IT?TOOK?a sharp shower to cool off what was a battle royal between the number four seed, Andrew Thorington, and the US-based Ture Skinner when day two of the BNB Tennis Championships was staged yesterday at the Ocean View Court.
With calm aplomb in the face of some classy shots from Skinner, Thorington soaked up the pressure and countered with some top drawer plays of his own to take the first set 6-3.
Thorington refused to slam the door in Skinner’s face, allowing him to sneak back into the match, 7-6, in the second set.
With Skinner not competing on the local circuit, he lacked a seeding only on paper as he played a baseline game to rattle Thorington into making a number of unforced errors in the decider.
When Thorington attempted to match his opponent in defending and attacking from the baseline, Skinner was able to step into the court and play some sizzling smashes down the line which frustrated Thorington and placed Skinner up 4-1.
With the small crowd enjoying the keen battle on court and with both combatants facing the reality of possible elimination while game fitness looked like giving the edge to Skinner, nature intervened by postponing the conclusion.
The match will now continue this morning at ten.
Earlier in the day, number one seed Seanon Williams crushed Christian Maxwell 6-0, 6-0, and number six seed Dillon Hall retired in the third set, 1-3, of what was turning out to be an exciting battle with Simon Lewis, handing Lewis the match 6-7, 3-6, 6-1.
The action in the boys’ 16-and-under saw third seed Gavin Hutchinson thrashing Coby Cutting 6-2, 6-0. Liam Luke motored past Xavier Lawrence 6-1, 6-4.  Kyle Frost and Christopher Josh Phillips matched each other shot for shot before Frost edged home 8-6.
The match between the boys 14-and-under Ajani King and Aaron Hayden proved to be a no contest with King ruling 4-0, 4-0. The girls’ 16 and under matches were equally one-sided with Kayla Frost stopping Ilana Blackwood, 6-1, 6-3. Raquel Toppin, who was playing up from her 14-and-under league, was whipped 0-6, 0-6 by Jaimie Lewis.
