Dylan Hall is the Boys’ Under-18 singles national tennis champion for the second year in a row.
On Wednesday in the Barbados Tennis Association’s Island Heritage/Esso Juniors National Championships, Hall, the No. 2 seed, beat Ajani King 6-3, 6-3 at the National Tennis Centre, Wildey.
Last year Hall won the title after beating No. 1 seed Michael Jordan, but this year, King, who was unseeded, made his job a bit easier by taking out Jordan in the second round.
Hall beat Christian Maxwell (6-1, 6-2); Luke Humphrey (6-2, 6-1) and Brandon Lee (6-0, 6-0) in a dominant display through the rounds where he lost only six games before reaching the final.
He has also made the second round of the men’s open where he faces a rematch with Lee, after taking out No. 5 Hasani Stewart 6-2, 6-3.
In suffering the loss, King was denied his second title. He had already wrapped up the Under-14 division, beating top seed Andrew Symmonds 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the semis and No. 3 seed Joshua Worme 7-5, 7-5 in a competitive final. Worme beat No. 2 Gavin Hutchinson 6-1, 6-1 in the other semi.
Women’s No. 1 seed and defending champion Alyssa Fuentes beat former champion Donna Gibbs 6-1, 7-5, while No. 2 Melena Lopez beat Alexine Marshall 6-0, 6-2.
With the exception of Stewart, all of the top eight seeds in the men’s open are through to the next round.
No. 2 Russell Moseley is the first man into the quarter-finals after beating Renaldo Gibson 6-1, 6-1. No. 1 seed Seanon William beat Carron Beckles 6-1, 6-1; No. 2 Duncan Evanson won 6-1, 6-0 over Hannes Matz, and No. 4 Dario Parris beat Jordan (no score available).
Matthew Weir (6) beat Simon Lewis 6-1, 6-1; No. 7 Andrew Thornton knocked out Renaldo Banfield 6-3, 6-0, and No. 8 Ryan Moseley had an easy 6-1, 6-1 win over John Ackie.
In other finals completed earlier, Kiana Marshall beat Cherise Slocombe 6-3, 6-4 to win the Girls’ Under-18 singles title. However, when the two met again in the women’s open, Slocombe came from behind to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Romani Mayers upset the No. 1 seed in both the Boys’ 10s and 12s singles to grab two titles. In the 10s, he beat Christopher Phillips 8-5, and in the 12s he defeated Andrew Gill by the same score.
Summarized scores
Singles
Boys’ Under-14 final: Ajani King defeated Joshua Worme 7-5, 7-5.
Semis: Ajani King def. Andrew Symmonds 7-6 (2), 6-2. Joshua Worme def. Gavin Hutchinson 6-1, 6-1.
Under-16 semis: Gavin Hutchinson def. Andrew Symmonds 7-5, 6-2. Brandon Lee def. Jared Spencer 6-2, 6-2.
Under-18 final: Dylan Hall def. Ajani King 6-3, 6-3.
Open
Men
Brandon Lee def. Colin Murray 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Melvin Elcock def. Gregory Hinkson 6-3, 6-4. Russell Moseley def. Renaldo Gibson 6-1, 6-1. Duncan Evanson def. Hannes Matz 6-1, 6-0.
Men’s 35s: George Grant/Raymond Forde def. Bernard Babb/Richard Harrison 6-3, 6-4.
Over 35s: Oneal Marshall def. Lloyd Slocombe 5-7, 6-3, 10-8.
Women
Alyssa Fuentes def. Donna Gibbs 6-1, 7-5. Cherise Slocombe def. Kiana Marshall 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Melena Lopez def. Alexine Marshall 6-0, 6-2. Doubles
Boys
Under-10: Kaipo Marshall/Steven Slocombe def. Christopher Phillips/Aren Spencer 8-1.
Under-16: Joshua Worme/Jared Spencer def. Shane Mustor/Yannick Polanen 7-5, 6-1. Simon Lewis/Gavin Hutchinson def. Brandon Dowell/Zackary Jones 6-2, 6-0.
Girls
Under-14: Jamie Lewis/Symphony Griffith won by default over Ilana Blackwood/Akayla Agard.
