-
Share This:
-
Rate this article:
Weather
Partly Cloudy
Max: 86°F | Min: 75°F
| Ty Olander reflects on successful Bahamas Open |
|
Kelsie Johnson
Guardian Sports Reporter kelsie@nasguard.com
Published: Mar 20, 2012
Local tennis fans were in for a treat this past weekend as finalists in the 2nd Bahamas Women's Open put on a show for the singles and doubles crowns. A thrilling two-set match, for the singles title, was played between Aleksandra Wozniak and Alize Cornet. That match went down to the wire. The Canadian, Wozniak, pulled out a couple of aces in the first set, swinging her way to an early 4-0 lead. She moved on to win the match, 6-4 and 7-5. Cornet, who is from France, rallied back coming as close as 5-4 in the first set, but Wozniak's power shots down the line and short forehand drops to the middle of the court not only kept Cornet on her toes, but frustrated her a bit. She was able to regroup, taking the first set and the opening game in the second set. With the set nodded up at five, Wozniak took charge, winning the last two games to take the set and the match. It wasn't an easy road to the final for both Wozniak and Cornet. The number five seed, Wozniak, got by Olga Savchuk in the opening round, 7-6(2) and 6-1. The second round she took to the court against Rika Fujiwara and played Gail Brodsky in the quarter-finals. Bojana Jovanovski was her opponent in the semi-finals. For Cornet, the week-long play started off against Julia Cohen, a match she won, 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3. The number eight seed, Mandy Minella, was her second round opponent. Cornet eliminated Minella, 6-1 and 6-2. In the semi-finals she played and defeated Anne Keothavong, 7-5 and 6-4. The team of Janette Husarova and Katalin Marosi is this year's doubles champion. They defeated Eva Birnerova and Keothavong, the pair from the Czech Republic and Great Britain, respectively. Husarova is from Slovakia and Marosi is from Hungry. Presenting this year's awards to the winners were Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest and Edith Powell, a member of the 2012 Hall of Fame class. Turnquest presented on behalf of his mother the late Lady Edith Turnquest, who was also one of the Hall of Fame inductees. Tournament organizer Ty Olander was pleased to have both Turnquest and Powell on hand Saturday to present the players with their awards. He said: "We have had some of the best players in the world come down. The competition level, the scores from the quarter-finals, the matches in the semi-finals were all very close. Those persons who came out to watch have benefited because they have seen high level tennis matches, they can only see in other parts of the world being played here and it was remarkable. The players love this tournament but technically we still have some issues we have to sort out on a local standpoint. "I've been dealing with the ITF (International Tennis Federation) all week and they've actually told me that they need this tournament. The ITF said this is a very important leg on the tour. They want to make The Bahamas a permanent stop on the tour because after Indian Wells and before the Ericsson, this is just a very important tournament to them. They are trying to do everything in their power so The Bahamas can retain the stop. It is really up to us, but then again we don't have any support from the fans or the sponsors. |
