Lopes/ Leacock win doubles titles after major upset

GBTI Open Tennis

Local tennis suffered its biggest upset in recent years when Leyland Leacock and Daniel Lopes dethroned Men’s Doubles Champion Anthony Downes and Jason Andrews in the final of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Men’s Doubles on Tuesday.
Spectators present (GBTI) Recreational Facility in Bel Air Park were treated to tennis of a high quality as the `thriller’ lasted its full quota of three sets and ended 6-3 1-6 6-3 in favour Leycock and Lopes. In the emotionally charged event Downes and Andrews started off quickly and secured a 2-0 lead before a rain delay (approximately 20 minutes) disrupted their momentum.
Aggressive play by Lopes/Leacock, who combined well-placed serves with decisive volleying, turned the tide and allowed them to win points as they pressured their opponent. A feature of the match was their ability to poach at the net and put away weak returns or groundstrokes. The first set ended 6-3.
Top seeds Downes/Andrews then changed gear in the second set winning it decisively 6-1 to set up the third.
Lopes and Leacock continued to serve well whilst Andrews was put under pressure as he started to miss on his first serves. The teams were on serve at 3-4 before Lopes and Leacock were able to secure the crucial break. Up 15-30 on Andrews serve, Leacock hit a crunching backhand which set up two break points and changed the match.
The pair then held their nerves and served out the match as they continued to dominate at the net and clinched the set 6-3 to break Downes’ stranglehold on Doubles title which he controlled for the last four years while partnering with Andrews or Harry Panday. Downes will get an opportunity for revenge when he faces off against Daniel Lopes in the Men’s Singles Final.
In the Ladies Doubles final junior Afruica Gentle and Christy Campbell outlasted veteran player and coach Shelly Ramdyhan who teamed up with improving newcomer Fiona Bushell in straight sets 6-2 6-3. The match had its share of excitement as the experienced Ramdyhan tried to get her team level with their more proficient opponents.
Gentle, known for her hard hitting, and Campbell outlasted their opponents on rallies and were able to take home the title.
Gentle had previously won the Ladies Singles category which was played on a round-robin basis as she accumulated the most wins and finished ahead of fellow junior Kalyca Fraser to cap off a successful tournament.
In the Men’s Over 35 Doubles, Godfrey Lowden/Ronald Murray defeated Sanjeev Datadin and Steve Surujbally 6-2, 3-0 ret. to finish as Men’s 35 Doubles runners-up behind Andre Lopes/Sandeep Chand who won all their matches in the round-robin format.