Junior tennis ace Makeda Bain finished off her campaign at the Catch National Junior Tennis Championship with the title in the girls’ 12 and under division.
In Wednesday’s final at the National Racquet Centre in Orange Grove, Tacarigua, the in-form Bain cruised to the title with a flawless 4-0, 4-0 victory over Suri Ramcharan on court 12.
Bain, who resides in the sister isle of Tobago has been lighting up the tennis trails with a triple crown in the RBC Junior Tournament last year, followed by a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over one of the Campbell-Smith siblings Abba Campbell-Smith for the 14 & under title in the Lease Operators Limited Junior Tennis Tournament for the same year.
However, in the 14 and Under semifinals, Lilly Mohammed stopped Bain 3-6, 7-6(1), 10-7 and will face Madison Khan in the decider after her 6-0, 6-3 defeat of Cherdine Sylvester in their semifinal.
Meanwhile, Josiah Hills, who won a triple crown at the RBC tournament last year alongside Bain, has also made a strong push for his first title in the 12 & under boys Ryan Steuart 4-1, 4-0 in the first of two semifinal contests.
His victory has put him on a collision course with Sebastian Plimmer, who defeated the top-seeded Justin Duncan 4-2 in the first set before the latter (Duncan) retired hurt in the second set.
In the 10 & under division, Ethan Primus sealed his berth into the round of four with an identical 4-1 triumph over Daniel Ward in both sets. He joined Austin Ward in the semis after the latter had a contrasting journey to the round of four.
Ward (Austin) first went down 2-4 in the first set but he showed true grit to rebound in the second set 4-2, thereby forcing a play-off. In that third set, Ward then prevailed 10-7. Hills was stopped in his pursuit of a second final of the tournament, being beaten by Nirav Dougdeen 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals of the boys 14 & under.
Dougdeen was beaten by Hills a year ago for the Catch title at the same venue, however, Dougdeen appeared to have exacted revenge on his counterpart in the quarterfinal round of the Lease Operators Tennis Tournament. Yesterday, though, was the icing on the cake, as Dougdeen struck Hills where it hurts in the Catch tourney.
Meanwhile, Kale Dalla Costa and Beckham Sylvester will clash for the boys 18 & under crown. The battle between the top-ranked Dalla Costa and the second-seeded Sylvester came after Dalla Costa clobbered Deron Dumas 6-0, 6-1 on court 6, and Sylvester took three sets before prevailing 6-0, 3-6, and 10-7 over Luca Denoon in the semifinals.
In the girls’ U-18 semifinals, top-ranked Cameron Wong whipped Naomi Mohammed 6-2, 6-3 and will meet second seeded Shiloh Walker in the final after the latter eased past Laura-Li Maillard 6-3, 7-6(3).
The boys’ U-16 final will be contested between Dalla Costa, a 6-2, 6-4 semifinal winner over Nirav Dougdeen,. and third seeded Jordell Chapman who humbled second ranked Daniel Rahaman 6-3, 6-3 while in the girls equivalent, Madison Khan faces Natalia Tkachenko, after their wins over Walker (6-4, 6-0), and Naomi Mohammed (6-2, 6-2), respectively.
