-Joseph and Jeffrey continue unbeaten run
Following his devastating loss to Alexander Cheeks on the first night, Patrick Fraser rebounded to defeat Travis Whitehead in a closely fought match when the second night of action in the Guyana Squash Racquets Association organized Woodpecker Products sponsored national junior championships continued at the Georgetown Courts Wednesday night.
While Fraser was on the rebound, Nyron Joseph and Keisha Jeffrey continued their unbeaten run in the tournament which has seen the pint-sized players once again stealing the spotlight from their older counterparts. Displaying sheer enthusiasm and raw talent the new crop of young players captured the attention of the audience during the first two nights of this year’s championships.
Fresh off his disappointing loss to Cheeks, Fraser for the second time found himself involved in a “knock down drag out affair”, in his match-up against Whitehead, where an early exchange saw him taking five points in a row and subsequently an 8-5 lead.
But Whitehead who gave Immanuel Barker his first of two defeats on the first night, took back the service and went on a six-point run which enabled him to claim the first 11-8, but a regrouped Fraser took the second 11-3.
A tiring Fraser was taken advantage of by Whitehead who romped to an 8-3 lead. But out of nowhere, Fraser found his second wind and threatened to mount a comeback but Whitehead put an end to those thoughts by taking the set 11-7.
Probably having flashbacks of his agonizing loss the previous night, Fraser dug deep to blow his opponent away in the fourth and set up a highly anticipated final game which saw both parties trading rallies back and fourth, until the scores were tied at 8.
But it was Fraser who displaying a never-say-die attitude from the fourth set, broke the deadlock and got to match point at 10-8, which was not good enough as Whitehead drew level at 10 but he lost his way and permitted Fraser to close the game at 12-10, much to his own relief.
Meanwhile, Joseph who was a triple winner on the first night, recorded a double on the second with runaway victories over Adesina Trim in the Boys Under-11 and 13 combined, along with a win over Ryan Da Silva in the Under-15 category.
Having lost to her twin sister the previous evening, Victoria Arjoon found the racquet of Keisha Jeffrey too much for her as she succumbed 11-4, 11-7, 11-5, while Mary Fung-A-Fat won her first match of the tournament when she defeated Kristina Cheeks 11-1, 11-2, 11-1.
The tournament will conclude with the final round and presentation on Sunday. In the meantime, results from the second night of action which continues every afternoon at 6:00pm at the same venue are as follows:
Girls Under-11
Rebecca Low defeated Savannah Mendes 11-6, 11-7, 11-7
Girls Under-13
Akeila Wiltshire defeated Taylor Fernandes 11-1, 11-4, 11-4, Larissa Wiltshire defeated Riasoya Jodah 11-2, 11-4, 11-2 while Gabrielle Fraser defeated Rebecca Xavier 11-0, 13-11, 11-5.
In the Girls Under-15, 17 & 19 combined
Keisha Jeffrey defeated Victoria Arjoon 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 and Mary Fung-A-Fat defeated Kristina Cheeks 11-1, 11-2, 11-1.
Patrick Fraser defeated Travis Whitehead 8-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4 and 12-10 in the Boys Under 11 & 13 combined, which also saw Nyron Joseph defeating Adesina Trim 11-0, 11-1, 11-1, Matthew Phang disposing Alexander Cheeks 8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-7, while Ben Mekdeci received a walkover from Immanuel Barker
In the Boys Under-15 category, Daniel Persaud defeated Kevin Rodrigues 11-2, 11-2, 11-7, Jason Ray Khalil turned back the challenges of Steven Xavier 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 and Joseph defeated Ryan Da Silva 11-5, 12-10, 11-5.
In the two matches played in the Boys Under-17 & 19 combined categories, Ray Khalil defeated Nicholas Peters 11-0, 11-1, 11-1 whilst Nicholas Naraine also received a walkover from Dylan Walker.
