Bahamians Tatyana Madu in girls final and Patrick Mactaggart in boys final
- Simba French
- Nov 15, 2023
- 0
After a busy day at the National Tennis Centre, the players for the boys and girls singles final in the Junkanoo Bowl are known, as those finals get underway today once weather permits. Action is set for 8 a.m.
The under-14 tournament, which is sponsored by Custom Computers, is a Central American and Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) event.
“It was tough in the first set, I had to overcome a lot. It was a tense match and nothing was working at the time, but once I overcame, it went well,” Madu said. “Some of my slices and strokes were not working for me in the first set. Once I took that first set, my opponent basically cracked. I kept my game going and she cracked and made unforced errors.”
Fluonia was up 5-3 in the first set, but Madu showed resilience and forced the tie-breaker that saw her winning 7-3 after the tie-break was tied at 3-3.
“When I was down 5-3, I went back to the basics. … I tried to avoid unforced errors and just let her make all the errors. When she gave me a short ball I took it. I just kept at it until I won the set,” Madu said.
Three sets were needed in the other girls semifinal matchup to determine who will play against Madu on the other side of the court. Bahamian Sarai Clarke and Trinidad and Tobago’s Makeda Bain were battling for that spot. In the end, it was 11-year-old Bain who got the spot, with a 6-4, 6-7 (2) and 6-1 victory.
“Set one saw me being consistent and I was able to go up and win it. I was up 5-1 and started to lose consistency and lost the second set. I picked it up in the third set and won,” Bain said.
She is looking to stay consistent in the final against Madu.
The boys semi-final saw Bahamian Patrick Mactaggart getting the victory over Curacao’s Brandon Bridgewater. Mactaggart punched his ticket to the final with a score of 4-6, 6-2 and 6-0.
Barbados’ Dimitri Kirton went up against St. Lucia’s Ahil Cyril. That match started after the Bain and Clarke match, but was finished before it, as Kirton easily took care of Cyril 6-2 and 6-2.
“I played well and I think I was hitting the right shots. I played well and he started to get mad and that boosted me,” said Mactaggart.
He is happy with the win, but he has his eyes set on winning it all.
The boys doubles final match will see Alec Hooper and Mactaggart play against Bridgewater and Kirton. The girls doubles final will see Madu and Bain teaming up to play against Fluonia and Bahamian Briana Houlgrave.