Men’s champion Anthony Downes made it seven in a row when he won the Men’s singles title on Wednesday night as curtains closed on the eight edition of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Tennis Open.
Downes proved he was the best in the field after defeating Daniel Lopes in straight sets at the bank’s recreational facility at Bel Air Park.
The result was a repeat of last year’s finals which had a similar score line. Lopes had teamed up with Leyland Leacock the night before to upset Downes and Jason Andrews in the Men’s Doubles and revenge would have certainly been on Downes’ mind as he wrapped up the match in less than one hour dropping just one game.
The reigning champion has been prominent on the local scene, participating in his first Men’s singles final when he was fourteen and has battled with other top players such as Phillip Squires and Jeremy Miller over the years.
The 25-year-old Downes has had the opportunity to train periodically with former world rated player Jack Barrington and an exhibition match is being planned for local enthusiasts later in the year
Other outstanding performers in the tournament were 16 year old Ladies Champion Afruica Gentle who again carted off the three open titles Ladies Singles and Doubles and Mixed Doubles, Leyland Leacock who won the Men’s 35 Singles and Men’s Open Doubles title, Godfrey Lowden with the Men’s 45 Singles and Doubles title and 35 Doubles runner-up and Andre Lopes who won the Men’s 35 doubles and was runner-up in the Men’s 35 Singles. Daniel Lopes also medalled twice taking the runner-up position in the Men’s singles and winning the Men’s Doubles title.
In the Junior categories, Jordan Beaton was the winner of the Boy’s Singles title, while Kalyca Fraser captured the Girl’s Singles. There was also a win for newcomer Delon Fraser who edged Surendra Khayyam to win the developmental Novice Medley category.
The presentation ceremony which immediately followed the final match, was attended by Acting CEO of GBTI Shaleeza Shaw and Marketing Manager Pamela Binda.
Shaw stressed the importance of their partnership with the Guyana Tennis Association which was renewed eight years ago and commended the Association for the progress shown with developing the sport locally which sees opportunities being given to youths to spend their time productively and develop their skills. She touched on the pride experienced seeing Guyana’s participation in the recent games in Azerbaijan where the Guyana flag was flown proudly by the team and challenged tennis players to reach similar heights of representing Guyana internationally.
Shaw expressed the bank’s commitment to tennis and indicated that GBTI will provide its facilities for the hosting of the Inter-Guiana Games later this year in Guyana.
In his remarks, President of the GLTA, Jamal Goodluck commended the tennis fraternity for coming together to make the tournament, which saw 122 matches over two weeks, a success .
However, he bemoaned the fact that there were still instances of unsportsmanlike behavior cropping up which needs to be corrected.
Goodluck also thanked the Bank for its unflinching support . Goodluck added that the association is working closely with the relevant Ministry in developing a multi-court facility with lights which can finally solve the issue of lack of enough resources being available for players to hone their skills and to host international tournaments.
List of Prize Winners: Men’s Open Singles: Winner: Anthony Downes, Runner Up: Daniel Lopes. Ladies Open Singles: Winner: Afruica Gentle, Runner up: Kalyca Fraser. Boys Singles: Winner: Jordan Beaton Runner up: Joshua Kalekyezi. Girls Singles: Winner: Kalyca Fraser, Runner up: Sarah Klautky. Men’s 35 Singles: Winner: Leyland Leacock, Runner up: Andre Lopes. Men’s 45 Singles: Winner: Godfrey Lowden Runner up: Alexley Almeida. Novices Medley Singles: Winner: Delon Fraser, Runner up: Surendra Khayyam. Men’s Doubles Winners: Daniel Lopes/Leyland Leacock, Runners up: Anthony Downes/Jason Andrews. Ladies Doubles: Winners: Afruica Gentle/Cristy Campbell, Runners up: Shelly Ramdyhan/Fiona Bushell. Mixed Doubles-Winners: Anthony Downes/Afruica Gentle, Runners-up: Daniel Lopes/Sarah Klautky. Men’s 35 Doubles:Winners: Andre Lopes/Sandeep Chand, Runners up : Godfrey Lowden/Ronald Murray. Men’s 45 Doubles: Winners: Godfrey Lowden/Omar Persaud, Runners up: Albert Razick/Steve Surujbally.
