GTA “One Guyana” Open tournament 2023: Murray edges Campbell, advances to Men’s 35 Singles semifinals
Ronald Murray
The Guyana Tennis Association’s “One Guyana” Open Tournament 2023 is a pillar of the emerging National Sports Academy; an initiative which is funded by the National Sports Commission (NSC); the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; and by extension the Government of Guyana.
Ronald Murray, the reigning Men’s 35 Singles champion and the top seed, defeated Martin Campbell 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the GTA “One Guyana” Open Men’s 35 Singles semifinal.
After falling behind in the second set by a break, lefty Murray battled back to win. The crucial moment occurred when Campbell was serving at 5-3 to secure the second set and level the match. The experienced Murray cleaned up his unforced errors and found some well-placed serves at critical moments to win the match’s final four games.
“I was confident all the way! More or less, I was still trying to find my form in the match. I realised [Campbell’s] game started to pick up in the second set. So at 3-5 down, I decided to retake control and close it out without giving him any chances,” the Men’s 35 Champ said.
The No. 4 seed Aubrey Younge awaits Murray next in a rematch of the 2022 GBTI Open Men’s 35 semifinal.
The Men’s 35 Champ applauds the Government’s initiative.
“In the years before, tennis was on the backburner and was never considered when all the funds were being distributed, so to see tennis then to now, while there is room for improvement, I love what the Government of Guyana is doing for the sport,” Murray said.
“I hope to see more spectators and more persons involved, because tennis is not only for the persons in the tennis fraternity, but for all of Guyana.”
