SOLID: Barbadian Darian King blocking a big serve from Jonathan Khun of Guatemala en route to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

by Bernard Babb

Barbadian juniors Darian King and Gabriella Lopez are into the second round of the FirstCaribbean International Junior Tennis Tournament.

The top local juniors advanced in contrasting fashions yesterday on the hardcourts of the National Tennis Centre, Wildey.

King, the island's best prospect in the Under-18 division, easily turned back the challenge of Guatemala's Jonathan Khun, eliminating him 6-3, 6-2, while Lopez came from a set down to defeat American Abby Wright 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Girls' Under-18 Division.

Composed and solid for most of the encounter, King took command from early and led 3-1 in the first set before closing it out at 6-3.

Kuhn fired some big serves and scorching forehands in the second set but the No. 6 seed was equal to everything offered and led 3-0 before Kuhn was able to get on the scoreboard.

The Guatemalan broke the Barbadian in the fourth game and then held for a 2-3 score but King took control again, moving to 5-2 as he held and pressured his opponent with clever service returns and crisp groundstrokes.

Kuhn was broken in the seventh game, surrendering the last point of the game as he was penalised for an audible obscenity. King held serve to take the match as his opponent launched the matchpoint wide of court.

In the girls' contest, Lopez, also a national female footballer, showed great tenacity and produced a clever mix of baseline tennis to oust her American opponent.

After dominating the second set to level the match, Lopez continued to unsettle her opponent with varied pace and looping balls and led 4-1 at one stage as the American had few answers.

Lopez secured her advance as she closed out the match on serve in the eighth game and added another touch of variety for her fans, throwing in a stop volley in the decisive game.

Her victory followed the defeat of her sister Kristen, who was eliminated 6-0, 6-2 by another American, Alessandra Bonte.

In other matches, Barbadian Seanon Williams went out in straight sets to Englishman James Allemby, 7-6, 6-3, in their rain-hit match which continued early yesterday.

The International Tennis Federation-sanctioned tournament, which is attracting both male and female players in Under-18 and Under-14 divisions, is hosted by the Barbados Tennis Association. Players from more than 20 countries are taking part.