Heimraj Resaul, 19 years old and presently a college player in the US, defeated Benjaton Osbourne 6-0, 6-1 in the final of the GTA ‘Safe Tennis’ Tournament; while, in the consolation final, Ronald Murray defeated Javed Khan 6-2, 6-3 to round off the action.
Minister Ramson and winner Heimraj Resaul
Heimraj’s toughest match of the tournament was in the semifinals against Gavin Lewis, a former college player. That match went 3 sets, but he excelled to claim the gold.
Cristy Campbell, First Vice President of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association, expressed gratitude to Minister Ramson for his support, and mentioned that his has already become a household name to tennis players after mere months in office.
“Three weeks ago, at the opening of the tournament, Minister mentioned that he has moved tennis into a core sport, and I have received calls from sponsors expressing interest in tennis since that announcement. I also thank the ITF for sponsoring this tournament, and I congratulate the gentlemen who have displayed a high level of competition, albeit being displaced from training for many months due to the pandemic. To our two coordinators, Shelly Daly and Andre Lopes, who both worked tirelessly to run a smooth tournament, thank you.
“Congratulations to Heimraj for winning his first men’s title. I know you’ve toiled in the Men’s category since you were about 12 years old, and I am happy to see your perseverance and hard work pay off while balancing sport and academics.” Campbell declared.
Minister Ramson reiterated his call for tennis to be played at the best level now that he has categorised tennis as a core sport. He also re-emphasised Government’s support to development of sports in Guyana with better infrastructure and top tier training.
The other results were:
Consolation semi-finals
Javed Khan defeated Wayne Baker 6-7 (7-2), 6-4 (10-7)
Main semi-finals
Benjaton Osbourne defeated Andre Lopes 7-5, 6-2
Heimraj Resaul defeated Gavin Lewis 6-2, 6-7 (7-1), (10-2)
The other semifinal consolation
Ronald Murray got a walkover from David Rose
The tournament commenced on November 7th and ran for 3 weekends. The male adult competition had 19 participants. Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson jnr, who attending the opening ceremony & served the first ball, also witnessed the finals & presented the trophies afterwards.
