Kim Holder proved that she is the undisputed No. 1 female road tennis player in the island with an authoritative 21-10, 21-14 win over veteran Sandra Bailey in the Touch of Class finals on Saturday night at the Deighton “Pa” Roach Centre in Bush Hall.
Playing in front of a large crowd and keeping an eye on threatening showers, Holder who had won almost every tournament in the past eight years, showed little respect for the person whose name was attached to the inaugural competition as she unreeled some classic smashes and counter-attack to outplay her opponent.
With both players showing tremendous class and skills, Holder took charge from the first game rushing to a 5-0 advantage. Bailey responded by taking her first point with a deadly “injection” which Holder rushed into the court to save losing her right shoe and the point in the process.
However, with greater fitness and strategies, Holder opened up leads of 16-4 and 17-8 which Bailey tried to counter with psychological ploys but to no avail. The tension on court between both players showed their drive to dominate and Holder continued to take charge in the second game.
Down 6-0, Bailey dug deep to surge to 11-12 and 12-14 before fading as the veteran challenged many calls by the officials which saw the crowd on the side dividing their loyalties.
When Holder moved to 19-14 with a rasping smash down the line, Bailey screamed “ball” to question the officials’ call that the ball was in the court. Holder responded by pointing at the ball and stating, “Look the ball there!”
Ironically, seconds after Holder took the game and match, both players embraced with a fervour that belied the hostilities which they and the large number of spectators had enjoyed for the hour of competition. Earlier, Susan Scantlebury took the third spot with a 21-14, 19-21, 21-15 win over the attacking Sheldene Waldron.
Holder earned $2 000, Bailey won $1 500, Scantlebury $1 000 and Waldron $500 with all of the players receiving trophies. Bailey was honoured with a bouquet of flowers as well as a crystal plaque while the youngest competitor, Chloe Brancker, 12, was also given an award.
Organiser Juliet Worrell indicated that they were happy with the support of the sponsors who were already lining up for the 2015 edition and she indicated that they had achieved their objective of putting women’s tennis on a stand-alone show.
“There are a number of technical matters which we would want to tweak for the next edition but we are very happy with the response of the spectators as well as the participation of known as well as new upcoming players,” said Worrell.
