Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Defending champion Simone Vranov-Brown lived up to expectations by retaining the girls Under-18 title, in straight sets, as the Pan Caribbean Jamaica Junior Tennis Championships came to a close at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre yesterday.

Vranov-Brown cruised past Shantal Blackwood 6-0, 6-2 to cap an impressive performance, which saw the player go through the entire tournament without dropping a set.

A nervous start saw Blackwood double fault twice in the opening game of the match and Brown dominating on her serve took the first set in record time.

The second set, however, proved a slightly more difficult prospect for the top seed. Down 0-1 following a break in the first game, Blackwood fought back and broke Brown to level the game at 1-1. With both players continuing to have difficulty holding their serve, it seemed the player who eventually managed to do so would take the set.

Impressive rallies

With double faults and a low first-serve percentage continuing to plague her opponent, despite many impressive rallies, it was Vranov-Brown who did so as she pulled away from her opponent to close out the match.

"She wasn't 100 per cent in the first set, so I looked to be aggressive and just close that out quickly. In the second, I really had to grind it out a bit," the 15-year-old told The Gleaner.

"I tried to be overly aggressive in the second set with my serve but my first serve was going just a bit long, but I always felt like I was the fitter player," she added.

Meanwhile, it was a total reversal for Vranov-Brown's younger sister, 13-year-old Lauren, in the girls Under-16 division, as she went down in straight sets - 7-5, 7-5 - Sicquena Sinclair.

Spurred on by the crowd, Sinclair never looked to lack the confidence of some of her local counterparts and showing excellent court coverage, frustrated the top seed into several unforced errors.

'I did my best'

"I always try to do my best and that is what I did going out there today," she said. "I really wanted to win. The training they get is a little better than us, so that gave me added motivation going out there."

She added: "I have to thank the crowd. They really picked me up when I needed it today."

In the girls Under-14 final, Shelita Haughton jumped out to a quick start, but eventually lost to a steady Ericka Robertson 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

Unstoppable

In the girls Under-10 final, Shae-Ann Kamika was unstoppable as she blasted her way past Bianca Peterkin 6-2, 6-0. In the boys Under-16, final top-seeded Row-land Phillips went down 6-4, 6-3 to second-seeded Joseph Ross.

In the boys Under-12 final, Andrew Bicknell got the better of Simon Levy 7-6, 6-2 in a tense affair, while Shadae Findlay beat Shae-Ann Kamika 6-4, 6-1 in the girls Under- 12 final. In the boys Under-10 final, the diminutive Roger Lyn packed quite a punch as he knocked off Niels Van Dam 6-1, 6-2.