Bicknell wins first ITF title
Published:Monday | July 17, 2023 | 12:09 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Jamaican tennis star Blaise Bicknell claimed his first International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pro Circuit win after a confident victory over James Tracy of the USA at the ITF M25 Laval Men tournament in Canada yesterday.
Bicknell lost the first set 6-3 to the American but rallied to take the other two sets 6-3, 6-4. And the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games bronze medallist, who previously lost two pro circuit finals this year, said it felt good to finally get over the line.
“I feel incredible,” the 21-year-old told The Gleaner. “I have worked long and hard. I have lost two finals and it’s good to get over the line. It feels incredible.”
He added: “I have learnt a lot from those two finals and those things helped me today (Sunday). So it’s good to finally get through.”
In his first match of the tournament, Bicknell stopped Canada’s Niels Peter Van Noord in two sets (6-3, 6-4). Then, in the round of 16, he defeated another Canadian, Benjamin George, also in two sets (6-2, 6-1), to book a date with Alexander Cozbibov of Moldova in the quarter-finals.
Gozbinov got the better of the Jamaican 6-4 in the first, but Bicknell came back to win the two final sets 6-0, 6-1 for a 2-1 win.
The Jamaican then wrapped up his semi-final against Liam Draxl of Canada in two sets, taking a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory, and Bicknell was pleased that most of his opponents were players ranked higher than himself on the tour.
“The competition was tough. The players were very good. These were players who were rated higher than me and to get the win is a huge lift in confidence for me.
“I got a bronze at the CAC Games recently, and getting that medal also gave me a lot confidence.
“We will have the Davis Cup in about two months and I am really looking forward to that and to play more international tournaments,” he added.