Lawrence, Leslie win BTA top 8

By Morissa Lindsay

As Xavier Lawrence celebrates his 24th birthday today, he gifted himself one of the best presents last night by winning the 2022 Barbados Tennis Association Top 8 competition with a 2-0 victory against the fast improving Stephen Slocombe. 

Played under lights at the National Tennis Centre in Wildey, both players brought the expected energy and intensity to the men’s final with some strong aggressive and attacking plays. In the end there was only one winner and that was Lawrence, winning 6-4 and 6-3 in the two best of three set showdown. 

During an interview with Barbados Today, Lawrence said he was happy
with his performance which earned him BDS$1,500, Slocombe pocketed BDS$800, while Kaipo Marshall won BDS$500 for trouncing Simon Lewis in a heated third place encounter. 

Similarly, Gabrielle Leslie who won the tournament multiple times also received the same numeration as Lawrence after she defeated longtime rival Hannah Chambers 6-3 and 6-3 in the women’s final. 

“I am pretty happy with the win and the way I played this year. Of course, my tournament did not start as I wanted but I think that I needed that wakeup call early in the tournament just so I could continue with my feet on the gas going through and finishing strong. I have been preparing pretty tough this year, I had a lot of good results this year and I was feeling very confident coming into the tournament,” Lawrence said. 

Speaking on yesterday’s final and his opponent Slocombe, Lawrence stated, “I also want to say congratulation to Stephen for making a final, he had a solid run this year in the top eight, he has improved a lot. This is the fourth time I have played Stephen for the year, each time has been a battle. Last year around this time I beat him in three sets, I had to defend four match points. Then in July I beat him again in three sets, lost the first set but came back in the other sets. 

“So, I always know that playing Stephen was going to be a battle, he doesn’t really give you anything free, so the mindset was just really to go out there and grind hard, fight for every point and I trusted that if I do that and I execute, that I would be in a good position to win the match.”

A member of the Barbados Davis Cup team, Lawrence who plays with lots of passion and purpose, silenced his critics by letting his tennis do the talking with exceptional power hitting that were matched with his breathing. 

It is evident that the work Lawrence is putting in at the Inspiration Academy under the guidance of Coach Ashley Hobson has been instrumental in his success, which the Barbados Davis Cup team member will want to maintain when Barbados hosts Pacific Oceanian early February. 

There was no question about whether Lawrence could pull off victory in the final, but credit to his opponent Slocombe for showing great resistance and determination. Slocombe tried to keep up with the energy and intensity of Lawrence as he produced some great serves that Lawrence had no response to and even played a few backhand winners of his own at the net. 

The match also had a questionable moment during the first set when Lawrence appealed calling a return by Slocombe as out but the latter felt the ball was good. Umpire Julian Baird standing on the side agreed with Slocombe and said the ball was good. The match continued and Lawrence closed out the first and did likewise as he dominated the second stanza. 

The top two best female players in Barbados were once again in the final and it was Leslie, who attends Prairie View A&M University, that got the best of Chambers – currently based at Southern Mississippi University – and captured yet another BTA Top 8 title. 

Speaking after the match, Leslie said, “I am happy that my hard work paid off and I have been working the whole year at school. In this final I was trying to be a bit more aggressive, trying to get the easy points with my serves and trying not to miss on my returns, so I am happy that it worked.” 

Shonté Sergeant defeated Asha King 6-2 and 6-4 in the ladies third place match.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb