The 2012 PWC Men’s Invitational Championships saw some very exciting action last week at The Cayman Islands Tennis Club.
There were many entertaining and extremely competitive matches throughout. Those that witnessed the event said it was the best tennis that they have seen in Cayman for years.
Saturday’s men’s final was witnessed by many tennis enthusiasts from all over the Island. The Association of Tennis Professionals ranked Barbadian Haydn Lewis was trying to make it a clean sweep in the 2012 PWC Men’s Invitational Championships claiming both the singles and doubles titles.
The finals were a fitting finale to a fantastic series of games. Lewis, the number 3 seed, defeated another Caribbean player, Jamaica’s McCoy Malcolm 6-0, 6-3 for the singles title as well as $2,500 in prize money.
It was a fantastic day for the Caribbean region. Lewis showed why his tennis is improving with the calm sporting attitude that he displayed throughout the tournament. Malcolm’s youth could not overcome the experience of Lewis but was still able to take $1,250 in prize money.
The doubles action was after the singles final. Stefano Ianni (Italy) and Marcio Torres of Brazil were too much for Haydn Lewis and Ilian Nachev from Bulgaria. Three of the players in the doubles final had ATP experience so the entertainment was top drawer. Experience and edge in talent told and Ianni and Torres took a combined $2,000 in prize money for the 2012 Men’s Invitational doubles title.
Lewis, who was originally going to make the trip with his doubles partner Marvin Rolle from the Bahamas, faced a new challenge when he arrived and was teamed with the Ritz pro Nachev because of the injury Rolle had incurred just minutes before the tournament started.
Lewis had to beat out a strong field of players which included professionally ranked and Davis Cup players from Italy, Jamaica, and Chile. The doubles format was a little different this year where all the players had to play in a round robin format which meant more tennis for these guys to play as well as more tennis the fans could watch.
A testament to the strength of this year’s competition was that for the first time this tournament had five out of a 16 draw that currently or in the past have held an ATP ranking. McCoy Malcolm improved from last year, being able to go against Torres for the second straight year and getting the victory this time.
It was also the fourth straight year where the PWC Men’s Invitational has seen a new Champion.
Ianni, who is currently the highest ranked player in the draw had a spectacular semi final match against Lewis, losing a close two set match 7-6, 7-5. Predictions were that the winner of that semi was going to win the title.
Cayman’s tennis enthusiasts – including juniors – were out in force every night to watch some of the best tennis the island has ever seen.
The Scotia Bank family day, which ties in with the PWC tournament, was also a huge success with over 50 aspiring tennis players from the age of 4 to 11 in attendance. The event, which was free to all junior players, was run by Jamaican brothers Marcus and McCoy Malcolm along with resident pros Rob Seward, Adam Bayley and Dale Avery.
Seward said: “The Cayman Islands Tennis Club expresses their deepest gratitude to PWC, for its sponsorship. This was their sixth year sponsoring the event and without them it would have been impossible to stage such a successful tournament. “We were also very excited to have Cayman National as a first year sponsor. We also thank Scotia Bank for a third year of sponsoring the junior clinic that was held at the club two weeks ago. This is where some of our local juniors and adults were able to come down and participate in a clinic with some of the visiting pros.”
Related Videos
