Russell By Paul Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
RYAN Russell and Sasha Hanna walked away with the men's and women's Open Singles title yesterday at the Swept Away Easter Clay Court Classic in Negril.
Both were first time winners of the events and both got their wins courtesy of defaults by last year's champions.
Top seed Russell was leading defending champion and second seed Vince McKey 3-2 in the third set when the American called it a day, suffering from exhaustion and nausea. McKey had won the first set 7-5 but Russell came back strongly to win the second set 6-0.
This was only the second loss in the tournament for McKey as he has won six titles in eight years. His other loss was to another Jamaican youngster, Jessie Smatt in the finals in 1999. McKey beat Smatt in Sunday's semi-finals.
Up to the point of the stoppage, both men had entertained the large crowd with competitive tennis.
Russell was not without his share of aches and pains however. A sore left forearm hampered his service in the first set but after getting medical attention before the second set, recovered well enough for a blistering second set while McKey wilted, the longer the match went on.
Russell, who was beating McKey for the first time in three meetings, told journalists following the match that he was well prepared for the tournament after playing the last six weeks on red clay on the South American circuit.
He said he noticed that McKey was getting uncomfortable as early as the second game of the second set and went about making the American work harder for every point in an effort to wear him down.
The American took control of the first set early and raced to a 4-1 lead after breaking Russell's service in the fourth game.
The 17 year-old Jamaican then won the next three games to level the scores at 4-4 but it was the American's experience that counted in the end as he broke Russell for a second time to take the set.
McKey was no match for Russell in the second set as the Jamaican blasted his way to a win in just over 15 minutes.
The stage seemed set for a thrilling third set when both men traded service breaks to start the third set but McKey who was doubling over on the court in obvious distress and taking his time between games, called it quits.
Earlier in the day, the women had played just four points when defending champions and top seed Veronica Paisley pulled a leg muscle and was unable to continue.
In the semi-finals, Paisley had beaten Alexis Panton in straight sets 7-5, 6-0 while Hanna had beaten Haitian player Genevieve Ettienne also in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
Top seed Fitzroy House won the Junior Veteran-Professional 6-3, 6-2 over Gary Flynn while Adrian Armstrong beat Robert Edwards 6-3, 6-1 in the Amateur section.
Mrs. Bev Hamilton won the women's 35 and over while the pair of Karl Hale and Michael Lawrence won the Pro-Am Doubles over Elvis Henry and Jermaine Miekle.
