All Jamaica tennis championship serves up thrills

BICKNELL…secured his first All Jamaica title after defeating veteran Damion Johnson (Photo: Observer file)

David Sanguinetti, tournament director of the All Jamaica Senior Tennis Championship, said he was impressed with the high level of play that was on display during this year’s edition which ended at the Erica Tennis Centre on Tuesday night.

Jacob Bicknell secured his first All Jamaica title after defeating veteran Damion Johnson 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in an exciting final. Meaghan McConnell won the amateur women’s section after defeating Daniella Silvera 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the final.

Sanguinetti told the Jamaica Observer that he was very happy with the turnout of spectators at the tournament as all matches were well attended and fans were treated to top-class tennis throughout.

“Every event that was run was well attended and the numbers overall were much higher than what we had in the past because people came out in their numbers and it was wonderful to see them at Tennis Jamaica and I think that this momentum is going to take us into 2023,” he said.

“It was a very competitive tournament because everybody brought their A game,” Sanguinetti said.

He noted that Bicknell was very deserving of his title because he played some excellent tennis over the course of the championship.

“Jacob was number four on our Davis Cup team [last year], but he had stopped playing for a while but he came back on short notice. He is a class act and he just showed his usual form by practising a week or so before the tournament and he got his game back and his game just got stronger and stronger as the tournament went on and so he came out on top in three sets,” Sanguinetti said.

Bicknell, who is the older brother of Jamaica’s number one tennis player Blaise, said he was very delighted to have won his first senior title.

“I am feeling really good because I felt like I played a really good tournament, as the matches were very competitive from the start to the finish and also it was fun overall,” said Bicknell.

“It is very exciting because from the first round, I had a close match all the way up to the semi-final against Daniel Azar and the final against Damion went to three sets and so overall I am quite pleased with my performance in this championship.

“This means a lot to me because I never had a title before and also my younger brother Blaise, who is number one player in Jamaica now, has never won before so this means a lot to our family,” he added.

Bicknell said his recent success will inspire him to move to the next level.

“This is definitely a major confidence booster going forward because I think that I am playing some great tennis and I feel like I am improving and I am just getting ready for the next tournament that I will be competing in,” he said.

Johnson, who is a former coach of Jacob, said he tried his best despite playing with a back injury, which he suffered earlier in the tournament.

“It was a very competitive tournament from the beginning to the end because I had battle right through to the end,” said Johnson.

“I had played three set matches from the quarter-finals to the final. However, in the final against Jacob I was struggling with a back injury and that affected me a lot because I am unable to play to my full potential, as my movements were limited due to this injury,” he continued.

— Robert Bailey