Shae Millington crowned RBC Tobago Jr tennis U18 champ

SHAE Millington used his superior serve and ground strokes, to capture the boys under 18 title, on the final day of matches, in the RBC Tobago Junior Tennis Championships, at the Shaw Park hard courts on Saturday.

The number one seed, going into the tournament, had to contend with the grit and finest of losing finalist Nicholas Ready, to carve out a straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

All credit to the second seed Ready, he never bowed his head after losing the first set, and the first game of the second set, but battled to the final point, which provided a good spectacle for the spectators.

Millington, who was all grunts and pumping fists, after each successful point, did have his pensive moments during the match, in particular when approaching the net, where he was outplayed by Ready.

During the semi-finals on Friday, Millington easily dispatched Christopher Roberts in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0.

Ready was tested in the opening set of his semi-final versus Jaylon Chapman. A break of Chapman’s serve in the 11th game, gave Ready a 6-5 lead, which he consolidated by holding his next service game, to win the first set 7-5.

The second set was routine for Ready, as a frustrated-looking Chapman succumbed 6-2.

The highly anticipated senior boy’s doubles, brought Saturday afternoon to an anti-climax, as injury prevented the match from being played.

Millington and Roberts were set to face Ready and Luca Denoon, but injury ruled out Ready from taking the court.

The girls under 18 category, was contested on a round-robin basis. Christi-Anna Hills and Shaina Smith were unbeaten, going into the final match on Saturday, and were aware of the importance of a positive result.

The match was played at high intensity and needed a tie-breaker to determine the first set after the games were levelled at 6-6.

Hills prevailed 7-5 in the tie-breaker, and needed one break of serve in the second set, to win 6-3, and complete a straight-set victory.

Hills, had earlier gotten past Charlotte Ready 6-3, 6-5, while Smith who was stretched in the second set by her twin sister Makayla Smith, won 6-1, 7-5.

While most of the matches in the U-10, U-12 and U-14 categories, featured round-robin play. The boys under 10 and 12 divisions went down to the finals.

Justin Duncan defeated Rohan Ramcharitar in a hard-fought under 10 final, 5-4, 1-4, 11-9, while Josiah Hills won the under 12 title, over Jaysean Wells in straight sets, 4-1, 4-2.

Chester Dyrymple, the ITF-certified referee at the tournament, described the tournament as successful, but lamented the difficulty of the Trinidad players, in attending the competition.

He said “the tournament was good exposure for the players after the pandemic.

“But there is so much activities in Tobago at this time, which prevented many of the Trinidad players and their families from attending since they could not secure air or sea-bridge bookings to come for the tournament.”

The tournament which was hosted by the Crusoe Isle Tennis Club, featured forty-five players, along with a host of emerging players, in the red ball competition.