It’s beginning to heat up in the Village Camp Shotgun road tennis tournament.
The two highly rated Sauna Heat teams booked their spots in the semifinals in thrilling fashion on Wednesday night by pulling off exciting 3-2 victories over CIBC RTEA Academy and Belfield Blues ‘B’ at the Deighton ‘Pa’ Roach Facility in Bush Hall.
CIBC RTEA Elite and Belfield Blues ‘A’ are also through to the last four after registering contrasting wins over the Chelston Wheezers and Rubis Diamonds respectively.
Both Sauna Heat teams were taken the distance by their respective opponents in the five-member team competition.
Boasting of the island’s number two player in Shakeem Nurse, Sauna Heats 2 began the day with an easy 4-1 victory over Bush Hall Whites thanks to victories by Nurse, junior Damico Jordan, Angela Burrowes and Adrian Scott. Bush Hall’s Shawn Gilkes recorded his team’s lone victory by beating Donovan ‘Pa’ Riley 21-17.
ទោះយ៉ាងណាក៏ដោយ, they were then pushed to the limit by Belfield Blues ‘B’ at the quarterfinal stage.
Belfield’s Deondre Ward gave his team the perfect start with a 21-9 demolition of Jordan, but Burrowes held her nerve to edge Maria Cumberbatch 22-20 and level the scores.
Belfield’s veteran James Small dismissed Riley 21-14 to put his team back in front, before Nurse obliterated Kirt Alleyne 21-7 to force a deciding game.
And Belfield seemed well on their way to the semifinals after Terry Duncan held comfortable 10-2 and 17-11 leads over Sauna’s Adrian Scott.
But in a remarkable turn of events, Scott staged a comeback of the ages to shock Duncan 21-18 before a large crowd on hand.
In the night’s last contest between Sauna Heat 1 and CIBC RTEA Academy, fans were treated to a terrific performance by teenager Azarie Clarke in his match against world number one Mark ‘Venom’ Griffith.
Sauna Heat found themselves on the back foot early on when RTEA’s Jakobie Ellis stunned the highly rated Zion Moore 21-18 in the opening matchup.
Sheldene Walrond made it 1-1 by defeating Cherene Ward 21-15, but southpaw Shawn Spencer restored his side’s lead with a 21-13 win over Shamon Weekes.
When Griffith and Clarke took to the court, most people would have been expecting the reigning BRTA Open champion to easily win.
It was not to be though, as Clarke, a student of the Alexandra School, matched Griffith point for point in a match that featured extensive rallies and a plethora of shots from both players.
Griffith eventually took a two point lead at 16-14, but Clarke fought back to within one (18-17).
Griffith held two match points after moving to 20-18, and eventually closed out the contest with a sublime down the line forehand shot on his second match point to win 21-19, to keep his side in the tie.
It set up a decisive match between Sauna’s Adrian ‘Dan’ Skeete and Terry ‘Puncher’ Dottin. Skeete avenged his loss to Dottin in last year’s tournament by defeating him 21-13 to seal the deal.
In the other quarterfinal contest to go the distance, Belfield Blues ‘A’ were surprise winners over the Rubis Diamonds.
Belfield’s Tyrico Brathwaite downed Kymani Sandiford 21-16 in the opening game, before Marson Johnson made it 1-1 with a 21-16 win over Wayne Johnson.
Darius ‘Barracus’ Gaskin then made it 2-1 to Belfield by outplaying Junior Alleyne 21-11. Julian ‘Michael Jackson’ White leveled it again with a straightforward 21-13 victory over Keon Murrell, leaving the match to be decided by the women.
Rachel Smith then punched Belfield’s ticket to the next round by cruising past Maudlyn Blunt 21-13.
CIBC RTEA Elite smashed their way into the semis with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Chelston Wheezers.
Kenoja Belgrave defeated Rasheed Browne 21-13, Curtis Jones trounced Dwayne Lynch 21-15 and Antonio Yearwood was an easy 21-11 winner over Anthony Haynes.
The semifinals continue at the Deighton ‘Pa’ Roach Facility on Friday night.
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