Sat | Sep 23, 2023

Top seeds dominate at President’s Trophy TT

Published:Monday | November 28, 2022 | 12:07 AMHubert Lawrence/Gleaner Writer
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Sister act: Tsenaye Lewis (right) and her sister Gianna take a break from their battles at the table, both won by Tsenaye at the President’s Trophy tournament.
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Sister act: Tsenaye Lewis (right) and her sister Gianna take a break from their battles at the table, both won by Tsenaye at the President’s Trophy tournament.
Thanks Dad: Mark Phillips (right) tells his father Donald how his racquet helped him to win the JTTA President’s Trophy Men’s Open at G.C. Foster College on Saturday.
Contributed
Thanks Dad: Mark Phillips (right) tells his father Donald how his racquet helped him to win the JTTA President’s Trophy Men’s Open at G.C. Foster College on Saturday.
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Top seeds Mark Phillips and Tsenaye Lewis topped the Jamaica Table Tennis Association President’s Trophy tournament at the G.C. Foster College for Physical Education and Sport in Spanish Town at the weekend.

Phillips, 28, subdued Rudolph Sinclair to win the men’s open singles and Lewis won twice against her sister Gianna.

Phillips’ semifinal match - a 4-0 triumph over Sean Wallace - helped him adjust to the playing conditions at G.C. Foster.

“In this specific venue, the ball tends to fall a little early,” Phillips explained, “so that means now I have to constantly be up on the table, regardless even if I’m pushed back, because this ball is going to drop too fast. So, I had to make that slight adjustment.”

Five minutes after a seven-set thriller against Nigerian Adeniyi Akindele, Sinclair started fast in the final and won the first set 11-1.

“The first game, it got away from me and I knew, but I was already focusing on the second set at that specific time where I made a slight adjustment and started to attack more because I needed to attack against this player,” Phillips analysed.

The turning point came in set three. Sinclair, the 2018 Caribbean over-45 bronze medallist, came to 10-10 from 6-9, but strong play by Phillips put him ahead.

“He was just coming out of a semifinal match a little winded. However, he still wasn’t missing. So, I had to be hiding the ball as much as possible and taking the opportunities to attack whenever I could,” the winner summarised of his 1-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 win.

Sinclair was gracious, saying, “He’s young and he’s very good. He’s quick, that much I can say, and got the better of me today, but I’ll be back next time.”

Lewis beat her sister Gianna twice, first with a 11-8, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 margin in the women’s open singles and then 3-1 in the girls’ under-19 final, with both matches decorated with athletic counter looping rallies.

Akindele, a Nigerian living in Jamaica, beat Kingston College schoolboy Joel Butler 4-0 in the men’s B final, and despite the loss to the left-handed Sinclair, he was pleased with his day’s work.

“I lost to a big player. No problem about that, but at the point in time, I was tired because I had to play B matches. I also had to play A matches, so, trust me, I was really tired. But I still tried to play my game, you know, but unfortunately, I lost in the semi-finals, but it was a good game overall. I’m happy. At least, I won the B tournament.”

The Nigerian eliminated second seeded Alphanso Morris, 4-0, in his men’s open quarter-final.

The other double winner was Ajani Spencer, who beat his Caribbean mini and pre-cadet teammate Anthony Bird to win the under-11 title, and then eased past Nathon Douglas to win the under-13 final.