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Serena and Caroline thrill thousands 11/29/2009 By Alan Harris Serena Williams is still the undisputed Queen of women’s tennis; well at least in the hearts of Barbadians. The 28-year-old world No. 1 appeared in vintage form at last night’s LIME ‘Tennis pon De Rock’ exhibition at the Wildey Gymnasium, where she opposed world No. 4, 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Both players were well received by the large crowd and throughout the match, screams of ‘Let’s go Serena’ and ‘Let’s go Caroline’ could be heard echoing throughout the Gym. Serena, easily the more physically dominant of the two players, took full control from the opening game and never looked back. Though fighting off a slight cold, she was her usual self, serving with a vengeance while punishing anything short from her younger opponent. Wozniacki, who is no slouch either, desperately scampered for her returns and tried to use her pin-point placement to her advantage. Still she had no reply for Williams. Both players held their first service games at love, but when Serena got going, Wozniacki didn’t have much answer for her power. Breaking her opponent at 3-2, and then again at 5-4, Serena comfortably put away Wozniacki 6-4 in the only set that was played on the night. “They were such a good crowd,” a beaming Serena told the Barbados Advocate after the match. “There was a lot of support for Caroline, and there as a lot of support for me, so it was a good night. This island has been 100 times better than any of my expectations and I really think I have found my second home.” Wozniacki, a 2009 US Open Finalist, was also in high spirits after the match. “It was really fun and the crowd was amazing”, she said. “It’s always fun to play Serena and all the support I got out there was great. I think it is an amazing island and I love it here.” Also in action and giving a good account of himself last night, was Barbados’ highest ranked player Haydn Lewis. Though losing to American Jeff Tarango 6-4, 3-6, 10-8, Lewis was a hit with the crowd and was a true testament to the calibre of the tennis which exists on the island. Showing all present just what he was made of, Lewis smashed 8 aces during the contest and after losing the first set 6-4, he dug deep and rallied to take the second 3-6, consequently forcing a ‘first to ten points’ final set. Unfortunately for Lewis, he was hard done on the final point of the match when the ball clipped the net and fell on his side while he was still three feet behind the baseline. Before then, everyone on hand thought the 23-year-old would have got the better of his far more experienced opponent. “It was a good game and as I have had said before, I just wanted to put on a good show,” Lewis said still dripping with sweat. “Forget what the score was, it was just great that so many people turned out to watch good tennis. I never played in front of a crowd like this before, so at the start I was a little bit nervous, but when I got going and found my rhythm in the second set, the match got better for me. He (Tarango) is very crafty, that’s why he was once in the Top 10, so it was just a privilege to play against someone who had achieved so much in the sport of tennis.” International recording artist Common, His Excellency Ambassador Ryan Brathwaite, wife of Prime Minister David Thompson, Mara Thompson, Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, Minister of Sport, Esther Byer-Suckoo, and Opposition Leader Mia Mottley were among those who attended this truly successful and historic event. Barry Gale, Director of B.I.T.E (Barbados Invitational Tennis Exhibition), said he was thrilled with turnout and all the hard work which was put in by the organisers had paid off. “I am very excited and very pleased”, Gale said. “I think the crowd support was absolutely amazing and you could feel the electric atmosphere out there. It was hard work but truly rewarding and I think the Barbadian crowd really enjoyed it.” |
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© 2008 The Barbados Advocate | Powered by Disseminate It
© 2008 The Barbados Advocate | Powered by Disseminate It