Legends deliver epic showcase

Wayne Ferreira has been to the Cayman Islands on three occasions and apparently the third time was the charm. 

Ferreira emerged the singles division champion in the 2011 KPMG Legends tennis tournament on Saturday night. Taking place at The Courts at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, the South African would beat out American Thomas Blake 8-7. 

Ferreira, 40, states the victory caps off what was a great trip and competition. 

“It made it fantastic to win the event,” Ferreira said. “It is one of the great events and places to play. The people supported me and it’s a fantastic venue. It was a lot of fun to be here and it was great this time around.” 

The match was played using a pro style, eight set format and Ferreira would need every set to hold off Blake. It was even in the opening four frames with the two alternating set wins. From there Blake would win four out of six, forcing Ferreira to win the next three out of four sets to force the eighth and decisive set. With the match tied 7-7, the contest came down to a 12-point tiebreaker which Ferreira won 7-1.  

After the match Blake, 34, stated it was a pleasure to face one of his idols. 

“It was great for me, hopefully you guys enjoyed it,” Blake said. “Wayne is one of the guys I watched on TV growing up. I’ve gotten so much out of this game. I really hope the kids enjoy it because I got started from clinics just like the ones we staged here.” 

The singles championship was one of three finals on Saturday night in front of a packed house at the Ritz. In the other contests, Martina Hingis would team up with Mark Philippoussis to claim the doubles title over Chanda Rubin and Murphy Jensen 8-5. Interestingly, Rubin was slated to play alongside Jimmy Arias, however the American was unavailable due to other commitments. The junior final would see Alex Leonard beat close friend William Hayward 6-3. 

For the local juniors, the size of the crowd and the setting of their match made controlling their nerves of utmost importance. 

“I tried to keep calm, I was nervous in the beginning,” Leonard, 17, said. “It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of.” 

“I was nervous and I made a lot of mistakes,” Hayward, 15, said. “Alex has a lot of experience though and he deserves to win.” 

The Legends tournament has been ongoing in Cayman for over four years. This year’s edition saw a greater emphasis on local tennis and the junior programme with the visiting pros, helped by coaching legend Nick Bollettieri, working with over 1,000 kids over three days.