By Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport
Alan Mackin on his way to victory in the final of the Capital and Credit/Magil Construction ITF Futures tennis tournament yesterday at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston. Mackin defeated Nick Van Der Meer of the Netherlands, 6-1, 6-4. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
SCOTMAN ALAN Mackin lived up to his No. 1 seeding with a straight sets victory over Dutchman Nick Van Der Meer in the final of the Capital and Credit/Magil Construction ITF Futures tennis tournament yesterday at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston.
Ranked 297 in the world, Mackin did not drop a set on his way to the final and he maintained that perfect record yesterday with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over surprise finalist Van Der Meer who had to qualify for the tournament and has a world ranking of 1,117.
Mackin bolted through the first set in a mere 37 minutes and the small cluster of fans at the venue expected it to be a very brief outing. However, Van Der Meer regrouped and snatched an early break in the second set as he drew the very steady Mackin into longer rallies and also forced him to move not only laterally but also forward with a number of drop shots.
Still, Mackin's three years of experience on the circuit came to the fore and he broke back to level the match at 4-4, held serve and then broke again in the next game to seal the deal in just less than an hour and a half.
For his efforts, Mackin collected US$1,300 and 12 ATP points. Van Der Meer claimed US$900 and eight points which could push him up the rankings into the top 1,000.
After the match, 22-year-old Mackin said his ability to play the big points well was part of the key to his success at the Kingston event.
"I served pretty well this week and I managed to raise my game at important times to put that little extra on my level of play and I was also happy with the way I played from the baseline - it was solid all week," Mackin said.
The Scot plans to practice next week before heading off to a tournament in Curacao.
"That (Curacao) will probably wrap it up for the year. I'll head back home for a couple of months of training and then back on the circuit again," he said.
After three years of Futures, Mackin says he is ready to make the step up to the next level - Challenger events.
"These 12 points will obviously help my ranking but if you win a Challenger you are talking about anything from 50 to 100 points," he said.
