Johnson cops title in fine style

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Reigning national champion, Damion Johnson, crowned himself the men's Open champion of the 2010 Iberostar Tennis Classic on Sunday when he turned in a command performance to defeat the United States-based Elvis Henry 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1) in an intriguing final at the Iberostar Courts.

"It was a pretty tough match, but I gave it my best shot and I am pleased with the result," said an elated Johnson, who entered the tournament as the number-one seed. "I must give credit to my opponent for making it such an exciting final."

By virtue of his win, the dazzling Johnson not only confirmed himself the undisputed king of the local tennis circuit, but also walked away with a lucrative payday - the $80,000 winner's purse.

Johnson's win was a major plus for local tennis as prior to upstaging Henry in the final, he had defeated the experienced Steve Coleman in the semi-final. Like Henry, Coleman is based in the United States and is quite active on that circuit.

In the women's final, which also generated a fair amount of excitement, the talented Siquena Sinclair showed that her semi-final win over defending champion Pauline Hylton was no fluke, as she beat back the challenge of the promising Shadae Findlay 7-5, 6-2, in a gutsy display, with excellent offensive and defensive skills.

Findlay, who had celebrated her birthday on Friday by registering respective 8-1 wins over Linda Dear and Whitney Irving, must have fancied her chances of taking the title after her big semi-final win over Jamaica's number one, Lisa Chin. However, she was just not able to upstage Sinclair in the final.

In the third of the four categories which were contested over the four days of the tournament, the promising Stephen Shirley turned in a determined performance to beat Michael Lawrence in the final. Lawrence won the first game 3-6, but Shirley rebounded to win the next two games 6-0 and 7-6 to seal the title men's Amateur Class title.

Good tournament

In the Men's Class Four, the final of the four categories, Keith Jackson took the title, beating Andrew Brown 5-7, 6-3 and 7-6 in a contest in which both players gave a good account of themselves.

"It was quite a good tournament, especially because we were able to attract a quality field, thanks to the NCB's sponsorship of $200,000.00," said tournament director-referee Simon Casserly. "The feedback to the organisation and running of the tournament has been quite good and it seems Jamaica's tennis calendar now has another great event."

Interestingly, during the tournament, Casserly disqualified three players who ran afoul of the rules, for being more than 15 minutes late for their matches.