Barbadian road tennis players are looking forward to serving some lessons to Gael Monfils and John Isner during Sunday’s Tennis Pon de Rock exhibition at the Wildey Gymnasium.
Veteran Sylvan “Lama” Barnett and champion Julian “Michael Jackson” White will oppose world-rated lawn-tennis players Frenchman Monfils and American Isner during a segment of the programme which seeks to further expose the indigenous Barbadian sport of road tennis.
“I played Andy Murray last month in London and it was a great experience. This time it will be on home soil and I would like to give Monfils a proper introduction to our sport that was developed right here on the island,” said Barnett.
According to Barnett, road tennis has been on a new high since his exhibition against Murray and the local players will be looking to represent their sport in a friendly but serious way.
Organisers reported that Monfils, an athletic and flamboyant Frenchman ranked No. 9 in the world, is very eager to take on the local players at their own game.
Barnett said he was somewhat surprised by the speed with which Murray started to master the game and he expected a similar response from both Isner and Monfils on Sunday.
Richard Harrison, a director of Barbados International Tennis Exhibition, the organisers of Tennis Pon De Rock, expressed the view that the addition of the road tennis exhibition to the programme will be of great value to Barbados and the indigenous sport.
“We think there is really good synergy between the sports and it is a positive thing for Barbados. There will be further exposure on ESPN and the road tennis community is embracing the opportunity,” said Harrison. (BA/PR)
