NATIONAL Under-16 girls champion Shantal Blackwood and her mentor Gordon Edwards yesterday captured the ATL Autohaus Volkswagen Junior/Mentor Tennis Classic title at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.

In the final which lasted over and hour, Blackwood and Edwards came from a set down to beat Simon Levy and his partner Nelton Forsythe 5-7, 6-2 and 7-3 in the tie-breaker.

Levy and Forsythe came from two games down in the first set to take it 7-5.

Blackwood and Edwards then came from a game down in the second set to win five straight games to go up 5-1 in the second.

Levy, the Pan Caribbean All Jamaica Junior Under-14 title holder and Forsythe broke Blackwood and Edwards’ service putting up a fight to take back the seventh game before Blackwood and Edwards broke back to take the set 6-2 and take the match into a tie breaker, which they won 7-3.

“I’m happy we came back even though at the beginning of the second set we broke down, but we came back and won the tie-breaker,” Blackwood told the Observer.

“They were the better team (but) overall we played well, unfortunately we didn’t play well enough to beat them,” Levy conceded.

Earlier in the day, Blackwood and Edwards advanced to the final of the tournament following an 8-5 victory over youngster Peter Mahfood and his mentor Marcus Malcolm in the semi-finals.

Levy and Forsythe had earlier defeated Antonio Rizza playing with his uncle David Shirley 8-1 to set up the clash.

The two-day Junior/Mentor Tennis tournament was the brainchild of local tennis coach and national director of junior development Lockett McGregor, who started the programme two years ago.

McGregor added that he was pleased with how the tournament was able to bridge barriers as an inner-city Tennis Jamaica scholarship student (Blackwood) was partnered with the manager of the Liguanea Club while Levy was able to pair up with an attorney.

“So you couldn’t have a better mix than that for a final,” he said.

The winners and runners-up got trophies and caps courtesy of sponsors ATL Autohaus and Hi-Lyte Sports Drink

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CHARISMATIC Jamaican tennis pro, Dustin Brown, will be looking to add to his rising stock as he has been entered into the main draw of both doubles and singles at the October 4-10 ATP Challenger in Belgium.

Brown, 25, jumped to a career-high 70 in doubles following the release of the latest ATP rankings last Monday.

The release also sees Brown remaining at 118th in singles, which the Jamaican hopes to improve by year-end.

His chances of ending the year in the top 100 in singles remains good, having done so in July when he achieved a lifetime best of 98th.

He enters this week’s tournament as the 12th highest-ranked player and is seeded No 8 for the turnament with homeboy Xavier Malisse (56th) and Arnuad Clement (60th) of France listed as the top seeds.

But Brown will definitely be one of the form players vying for the Ethias Trophy in the Belgian city of Mons, having got to the second round of the US Open before losing to Briton Andy Murray.

However, of late, it is his form in doubles with Dutch partner Rogier Wessen that has seen the Jamaican catapult up the rankings.

Last Sunday, Brown and Wessen, ranked 69th in doubles, capped a dream ATP World Tour debut in the French city of Metz, as they came together to win the Open de Moselle finale.

The two were impressive, dropping just one set throughout the tournament, while dispatching the top-two seeds in the semi-finals and final en route to the title.

Wessen thinks the two are very dangerous when playing together and based on current form, could be a handful for any pair at the other end of the court.

“Dustin and I have opposite personalities, opposite games and I think we complement each other very well on the court. It’s a pleasure to play with him and I look forward to continuing to play with him,” Wessen said after their triumph in Metz.

Brown is on the same side of the draw with Clement and opens his singles account against Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut.

Within the last two years, the 6′ 5″ player nicknamed “Dreddy” because of his flowing dreadlocks, is one of the sports fastest-growing recognised players, with his rankings ascending over 400 places.

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Dustin Brown and Rogier Wassen capped a dream ATP World Tour debut together Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 2 seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the final of the Open de Moselle in Metz.

As champions of the ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tennis tournament, Brown and Wassen earned 250 ATP World Tour ranking points and €21,650, while runners-up Melo and Soares received 150 ranking points and shared €11,360 in prize money.

Jamaican Brown and Wassen of the Netherlands had played well together in four ATP Challenger Tour events this season, winning two titles, including last week in Szczecin. They carried their form into their first ATP World Tour outing and since losing the opening set in their first-round match, won six consecutive sets en route to the title, including victory over No. 2 seeds Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman in the semi-finals.

