hen I reached them, then I want to move on to other goals,”she proclaimed. “I just want to get my rankings back up there and get into more tournaments since they are making the draws bigger. It was great being ranked. I loved it and I hope 2020 bring me a lot of good stuff.”

For Clarke, she’s just as excited about playing Fed Cup in her first year on the senior tour. Along the way, she hope to break into the pro circuit with a few tournaments, if she can get in. But her main focus is preparing to enter the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall where she will be pursing a major in entrepreneurship and a minor in broadcast journalism.

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s recently named Female Junior Athlete of the Year is in her final year at Windsor School and a member of the Albany Tennis Academy. She will be making her third appearance in Fed Cup, having played on the team in 2017 and again in 2019.