Players brave tough conditions on opening day of ITF tourney
Published:Tuesday | May 14, 2024 | 12:10 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
ACTION in the 2024 International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis M15000 got under way yesterday at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre as a host of players took aim at securing spots in the first round of the tournament.
Among the players who safely navigated their way through the preliminary phase was American Teodor Cariov, who defeated Australia’s Jera Staley 6-4, 6-1. Cariov shared that while the score line might suggest one-way traffic, Staley was a tough opponent to break down and the conditions made life tougher to secure the victory.
“It wasn’t that comfortable of a win, as he’s really a good player who has a good serve. It was hot conditions, but that’s why we play. We knew that it was going to be hot so you can’t really think about it, but rather, carry on as best as you can do,” he stated.
Cariov added that patience was the key component in his win over Staley. He added that after winning the opening set, he was positive that victory was on the cards.
“It took a lot of patience, and that was the biggest part of the process. Once I won the first set, it was just a matter of time before doubt started to creep into his head, and then the heat started getting to him,” Cariov said.
Another dominant performance came from American Joseph Phillips who recorded a 6-2, 6-4 victory over countryman Joshua Portnoy. Phillips said coming out aggressive was his key to victory.
“It was exciting for me, as I came out wanting to play aggressively and looking to win, instead of waiting on my opponent to lose. It was also an exciting matchup as I got some good rhythm going into the main draw,” he stated.
Phillips further stated that with the effects of the sweltering heat taking effect on his body, he was hell-bent on not allowing the match to enter a third set decider.
“I went down a break early, so I was trailing the whole set and had to fight my way back into the match. I had to do it because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to play a third set tiebreaker with the energy level, as I started feeling cramps. It was a tough battle, despite it looking easy,” Phillips added.
Also registering victories on the day were Ghanian Abraham Asaba, who defeated American Mitchell Dobek 6-1, 6-1 and Australia’s Timothy Gray, who managed to get by Brazil’s Lucca Pinto 7-5, 6-2.