Nurse, Hinds survive scares to advance

Number two seed Shakeem Nurse, and third seeded Dario Hinds were both forced to go the distance before eventually winning their respective matches when the Barbados Road Tennis Open (BRTO) continued on Thursday night.

Playing at Haynesville, Nurse lost the opening game to Dale Johnson 20-22, but rebounded to win the next two games 21-14, 21-9, to advance to the round of 32.

It was evident that Nurse, playing for the first time in the tournament, was rusty as he made several unforced errors, especially from his forehand. Capitalising on these weaknesses, Johnson took the first game, much to the surprise of the appreciative crowd on hand.

With defending champion Mark ‘Venom’ Griffith among those present, Nurse came out firing on all cylinders in the ensuing set, quickly jumping out to a commanding 5-0 lead on his serve. Johnson managed to claw back to 7-3, but Nurse continued to dominate, extending his lead to 13-7.

With each point, Nurse exhibited his skill, while Johnson struggled to find his rhythm. The crowd’s excitement grew as the players battled back and forth, with Nurse ultimately emerging victorious in the second game.

In the third and decisive game, the scores remained close in the early stages with Nurse opting to play a more reserved style instead of his usual attacking play. But holding a slim 6-4 lead, Nurse became more aggressive and showcased his passing shots with charismatic poses.

Emar Edwards was in a no-nonsense mood, dishing out two ‘sows’ to Ahijah Blunt. (Pictures by Corey Greaves)

Pushing and manoeuvring Johnson around the court, Nurse extended his lead to 14-7. The game continued to slip away from Johnson as Nurse continued his relentless attack to eventually hand his opponent a ‘sow.’

Meanwhile, Hinds was also made to fight from behind in his match against teenager Tyrease Holder before emerging victorious 15-21, 21-11, 21-15.

Emar Edwards showed he had not lost much of his touch despite his time away from competition by making light work of the young Ahijah Blunt 21-7, 21-8.

Clarence ‘Jim’ Haynes had Dwaine Hope on the ropes but eventually went down 17-21, 22-20, 13-21.

In the night’s opening match Rodney Wood easily dismissed Clifford Brathwaite 21-7, 21-10, while Michael Thompson went down to Shaquille Ballamy 21-17, 17-21, 19-21.

In the nightcap, Dwayne Lynch cruised to an easy victory over Jeremy Headley 21-11, 21-16.

The BRTO continues on Friday at Gall Hill and on Saturday at Dover. (CG)