by KENMORE BYNOE
Defending champion Shakeem Nurse looked great in dress and play when three rained out matches in the Barbados Road Tennis Open (BRTO) were rescheduled at the Deighton “Pa” Roach Tennis Facility on Monday night in Bush Hall.
Dressed in an eye catching magenta and black outfit, Nurse gave a reminder of his impregnable backhand, his sizzling line drives and destructive drop shots as he dismissed Kerry “TC” Francis 21-15, 21-17.
That propelled Nurse into the round of 16 and a payday of $1 000.
Francis played some top class tennis which would have toppled a lesser player.
Unfortunately, nothing summed up the disparity between the two players greater than when Nurse ended an exhaustive rally to
bring up game point 20-13 in the opener with a screaming forehand drive which beat Francis with speed and position.
Francis responded well in the second game blasting to a 7-3 lead, with the fans getting excited at the prospect of a keener duel.
That excitement intensified as Nurse played his best tennis locking the scores at 13 and went ahead 14-13.
Before surrendering the lead, Francis appeared rattled and he erred by making two serving errors trying to “hide” the ball.
Nurse utilised dropped short shots and then moved from 15-all to 17-15.
Resuming full control, Nurse wowed the crowd with smoking line drives accentuated with his classic poses as he powered past a bemused Francis.
Earlier, Shawn “Schwarzenegger” Spencer continued his battle with Seth Best which was rain interrupted on Saturday night at 3-2.
South-paw Spencer blunted a valiant effort from Best 21-17, 21-15.
Dwayne Lynch dominated veteran Daniel King 21-14, 21-15.
The caravan moves to Diamond Corner, St Peter, from six this evening with the start of the round of 16.
Cricket umpire Jalesa Holder-Vaughan plays Denise Collymore, teenager Kezia Blunt takes on Samanta Rogers and last year’s losing finalist Rachel Smith meets Rashida Holder among the women.
The men’s matches will see Stephen Payne battling Antonio “Lil Man” Daniel, Spencer clashing with Julian “Michael Jackson” White, Dario Hinds playing Mosai Williams and Raheem Nurse meeting three-time champion Mark “Venom” Griffith.
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