“I am so happy, this is my first ATP-level title. It feels great,” said Brown. “I am happy I was able to convince Roger to come as we were the first alternate team. He was home three hours away, wanting to take some time off, and I managed to convince him. We recently won two Challengers so we had confidence and I must say we played good all week.”

The unseeded Brown and Wassen broke serve in the third and ninth games to secure a one-set advantage before racing to a 5-0 lead in the second set. Melo and Soares recouped one of the service breaks to reduce the deficit to 3-5, but Brown did not falter as he held serve to love to seal victory in 53 minutes.

The 25-year-old Brown was contesting his first ATP World Tour final, while Wassen, 34, won his fifth ATP World Tour doubles title from 10 finals. It was Wassen’s first title since July 2008 in Amersfoort (w/ Cermak).

“Being the first alternate team I really didn’t want to come to Metz,” confessed Wassen. “I was home, planning on taking the week off, but I am so happy I ended up coming. Dustin and I have opposite personalities, opposite games and I think we complement each other very well on the court. It’s a pleasure to play with him and I look forward to continuing to play with him.”

Brazilians Melo and Soares were playing their fourth ATP World Tour doubles final together since joining forces full-time at the start of the season. They slipped to a 1-3 record, having won the title in Nice and finished runners-up in Auckland and Gstaad

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JAMAICAN Simone Vranov-Brown, the former two-time Pan Caribbean All-Jamaica 18 and under tennis champion, has decided to skip university and go professional.

But the 18-year-old Brown now must find the financial backing to achieve her goals, which includes qualifying for 2012 Olympics in London, England.

Vranov-Brown, who recently graduated from Olympia High, Magna Cum Laude, had scholarship offers to several division one colleges, but has decided instead to play on the ITF/WTA professional tour in 2011.

In an Observer follow-up, the tennis starlet says she is willing to take the plunge because of an implicit belief in her ability to compete successfully against the best.

“I want to be a professional tennis player and this is the goal I have set myself, because I believe that I have the skills to do so successfully” said the talented Florida-based athlete who ended her stint at Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida as the top-ranked player.

“My dad, who coaches me, is totally dedicated to the sport. I have watched him over the years and got to love the game so much, that it is now part of my life,” added Brown.

“I have also had sessions with some of the world’s best coaches, among them Nick Bollettiere (tennis) and Brooks Johnson (speed, strength and conditioning), and they, too, believe I have the attributes needed to succeed.

“Most of all, though, I believe in myself. I work hard at it and I’m willing to make all the sacrifices necessary to achieve my goals,” she said.

Commenting on her immediate plans, Vranov-Brown states: “I need to play more tournaments so as to get my ranking into the ITF/WTA top 100 as this will allow me to play in the Grand Slam tournaments.

“My main goal is to play in the US Open and at Wimbledon, but to do so I have to find sponsors who will assist me with the finances needed to travel as much as I need to. I hope that there will be a major breakthrough in this area soon.”

She aims to follow in footsteps of many of the sport’s best female players such as Chris Evert, Monica Seles and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, all of whom by-passed the college route, developed their skills on the professional circuit and made it to the top.

And like them, she believes in her ability, stating confidently that she understands the sacrifices she must make and the hard work that is necessary to achieve her goals.

“I’m fully prepared for the long haul and it’s reassuring to know that I have the backing and support of my family and coaches, as I prepare to take my first step into professional tennis,”

she added.

In a bid to market herself, Vranov-Brown’s family have launched a website, www.thebrowngirls.com, for prospective sponsors and fans to monitor her progress.

Brown and 16-year old sister Lauren are popularly known as “The Brown Girls”.

Both have always done well in local tournaments, while representing Jamaica in the Junior Fed Cup.

Simone recently solidified her position as one of Florida’s most dominant female players by winning the Fort Gatlin End of Summer Classic.

She defeated the No 1 seed Gabriela Winter, 6-4, 6-2, in an enthralling final at Lake Cane Tennis Club, in Orlando, that had fans cheering wildly throughout the match.

This was the second recent tournament success for Vranov-Brown, as she also won the Lake Cane Fire Cracker Women’s Open.

In July, she also made it to the quarter-finals of the Junior US Open Qualifying tournament.

Dustin Brown (no relation to Simone), who recently reached the second round of the ongoing US Open, is the only Jamaican currently on the professional tennis circuit.

