Clarke, Perue capture Guardian Life Open Junior Tennis titles
KEYONDRE Clarke from Campion College and Abigail Perue from Montego Bay High School captured the boys’ and girls’ 16 and under singles titles at the 20th staging of the Guardian Life Open Junior Tennis Championships which ended at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston recently.
Clarke is very happy with his second win in the boys’ 16 and under singles title.
“It was not difficult for me as I went out there also to have fun because I was very confident that I would have won. I try to be very consistent during my match and also to make the least errors. My opponent played much better in the second set but I kept my composure and went on to win comfortably,” Clarke said.
Perue said that she was happy with her victory.
“My opponent has a lot of footwork and ground strokes and I had to move her to both sides of the court and be consistent with the game,” Perue said.
The 14-year-old Clarke defeated Cole McNair in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, while the 14-year-old Perue beat Alicia Pairman 4-0.
In the boys’ 16 and under semi-finals, Clarke beat Nathan Cooper 7-5, 6-0, while McNair was challenged strongly by Russell Fairman before winning a hard-fought match 7-5, 7-5.
Perue in the girls’ 16 and under semi-finals defeated Imani Christian in two short sets 4-1, 4-0, while in the other semi-final, Pairman easily beat Kalila Morris 8-2 in one set with the player reaching eight points first being declared the winner.
Matthew James captured the boys’ 14 and under singles title by defeating Kaiel Casserly 6-2, 6-3. In the semi-finals, James beat Joel Villoria 4-3, 3-4, 10-5 (tie-breaker set), while Casserly beat Joshua Malcolm 4-1, 4-0.
The girls’ 14 and under singles title was won by Julie Madden, who defeated Destiny Duncan 6-4, 7-5. In the semi-finals, Madden came from a set down to beat Courtney Chin 0-4, 4-2, 10-8 (tie-breaker set), while Duncan beat Shadae Parkinson 4-1, 4-1.
Daniil Moe won the boys’ Under-12 singles title by winning two matches with Daniel Gordon finishing second, winning one and losing one.
Jordan Vaz beat Joseph Malcolm to win the consolation boys’ Under-14 title, while Gabrielle Christian defeated Isabelle Champagne 6-2, 5-7, 10-2 (tiebreaker set) to win the girls’ 14 and under consolation singles title.
Meanwhile, tournament director Llockett McGregor was happy with the turnout of the players and is looking forward for a bigger entry in the next junior tournament.
“The players produced some excellent tennis and most of the matches were very competitive,” McGregor said.
The next Guardian Life Open Junior Tennis Championships will be held on September 28 and 29 at Liguanea Club in New Kingston.
Another Junior Tennis Tournament is scheduled to be held on May 18 and 19 at the same venue.