The tournament received over 100 entries, with contestants battling it out over the course of the week, from Monday, June 12 through to the semi-finals on Friday, June 16th.
The Men’s Class 2 saw Seth Grennell and Rudolph Jackson battling it out on court E. Jackson edged Grennel 2 sets to 1 (4 - 6 6 - 3 6 -1) to take the victory. Lavois Cruikshank comfortably took home the Men’s Class 3 title to secure the victory over Jeffery Leckie. Competing on Court F, Cruikshank decimated his competition 6-4, 6-1, much to the delight of his supporters. The Men’s Class 2 finalists received a complimentary weekend courtesy of Sandals Resorts International, while the Class 3 finalists walked away with a complimentary weekend at the Altamont Court Hotel.
Garth Walker, Executive Chairman- Innovative Systems Limited, stated that “I am thrilled to see the excellent display that was put on today. We were treated to world class tennis throughout this tournament and I am excited to see how next year will unfold. I am committing to placing more on the table for the next two stagings, which will allow for the matches to be livestreamed because talents like these must be shown to a wide variety of consumers. Thanks to Llockett for the opportunity to partner with this tremendous event and we look forward to a bigger, better 2024.”
In the Ladies B category, Maureen Williams defeated Racquel Nevins in a gruelling three hours of competition. Williams took the win in 2 sets, 6 - 7(4) 7 - 5 6 - 3, and walked away with a complimentary weekend prize at the Liguanea Club. The Men’s Open had spectators on the edge of their seats as Jeremy Miller and David Goldsmith engaged in a revenge match, treating patrons to world class tennis. Having won the coin toss, Miller chose to serve first and went on to take the lead in the first set, 6-2. Goldsmith, however, decided not to go down without a fight, winning set 2 by 6-3. The pair went back and forth, ending up tying at 4-4, which then saw Miller playing an excellent match to win the competition 6 - 2 3 - 6 6 - 4.
The Men’s Open winner received $100,000 for his victory prize. The tournament organizers also decided to make a ‘Shot of the Match’ award, courtesy of Innovative Systems Limited, which David Goldsmith unanimously won.
An excited Miller expressed that “it feels great to come out victorious. I came out here with an objective to show everybody that I can be a winner. I realized that I was letting the games get away from me, so I had to re-focus, dig in, and stay with it. When I got my chances, I just had to try to take them. it got a little bit rocky at times but I just had to keep pushing. The crowd support was amazing. They provided the energy that I needed to get through the third set. That really made a big difference for me.”
The Company remains committed to fostering the development of the sport, and sport on a whole in Jamaica. The tournament will run for the next two years with Innovative Systems Limited as the title sponsor, and any interested entity is urged to come on board to help grow the sport of Tennis.