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Andy Murray breezed to a straight sets victory over Dustin Brown to secure a place in the third round of the US Open.

The fourth seed was pressured by the free-swinging Jamaican at times during the first set but then brushed his opponent aside on the way to a 7-5 6-3 6-0 win.

Brown lived up to his flamboyant reputation and gave his lively group of supporters some fleeting moments of promise, but he rarely troubled the Murray serve.

After comfortably closing out the contest on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the British number one now faces a clash with either Juan Ignacio Chela or Stanislas Wawrinka in round three.

After both players held serve in the early stages, play was briefly suspended as the rain that had been forecast due to Hurricane Earl started to fall.

Murray had already lost two of his three challenges for the set in Brown’s opening service game after disputing two of the Jamaican’s aces.
Delay

Play was only delayed by around 25 minutes, with Brown picking up where he left off and firing down several thumping serves and forehands when the match resumed.

But the world number 123 was not able to gain a foothold in Murray’s service games and it was the Scot who gained the crucial break.

Two forehand winners brought up two set points in the 12th game and although Brown saved the first with an ace, he then sent a forehand into the net to hand the set to Murray.

The world number four then firmly put himself in the driving seat, racing into a 5-0 lead in the second set as Brown dropped his serve twice more.

But the 25-year-old held to avoid a whitewash before hitting back with a break of his own after two huge forehands, although he was too far behind to save the set.

Murray served out to love to secure a two-set lead as there seemed no way that Brown would be able to mount a comeback.

Indeed, Brown would not win another game as Murray cruised through the third set, breaking serve three times and completing the victory in only one hour and 25 minutes

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Jamaican tennis player Dustin Brown created history a short while ago for the nation when he won his first round men’s singles match at the US Open.

Brown became the first Jamaican to do so.

Brown who is ranked 113 in the world beat Ruben Hidalgo of Spain, ranked 91, in three straight sets 6-4, 7-6, 7-5.

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1st Round

Yuta HIROKAWA (JPN) (1) defeated Kevin HUGGINS (VIN) 6-0 6-0
Vaughn WILSON (TRI) defeated Mergregor MONGROO (LCA) 6-0 6-1
Jeremy COURT (USA) defeated Sharif Amir DWARKASINGH (LCA) 6-0 6-0
Gino MEEUWSEN (AHO) (7) defeated Arturo ALTAMIRANO (ECU) 7-5 6-1
Luke DE CAIRES (TRI) defeated Dominic LOVELL (LCA) (3) 6-0 6-1
Chidi N GABRIEL (USA) defeated Logan LUM KONG (TRI) 6-1 6-2
Andrew ZHU (CAN) defeated Shane LATCHMAN (VIN) 6-1 6-2
Renaldo GIBSON (BAR) (5) defeated Gregory EMMANUEL (LCA) 6-0 6-0
Mykell REIFER (BAR) (6) defeated Omodele PHILLIPS (LCA) 6-2 6-0
Ernesto ARGUELLO (NCA) defeated Fabrice GEORGE (VIN) 6-3 6-4
Dawoud KABLI (TRI) defeated Edsel THEODORE (LCA) 6-0 6-0
Matias SUPAN (ARG) (4) defeated Yannik JAMES (GRN) 6-0 6-3
Kevin DELIGNY (LCA) (8) defeated Ibian HODGSON (ARU) 6-4 6-2
Gian ISSA (SUR) defeated Dominik MATUSZEWSKI (CAN) 6-2 6-3
Richard COLE (BAR) defeated Thibault BAIN (LCA) 6-3 6-2
John-Randolph THORNTON (USA) (2) defeated Steffan DWARKASINGH (LCA) 6-0 6-0

2nd Round

Vaughn WILSON (TRI) defeated Yuta HIROKAWA (JPN) (1) 1-6 7-6(2) 6-1
Gino MEEUWSEN (AHO) (7) defeated Jeremy COURT (USA) 6-1 6-2
Chidi N GABRIEL (USA) defeated Luke DE CAIRES (TRI) 6-3 6-4
Andrew ZHU (CAN) defeated Renaldo GIBSON (BAR) (5) 6-1 7-6(2)
Ernesto ARGUELLO (NCA) defeated Mykell REIFER (BAR) (6) 6-0 6-2
Matias SUPAN (ARG) (4) defeated Dawoud KABLI (TRI) 6-3 6-3
Gian ISSA (SUR) defeated Kevin DELIGNY (LCA) (8) 2-6 6-0 4-0 Retired
John-Randolph THORNTON (USA) (2) defeated Richard COLE (BAR) 6-2 6-0

