Clarke, Madu advance to girls semis
- Simba French
- Nov 14, 2023
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The main draw for the Junkanoo Bowl got underway yesterday and the brackets for the girls semifinals and the boys quarterfinals singles are set. Those semifinals and quarterfinals singles that feature five Bahamians are set to get underway at 9 a.m. at the National Tennis Centre today.
The under-14 tournament, which is sponsored by Custom Computers, is a Central American and Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) event.
Madu, who hails from Grand Bahama, put her competitors on notice when she easily disposed of fellow Bahamian Vonteneke Rolle in two straight sets. Madu won 6-0 and 6-0.
Madu moves on to play against one of the top junior players in Curacao – Keziah Fluonia. Fluonia took care of Bahamian Aryauna Davis 6-2 and 6-0.
Clarke went up against fellow Bahamian Jasleen Salkey in the quarterfinal. The first set saw Clarke winning 6-2. The second set saw her pulling herself together to get the 6-0 shut out win.
“I felt like I played a good game considering that at the beginning of the tournament, I felt a bit shaky despite pulling through with the win. I felt I could have done better, but I was able to prove myself and pushed myself,” Clarke said.
She was happy to be playing in an international tournament at home as she got to play against new players.
Her semifinal match pits her against Trinidad and Tobago’s Makeda Bain. Bain was pushed to the limit by Bahamian Briana Houlgrave, as they needed three sets and nearly two hours to determine the winner. In the end Bain won 7-5, 4-6 and 6-4.
Aiden Ritchie, who hails from Grand Bahama, got the win over Germany’s Dylan Sykes in two straight sets – 6-2 and 6-2 in the first round match.
“I was happy with the win because I was able to make it to the quarterfinal in my first ever international tournament, so it feels great,” Ritchie said. “It was a nice match as I played my game. I did not try and go for the big shots but I kept it simple and playing. I was looking at his weakness.”
He is looking forward to the quarterfinal match mentally and physically. He will play against third seed St. Lucia’s Alhil Cyril, who is coming off the bye.
The Bahamas’ Synaj Watkins won 6-4 and 6-4 over fellow Bahamian Chase Newbold. Watkins will go up against fellow Bahamian and second seed Patrick Mactaggart.
Curacao got two victories in the boys division from Neevin Marcos and Brandon Bridgewater. Marcos won over Trinidad and Tobago’s Josiah Hills 6-2 and 6-4. He will play against the number one seed Barbados’ Dimitri Kirton. Bridgewater won over Bahamian Panagiotis Mousis 6-4 and 6-1 to play against fourth seeded Great Britain’s Alec Hooper.
The doubles semifinals will also be played today.
The tournament follows a week of intensive training at the first regional training camp for the English-speaking countries, to which top players were invited to be a part of.