Home|Sports|Roberts wins first tournament of the yearSports
Bahamian professional tennis player set to have a busy February
Simba FrenchSend an emailFebruary 8, 2023 61 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Bahamian professional tennis player Justin Roberts had a strong start to 2023, coming out victorious at the M15 Palm Coast Wild Card Tournament on Sunday.
Playing at the Palm Coast Tennis Center in Palm Coast, Florida, the Bahamian did not drop a single set and went a perfect 5-0. He took December and January off and kicked off the month of February healthy.
“The tournament was good. I haven’t played because of injury so it was just nice to get through five matches healthy. I’ve worked hard so it was nice to finally be able to get back into competition.” Roberts said.
The 26-year-old was up against American Jaycer Lyeons in the clay court tournament
championship match. Lyeons battled fiercely, but in the end, a hungry Roberts was able to come away with a 7-5 and 7-5 victory to carry the trophy.
“The final match was tough,” Roberts said. “I was physically tired so it was important that I kept my composure and capitalize at key moments.”
Roberts opened the tournament with a 6-2 and 6-1 victory over American Brayden D’andrea in the round of 36. In the round of 16, he took care of Matthew Lichtenste, 6-1 and 6-0. Roberts took care of Patrick Daciek, 6-2 and 6-2, in the quarterfinals. On Sunday, he played a tough semifinals match against Azariah Rusher and won, 7-6(3) and 7-5.
Prior to this tournament, the last time Roberts was on the court was in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in November 2022. He could not complete a match against Barbados’ Darian King at that time. Roberts retired in the second set of that match with an injury.
Roberts is hoping to represent The Bahamas again at Davis Cup this year after playing in the 2021 edition. He has a very busy February ahead of him. He returns to Palm Coast to play in a M15 tournament today, and will then play in the M25 Santo Domingo in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, February 13-19. After that, he said he may opt to stay in the Dominican Republic to play in another tournament the week of February 20-26 or play in Monterrey, Mexico.