THERE'S MORE than a hint of former tennis great Arthur Ashe when you watch young Jamaican Dominic Pagon in action on the court.
The spectacles are the obvious link, the lithe yet to be filled out frame is another and then there's the calmness about himself and his game which the late American made a trademark
The 15-year-old former Campion student has a long, long way to go to scale the same heights as Ashe and, as with so many youngsters, potential rarely translates into fulfillment of talent.
However, last week at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston, Pagon shone brightly. Playing young men up to three years older than he, the left-hander shocked the rankings by advancing all the way to the semi-finals where he finally fell to eventual champion, Michael Samara.
Samara clinched the Cable & Wireless/ITF Junior International 18 and Under Boys' crown but Pagon stole the show.
One on One caught up with Pagon soon after his semi-final loss.
Q: You come from quite a sporting family but cricket seems to be the game of choice. How come you chose tennis?
Dominic Pagon: Yes, my father Nigel was heavily into cricket and my cousin Donovan is doing really well now. I some times play cricket but I'm no good. My brothers played tennis so as I grew up with them I decided to play too. My dad was like 'play cricket', but I stuck with tennis.
Q: When did you start playing tennis competitively?
DP: When I was seven.
Q: Where do you train now?
DP: I'm at a tennis academy in Florida called Saddlebrook. I started there last year August and it's really helped my game a lot. I've worked on a lot of things. It's just like a normal school year, I'm there for two more years before I graduate from high school.
Q: How far do you think you can go in the game?
DP: Turning professional, but for now college tennis and then afterwards we'll see how professional tennis looks.
Q: Who is your tennis idol?
DP: Andre Agassi. One of the main reasons is that I always used to fight against my brothers. They would go for (Pete) Sampras, so I'd cheer on Agassi.
Q: You're a lefty, were the any left-handers you followed?
DP: Jimmy Connors I looked up to. (John) McEnroe was kind of crazy.
Q: If there is an area of your game you really have to work on, what do you think it is?
DP: My serve. I need to get a bigger serve to win more easy points. I'm working too hard now to win my service games. Some times I feel I should get some easy points or even a game by serving aces. The lefty serve spins different from a right-hander and my coach Llockett (McGregor) told me to do that for the whole time during the tournament but today it just broke down (against Samara).
Q: What other sports do you enjoy?
DP: Football. I used to play for my school (Campion).
Q: What do you do to unwind, get away from tennis?
DP: I listen to music and socialise with my friends. When I am away I don't see them very often.
Q: What sort of music do you like?
DP: Wayne Marshall. He's my cousin. I don't get too see him much because he's always on tour but I'm very proud of him because he's made it.
- Tym Glaser
