The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Donte Armbrister, showing a lot of resilience and shaking off a slight left shoulder injury after losing the first set, managed to stave off elimination by coming from behind to pull off a hard-fought, three-set victory over Shu Matsuoka of Japan.

With his 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph in the boys’ quarter-final of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s International Tennis Federation Goombay Splash, No.3 seed Armbrister emerged as the only Bahamian left in singles yesterday at the National Tennis Centre.

Number two seed Jacobi Bain was ousted by American Cooper Williams 6-4, 6-1 in one of the two other matches involving Bahamians, while girls’ top seed Sydney Clarke was knocked out of the week-long competition by American Sophia Wang 7-5, 6-3.

Armbrister stays alive

Showing signs that he was not at full strength as the match got underway, Armbrister was slow to react to the ball and was broken twice as he had some difficulty holding serve.

“As the match went on, I tried to get back into the match and I was a little more offensive,” Armbrister said. “I feel good mentally because most people might not have gone on to play.

“But with this being my last tournament as a junior and playing at home, I just went out to do my best. Whatever happened, happened. It was a tough match, but I’m just glad that I pulled it off.”

After losing the first set, the southpaw broke Matsuoka twice as he came back for the equaliser. Then in the third and final set, Armbrister broke at 3-1 and again at 5-1 as he went on to coast to victory. Now he’s into the semi-final that will be played today and Armbrister is hoping to keep his momentum going.

“This is my third semi-final in my junior career in singles, so hopefully the third time around is the charm,” he stated.

Bain eliminated

Although he had the height advantage, Bain could not contain Williams, who was the more aggressive of the two competitors throughout the match.

And if there was any doubts about his first set victory, Williams came out smoking in the second set, breaking Bain three times to go out 5-0. Bain returned the favour and got a break for a 5-1 deficit, but Williams closed out the game, set and match on another break. “He’s a great player. He has a fantastic serve and backhand. I was just focusing on hitting my serve. I had a lot of holds, lots of 40-15 and 40-0 holds. That was what really won the match,” Wang said.

“When I got to 4-0, I hit a couple of lucky shots and I got a break. That sort of boosted my confidence.

“I started returning a little better and my serve stayed the same the rest of the match. I had a ton of first serves.”

Wang, a 14-year-old from New York, said he’s trying his best to get through the tournament, especially being here in the Bahamas.

Bain acknowledged that he made one mistake too many and it cost him the match.

“In the first set, I was right there, but I was just missing a lot of first serves. Then when he broke me, I wasn’t able to get in my first sets. I had a lot of double faults,” Bain pointed out. “It’s something that I have to work in the future.”

In the second set, Bain said it got worse.

“I was just missing a lot of shots,” he pointed out. “I just didn’t make a lot of smart decisions.”

Bain, 15, is now preparing to head to Brazil from December 1-6 to participate in a training camp.

Clarke ousted

After getting two breaks, Wang jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. Clarke got a break for a 3-1 deficit. They both held serve until Wang got another break to go out 6-5 and she held serve to snatch the first set.

Riding the momentum in the second set, Wang broke and held for a 2-0 lead. Clarke got her first break for a 2-2 tie. But Wang broke Clarke twice to go up 3-2 and 5-2.

Refusing to give up, Clarke managed to get her final break to trim the deficit to 5-3. But as she took advantage of her lead, Wang broke Clarke in the final game to seal the set and match.

“I don’t think I performed my best tennis today, but I did what I needed to do to win,” Wang said. “I enjoyed playing out there so that was the fun part in getting me through.”

Here in the Bahamas for the first time, Wang said she liked the experience, especially the beaches. But she admit that he still have some unfinished business to take care of.

“I know it’s going to be a lot more challenging,” stated Wang the 15-year-old Florida native. “I just want to go out there and do my best.”

As the hometown favorite, Clarke said she wished she could have won and stayed in the tournament, but fate was not on her side.

“I thought the match was great. I played my game. I had a bit of ups and downs and I had chances where I could have dominated and probably take charge of the match,” Clarke recalled.

“But sometimes I fell down where it was really important and I was lacking my confidence. I really needed to be more mentally prepared today, but I fell down in that area.”

With her junior career now completed, Clarke, who turned 28 on Monday, said she just have to go back to the drawing board and prepare to play with the women on the circuit next year.

“I wished it was a different outcome. I would have liked to get another chance at the title, but it wasn’t meant to be,” Clarke stressed. “That’s fine. There are always other tournaments in the future.

“So I will just continue practicing and hopefully I can get better so that I can be in a position for similar situations that I face with whenever I play again, especially at the senior level.”

Now she can begin her celebrations as she relax and have fun.

“I couldn’t ask for a better week,” she summed up. “I wished I was still in the tournament, but life goes on.”

The tournament will continue today with semifinal matches. The finals will take place on Saturday.