By Morissa Lindsay
Jesse Haynes proudly carried on his family road tennis legacy when he defeated fierce rival Shaquille Remy 3-2 and emerged as the champion of the Joe Bitter Weed Road Tennis Tournament played last night at Belfield, Black Rock.
The son of former road tennis queen Carlyn ‘The Model’ Haynes and his champion sister Abigail Haynes, the 31-year-old Haynes lived up to expectation with a 21-13, 22-24, 21-10, 16-21 and 21-18 score to lift the three best of five sets tournament trophy.
In what was his first time playing in the tournament, Haynes said: “My mission was to win this tournament and to go up in rankings and go up in a higher tournament. So, this is a stepping stone for me. There are areas that I have to work on and I am trying to focus on them.”
The modest crowd that included representative for that area Ian Gooding-Edghill came out to witness some top-class tennis, especially the championship match between Haynes and main rival Remy.
In the first quarter, Haynes won the toss and decided to serve and the scores were initially locked 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, and 7-7 until Haynes raced away with the advantage 13-7 as Remy despite trying his best to mix up his shots was a bit impatient with his approach and that cost him.
Parliamentary representative for the area and Minister of Health Ian Gooding-Edghill presented Shaquille Remy with his runner-up trophy.
Haynes produced several attacking forehand winners as he went ahead to secure the first game 21-13 and take the lead over Remy on the beautiful hardcourts painted by the National Sports Council.
On a night when the rain interrupted play several times and the winds were fairly high, Remy looked more relaxed in the second quarter and never failed to dispatch several hard-hitting shots as he moved in for the kill midcourt once the opportunity presented itself to do so.
Both players are right-handed and Remy took the lead 6-4 with some long driving forehand shots that were executed with focus and intent. But it didn’t take long for Haynes to get back in control as he overtook Remy at 9-7 but the lead interchanged numerous times as the game went on.
A few failed returns on Haynes’ part gave Remy the lead for a second time in the match at 13-10 as the scoreline got slim until it was locked 15-15. Haynes with a couple of backhand slices that failed to get over the midcourt allowed Remy to stay in the match.
Haynes did brilliantly to come from behind and lock the scores at 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 but Remy got the edge 24-22 to tie the match 1-1.
The match was once again open for the taking and Haynes got off a to flier in the third stanza as he registered a commanding 11-4 lead as Remy failed to return successfully. Haynes’ awareness and athleticism were great to watch as he followed through magnificently for each point earned.
Similar to the first set Remy struggled to return and Haynes won 21-10 and led 2-1 heading into the fourth set which could go either way.
Remy served to commence the fourth game as he won the first point. He then led easily 10-6 but Haynes never let up and it was tied 12-12, 13-13. However, three massive out of bound shots by Haynes earned Remy the lead 16-13 as the tall lad won the set 21-16 and forced a decisive fifth stanza.
Haynes opened with the service and led 7-0 to commence the final set. But Remy responded with a vengeance as he scored his fourth point of that set (4-7) by striking Haynes in his face with the ball as the crowd went wild. Remy brought the deficit down to one 8-9 but was unable to equalize before they switched sides at 10-8.
The crowd was fully into the action as one man told Remy his BDS$1000 is at stake and don’t let it go in vain. The scores were locked 11-11, 12-12, and 13-13 as the night’s excitement lived up to expectation.
Unfortunately, the BDS$1000 bet on Remy was lost as Haynes delivered and won under pressure 21-18 to take home his first title with the 3-2 result.
Former Barbados cricketer Jamal Smith won 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 against Jefferson Guye to take home the third-place trophy.
Ten-year-old Stephen’s Primary student Tyrico Brathwaite who was outstanding during the tournament was named Best Emerging Player.
The Best Emerging Player award went to ten-year-old St. Stephen’s Primary student Tyrico Brathwaite.
Shakeem Nurse defeated Darius Gaskin 21-12, 20-21 and 21-16 in what was described as the grudge match.
Tournament coordinator Don Alleyne commended the competitors and officials and well-respected road tennis veterans like Anthony ‘Baku’ Simmons and Philip ‘Foff’ Garner put on a show for the crowd.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
