The champ is back.
With a straight sets annihilation, by way of two “sows”, of Christ Church’s David Arrendell in the televised “A” class finals of the National Sports Council’s Inter-Parish Championship, Julian “Michael Jackson” White showed exactly why he is referred to as the “World Boss” of road tennis.
Since suffering a shock defeat to Victor “Earth” Ward in the quarter-finals of the Silver Hill Road Tennis Competition in December, White has been the hot topic of discussion in road tennis circles, with many questioning whether or not he was the No. 1 player.
But in a dominant and dismissive performance on Saturday night at the Dover courts, White handed Arrendell a 21-5, 21-5 whipping, showing exactly why he has held that ranking for the past decade.
In doing so, he sent a message to all the doubters and naysayers who felt that his time as champion had come to an end.
“After the loss to ‘Earth’, I know that some of the spectators and the players were saying that the ‘World Boss’ gone,” he told MIDWEEKSPORT shortly after leading St Michael to their second successive “A” Class title at the championships.
“Losing is inevitable, and although you may find one or two people in a sport who end up playing unbeaten, I knew that a time would come where I would eventually lose a game.”
However, that defeat to Ward, road tennis’ newest sensation, only helped to serve as motivation for White, who knows first-hand how tough it can be to stay at the top.
He admitted that a bit of complacency contributed to his downfall, but disclosed that since then he had gone back to the drawing board to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence.
“After the Silver Hill competition, I went home and I analyzed the whole game. I went in playing ‘Earth’ as the favourite and I had never seen him play before.
“I didn’t know what to expect from him and to be honest, I think I went in a bit overconfident,” he admitted.
And organizer of the recently concluded championships, Phillip “Foff” Garner couldn’t have put it any better when he proclaimed that Ward had stirred up an ants’ nest.
“I told myself that I was going to come back, and that I was going to come back strong.
“This is only the start. There is a lot more behind this,” White promised.
