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Massive support for King Alarm Junior Tennis

Published:Sunday | September 22, 2019 | 12:29 AMRaymond Graham - Gleaner Writer

THE Eric Bell Tennis centre in Kingston was very busy yesterday as youngsters from across the island were out in large numbers to compete in the King Alarm Junior series for Under-12, -14, -16, and -18 players.

Yesterday’s turnout was one of the biggest ever in local junior tennis as in addition to the players, there were a number of fans and parents at the venue.

John Azar, president of Tennis Jamaica, whose company, King Alarm, is the main sponsor, and tournament director David Sanguinetti were both very pleased.

“Definitely, this is the biggest turnout ever at this level in the country. This is good for the growth of tennis in the country as this is where it all begins. We just have to build on this and ensure that it continues to grow,” Azar said. He continued: “As president of the association and with my company being the main sponsor, I have to lead from the front to show how serious we are about tennis in Jamaica.”

All age groups were well supported, but it was the Under-14 category that got high commendation from Sanguinetti.

“I am extremely happy with the support, especially in the Under-14 age group, which has over 120 entrants. We have entries from all over the island, with players coming all the way from Ocho Rios and Montego Bay,” he said. “Most of the top players from the respective age groups have entered the tournament, and we expect two good days of high-quality tennis,” he said.

BAD WEATHER

Bad weather forced a late start to competition and matches went late into the evening.

Most of the top-seeded individual male and female players made progress to the next round of the competition. Leading the way in the boys’ Under-14 was top-seed Kaiel Casserly, who got a bye and was down to play Alain Barrant.

Other results: Joshua Haye defeated Zane Maher 5-4, 4-2; Jamar Parkinson over Shawn Ferguson 4-0, 4-0; Kosei Gibbs bt Daniel Moe 4-2, 4-3; Kyle Forrester bt Zachry Dwyer 4-2, 4-1; Delano Reeves bt Rojoun Robinson 4-0, 4-1; Matthew Wright bt Leo Cuff 4-1, 4-1; and Nicoli Morgan bt Joshua Malcolm 4-1, 4-0.

Under-14 girls: Courtney Chin bt Isabelle Champaigne 4-0, 4-0; Nickayla Ward bt Juljie Madded 4-1, 4-2; Thandie Sampson bt Brianna Ranglin 4-0, 4-0; Shadae Parkinson bt Asalee Morris 5-4, 4-0; Zarah Buchanan bt Kalila Morris 4-2, 4-2.

Under-16 Boys: Joshua Graveney bt Jamar Parkinson 10-0; Jason Duval bt Romulus Deenah 10-0; Jairden Gibbs bt Zane Maheer 10-1; Delano Reeves bt Daniel Azar 10-0’ Cole McNair bt Douglas Aris 10-4.

Competition will begin at 8:30 a.m. today.