Top players through to Clash of the Titans semi-finals

It was a competitive night at the Dover courts on Saturday and Sunday night with the top flight players advancing to the semi-finals of the Massy United Insurance Clash of the Titans Road Tennis Competition.

No. 2 seed Julian ‘Michael Jackson’ White defeated Winston ‘John Mcenroe’ Griffith in straight sets in the last match of the night 21-15, 21-18. Griffith put up a good fight against White, but ran out of gas midway during each match and went down soon after. The island’s number two player advances to play against Marson Johnson on Wednesday on the second night of the semis.

Darius ‘Barracus’ Gaskin and Dario ‘CR7 aka Rick Flair’ Hinds played some top-notch road tennis on Sunday night. There were a lot of ‘ooh’s’ and ‘aah’s’ as the two went head to head in the skill and flair department. The game was filled with style and slams along with put backs and exclamations due to errors. The first game went to Hinds 21-16, where he dominated Gaskin by pushing him back and side to side with great precision. Gaskin was able to focus and control the pace of the second game much better than the first and took game two 19-21. The final match was a real battle with both players slowing down play in order to catch themselves as well as strategise.

Hinds ended up losing the match as a result of many unforced errors which allowed Gaskin to take the final game 21-12 and move on to the next round, where he will face the island’s #1 ranked player Mark ‘Venom’ Griffith.

For the ladies, #4 ranked Cherene Ward had to come from one set down to beat Juliet Worrell 2-1. Worrell won the first set in convincing fashion 21-14 with Ward looking a little rushed and nervous at times. The next set was pivotal for Ward as she played the patience game and waited on the right ball to hit down the line. The plan worked and she was able to take the second and third set 16-21 and 18-21 respectively to advance and face #1 seed Kin Holder.

Sheldine Waldron defeated Jessica Holder Vaughan two straight 21-12 and 21-5 to move on and face Abigail Haynes. Waldron looked confident on the court and it will be seen how Haynes will fear against her. Caroline Jordan and Gale-Ann Edwards were also in winners’ row after winning against Sharon Cumberbatch and Carol-Ann Clarke. Jordan won both sets at a score of 21-11, while Edwards won 21-19 and 21-10. (AS)

Schedule
Semi-Finals: Tuesday 4th April
Girls – Tiffany Garner vs Lashonna Burgess
Boys 6 to 10 – Nathan King vs Alfijah Blunt
Boys 11 to 15 – Nicholas Ellis vs Demarco Morris
Novice Ladies - Maria Cumberbatch vs Julie Howard
Senior Ladies – To Be announced
Senior Men – Mark Griffith vs Darius Gaskin

 
Semi-Finals: Wednesday 5th April
Girls – Solange Holford vs Abilla Clarke
Boys 6 to 10 – Mikhail Grant- Bennett vs Azarie Clarke
Boys 11 to 15 – Shaquon Henry vs Adio Selby
Novice Ladies – Gale-Ann Edwards vs Caroline Jordan
Senior Ladies - To Be Announced
Senior Men – Marson Johnson vs Julian White