Resaul, Mentore, Kalekyezi and Gentle emerge victorious in Bakewell Tournament

The sixth annual Bakewell Lawn Tennis Tournament came to a close this past weekend with a batch of promising Under-18 players showcasing their ever-improving skills.
The tournament, which was played at various venues, including the Racquet Centre, Georgetown, Diamond and Le Ressouvenir, served off just over two weeks ago with players putting their skills to the test in three categories.
In the category that featured the youngest players in the tournament, the Under-12s, the semi-finals saw Paula Kalekyezi and Menikshi Jaikisson advancing to the final. This was after the pair walked away with wins over Rashida Hardy 4-2, 4-2 and Saskia Persaud 4-2, 3-5 (10-7) respectively.
In the highly-anticipated final, Kalekyezi was the one who overcame Jaikisson 4-0, 4-1 to end as the 2018 champion.
Over on the male side, the Boys’ Under-12 final pitted Hayned Mentore against Ricky Romascindo. It was a laid-back match as Mentore won the contest 4-0, 4-1.
The Boys’ Under-14 division may have been the toughest category to compete in. In the preliminaries leading up to the grand finale, Jeremiah Kalekyezi gained a walkover when he was scheduled to face Gerald Scotland. Anish Sharma defeated Shabir Ahamad 4-0, 4-0, while Adesh Khayyam racked up the same scoreline against Ron Austin. Sharma was back for another win, this time against Jeremiah Siland 4-0, 4-0. And Vadeanand Resaul continued his campaign with a win against Wayne Baker 5-3, 4-0.
The semi-finals saw Nigel Lowe defeating Jeremiah Kalekyezi 4-2, 4-2 and Resaul overcoming Sharma 4-1, 4-2.
The final Boys’ Under-14 clash saw Resaul winning in straight sets against Nigel Lowe 4-0, 4-1.
The Girls’ Under-14 contest featured Akilah Jone who was victorious in her encounter with Nandanee Ramdyhan 4-0, 4-0.
In the much more competitive Under-18 category, the male final saw Heimraj Resaul and Viraj Sharma battling it out for top honours. It was Resaul who emerged as the winner with a 6-0, 6-2 win.
The female Under-18 category also saw stiff competition, but in the end, it was Afruica Gentle and Kalyca Fraser, who faced each other. Eventually, after a lengthy battle, it was Gentle who won 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).
The Bakewell tournament is held every year in remembrance of the company’s founder, the late Naeem Nasir, who was an avid fan of lawn tennis and strived to improve the sport in whatever way he could.