The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE 29th edition of the Automotive and Industrial Distributors (AID) Limited Clay Court Championships culminated after two weeks of competition at the Gym Tennis Club in Winton Meadows.

The tournament took place from August 12-26 featuring tennis action in the men and women’s singles and doubles matchups. The categories included the men and ladies open singles and doubles, men’s junior veteran singles and doubles, and the mixed doubles.

Caila Bowe claimed the championship honours in the women’s open singles. In her first ever appearance at the Clay Court Championships, she got to work early.

Bowe first eliminated the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s Esther Newton 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals to take on Sh’Ron Saunders. The latter would not be an easy opponent for the younger competitor as she previously won the mixed doubles in 2022.

Bowe ultimately came out on top in the initial set of the final round, winning 6-2. She remained focused in the final set, wrapping up the match 6-1 to win her first match at the AID Clay Court Championships.

“It feels pretty good, it was hard to win at first but I got through. It was a good match but a pretty tough opponent but I ended up coming out on top which I am really happy for,” Bowe said.

She added that her first time experience at the 29th edition of the championships was pretty good and she is looking forward to joining more tournaments.

Cory Francis earned the singles win in the men’s category. Francis got on the tennis court against Harrington Saunders. His opponent had earned wins against Andrae Nairn and Anthony Munnings in two sets apiece to solidify a spot in the finals.

Francis and Saunders went down to the wire in the first set which favoured the newest champion 7-6 (7). In the final remaining set, Francis capitalised after a gruelling opening set and dropped his opponent 6-1 to claim the title.

The men’s single winner also capitalised on another victory alongside partner Kenwood Kerr in the men’s junior veteran doubles. The team was ranked number one in the category and dropped John Fong and Franklyn Williams 6-2, 6-1 to hoist the championship trophy.

Marvin Rolle and last year’s men’s 35-and-over doubles champion Wayne Thompson teamed up to close out their opponents in the men’s open doubles category. The duo defeated the doubles team of Bobby Chen and Fong 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals. Ultimately, the team cruised to a championship win following a victory against Patrick Fernander and Larry Rolle in two sets 6-3, 6-1.

Thompson talked about how it felt to compete at the Clay Court Championships for another consecutive year.

“It was fantastic because when you plan towards something and you are able to target and achieve the goal it is great…we want to encourage all Bahamians, especially those 35 and over, to know some exercise along with camaraderie builds healthy relationships, helps your blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels,” he said.

Tom McDermott and Saunders repeated as champions for the second straight year in the mixed doubles event.

The mixed team emerged victorious in their semifinals match against president of the BLTA Perry Newton and his wife. They lost the first set 7-6 (5). However, the duo won set two 6-4 and ultimately won the tiebreaker 10-3. In the finals, the team wrapped up Fernander and Della Pinder in the first set 6-2. They lost the following set 7-6 (5) but came out on top 11-9 in the tiebreaker to get the win.

The two were very excited to talk about their second consecutive win.

“We have competed in this for two years, we won last year and we have regained our title this year. It was different this year because there was more competition, both matches were very close and went to tiebreakers,” McDermott said.

Saunders said the competition was very fierce this time around and as the years go by, she believes it is going to be harder to defend the title.

Shaun Mahelis left the Clay Court Championships with the men’s junior veteran singles title. He upsetted the fourth-seeded Alejandro Mesples in two sets 6-1, 6-2.

After the ending of two weeks of tennis play at the AID title sponsored Clay Court Championships, Janelle Watson-Davis from the company’s board of directors had some final words.

“AID is a company that really prides itself on community. One of the reasons why the company sponsors the tournament is because the chairman is an avid tennis player and loves the sport,” Davis said.

She added that overall the aim of the company is to keep the sport going in The Bahamas, and to provide opportunities that introduce new persons to it.

The competition ended after two weeks at the Gym Tennis Club this past Saturday.