Darian King bounded back from a first-round defeat in the singles to win his doubles match at the French Open Junior Championships on Tuesday.
King and his doubles partner, Juan Sebastian Gomez of Colombia defeated the French pair of Tristan Lamasine and Mick Lescure 6-2, 5-7, 12-10 and will meet the Australian duo of James Duckworth and Jason Kubler in the next round.
The win put them into the last 16, but both sides felt the pressure of being in their first Grand Slam and squandered no less than four match points. King, however, took the initiative and cut off a volley at the net on their third match point.
“Today [Tuesday] was a good win for us although we let our opponents back in the match. It felt good to win a match from match point down as I have been on the other side a few times this year,” King said.
The Barbadian had a tough time on clay leading up to the French Open, but recently learnt he was successful for Junior Wimbledon (grass) which will be held in England from June 21 to July 4.
On Sunday, King found himself on the wrong side of a 6-4, 6-3 result against Filip Horansky. The first Barbadian to achieve such a feat found the going tough, bowing out to the No. 24 ranked and last year’s quarter-finalist from Slovakia.
However, he showed that he belonged among the top players in the world. Serving at 4-4 in the first set, he could not stop the power and onslaught of the Horansky forehand. In the second set, a lack of concentration on King’s part caused him to trail 1-3 but he battled his way back on the clay surface before losing the final set 6-3.
“It was a tough match,” King said after the singles match. “I had my chances to get back in the match, but my opponent came up with big forehands at crucial points to keep me out of the match. My serve wasn’t working as I wanted it to and a few short balls on the clay surface gave Filip the opportunity to take advantage.”
King said it was a great experience because he got the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Roger Federer and the Caribbean’s Mark Knowles.
His coach, Sydney Lopez, said: “I was happy with the way Darian played his match, apart from a few short balls and double faults at crucial times. After the doubles here, I am looking forward to Darian’s next three events on the grass courts.” (PR/SAT)