Quarterfinal

Vaughn WILSON (TRI) defeated Gino MEEUWSEN (AHO) (7) 6-4 6-4
Chidi N GABRIEL (USA) defeated Andrew ZHU (CAN) 6-3 6-2
Matias SUPAN (ARG) (4) defeated Ernesto ARGUELLO (NCA) 6-1 6-1
Gian ISSA (SUR) defeated John-Randolph THORNTON (USA) (2) 2-6 6-0 4-2 Retired

Semifinal

Vaughn WILSON (TRI) defeated Chidi N GABRIEL (USA) 7-6(4) 6-3
Matias SUPAN (ARG) (4) defeated Gian ISSA (SUR) 6-2 6-0

Final

Vaughn WILSON (TRI) defeated Matias SUPAN (ARG) (4) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4

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Trials should prove to be highly competitive, as the four member team selected, will be charged with the responsibility of ensuring Jamaica retains its place in the Americas Zone Group II of the Davis Cup.
National Director Douglas Burke, notes that the team selected will need to win the relegation match against the Netherland Antilles in July following their loss to Mexico earlier this year. The winner of the match will retain their Group II standing while the loser will be bumped back into Group III. “How it works is that there are four groups overall (Group I being the highest and Group IV being lowest) and teams play matches to move up in group standings. We need to try to solidify our place in Group II which consists of many highly rated Teams such as Mexico and Paraguay.”
While a number of the competitors have been busy training at Tennis Jamaica Headquarters, the competitors for the upcoming trials will not be limited to that pool as other competitors have been invited. “We anticipate more players for the Trials even though some of the players have not been training with us,” Burke explained.
Already in training are Damar Johnson, Tyler Chin, Brandon Burke, Damion Johnson, Christopher Lawson and Dominic Pagan four of whom were a part of the team that played against Mexico in March.
The Davis Cup Trials will kick off June 5 at 9:00am and will run until June 7 at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre. Following the trials, the team will play the Netherland Antilles from July 10 to 12 in Curacao.
The Davis Cup, run by the International Tennis Federation, is the largest annual team sporting event in the world with 140 nations worldwide competing.

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Sicquena Sinclair defeated Rosaline Chavez, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5, and teamed up Shantal Blackwood in the doubles to outplay Chavez and Alma Espinosa, 6-3, 6-2. Espinosa beat Blackwood, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, earlier in the second singles.

On Monday, Jamaica lost to unseeded Dominican Republic, 2-1, when Michelle Valdez outpointed Sinclair, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0, but Blackwood tied up the match with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Pamela Peguero.
Valdez and Peguero then defeated Blackwood and Monique Hanson, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4, in the doubles.

Number two seed, the Bahamas, lead Group 4 and are undefeated after wins over Panama and hosts Dominica Republic.

In other group matches, number one seed Cuba beat Honduras 3-0 in Group One; number three seed Barbados beat Netherland Antilles 2-1 in Group Three; number four seed Guatemala drubbed Haiti 3-0 in Group Two, and number five seed El Salvador whipped Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0, in another Group Two match.

Meanwhile, in Junior Davis Cup, Jamaica, drawn in Group Three, have lost both matches they have played to Costa Rica and Bahamas.

Against Costa Rica, Jamaica’s Davis Cup boys lost 3-0 when Allan Raventos beat Rowland Phillips, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; Jose Raventos stopped Jordan Harris, 6-3, 6-1, and Maurizio Feoli and Jose Raventos outplayed Harris and Phillips, 6-2, 6-1.

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She’s just 16 years old but already the Floridian Tennis circuit is sitting up and taking notice. Simone Brown is starting the 2009 season ranked 28th. This after a breathtaking 2008 season that saw her playing seasoned professionals in the Women’s Open Division. She handled herself credibly, dishing out defeats to Sarah Gaynor of Delray Beach and Elena Kirora of Orlando in decisive victories. Even more impressive was her win over the tournament’s number two seed and World #820 Phoebe Dileo. Brown showed character and style taking the match 6-2, 6-4.

"I have learned many lessons on and off the court in 2008, and at times, it was quite hard. But ending my year with this tournament makes me happy… it proves that I am good enough for the WTA tour and I want to make it so I can play for Jamaica in the 2012 Olympics," Brown added.

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