King, Griffith win to reach Top 8

Adam King has earned his stripes to play among the big boys after advancing to the main draw of the 2020 Barbados Tennis Association Top 8 competition, scheduled to commence December 27 at the National Tennis Centre in Wildey.

During last night’s semi-final, the top two qualifiers advanced. King defeated one of his toughest rivals Xavier Peter-Gooding 6-4, 6-4 on court one.

Meanwhile, in the other two best-of-three semi-final encounter, Kyle Griffith trounced Nicholas Charles 6-4, 6-2 to also advance. 

King and Peter-Gooding, both 15-years-old, showed their capabilities at the home of tennis but in the end, it was King’s night as he qualified for the Top 8 for the first time.

This will allow him to play against some of the best in this country including defending champion Kaipo Marshall.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY following the match, King said he was surprised to have advanced and felt honoured, and attributed his performance to determination and hard work.

“At the start, I did not play how I really wanted to play but I was still glad to bring out the best tennis tonight. So I am really honoured,” King said. 

As it relates to competing in the Top 8 against more senior players, King added: “Honestly, I am not the best so it will be hard to play my best tennis against them. But I will really try hard to see how well I can match up to the bigger guys.”

King took an early 2-1 lead but Peter- Gooding stayed with him as the two traded shots impressively, often resulting in extended rallies. King was quick on the attack with his right-hand forehand execution and the backhand was just as good.

Both players were guilty of several unforced errors. King often volleyed out of bounds with expansive strokes while Peter-Gooding did similarly similarly, while also committing several net errors.

King, who is coached by Julian Baird, edged ahead 5-4 despite a determined challenge from Peter-Gooding before clinching the opening set.

Similar to the opening set, King took an early 2-1 lead in the second set, once again ensuring he gained the momentum before Peter-Gooding equalised at 2-2.

Just when it looked like Peter-Gooding was about to take control, King regained the lead 3-2 and never looked back as he went on to win the match and book his place in the BTA Top 8.

Despite making critical errors, Peter-Gooding said he remained confident especially having reached so far in the qualifiers.

“It feels really good to make it this far because this is my first time trying to get into the top eight. So, I feel good about my performance,” he said.

In the other matchup, Griffith played consistently to come out on top against Charles. He raced to a 5-2 lead in the opening set before Charles roasted back to trail 4-5. However, Griffith finally got his act together and closed out the opening set 6-4.

Griffith appeared more composed in the second set, this time maintaining his early momentum to romp to a 6-2 win and also secure his place in the next phase of the competition.

Speaking after his win, Griffith said: “It is a little difficult for me playing tournaments because I have not been playing for a while. I still have some improvements to do but will put in some work over the next two days before the competition starts.”