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Tennis
Antelo, Matenzo Claims BVI Open Titles
By Dean Greenaway
Jul 3, 2007, 08:22

Bolivia's left hander Jose Antelo, was in command of his strokes during a straight set win over St. Thomas' Luis Taylor Photo: dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

TORTOLA—Bolivia’s Davis Cup player Jose Antelo, used a straight set 6-0, 6-1 victory over St. Thomas’ Luis Taylor, to capture the BVI Open Tennis Tournament Alphonso Warner Insurance Agency Men’s A singles final Sunday at the Tortola Sports Club in Pasea.

“I served very well today, the best day that I’ve served,” said Antelo, who used a series of drop shots to his advantage. “When he was playing back way behind the baseline, that was a good shot to use. After pulling him off the court, the drop shot became a good option. It’s a change of pace when he’s not expecting it.”

Antelo, who advanced to the final with a straight set 6-1, 6-0 win over St. Thomas’ George Lewis, bagged the $2,000 top prize, while Luis walked away with $1,000. Antelo began play with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Ronnie Sweeney, before ousting Grenada’s Jimmy Brown, 6-0, 6-1.

St. Thomas' Luis Taylor goes for a powerful forehand against Jose Antelo

Taylor’s finals berth came after beating former 3-time champ and last year’s runner’s up, Fitztroy Howse, 6-1, 6-3. He began by eliminating the BVI’s Sheldon Walters in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-0. Taylor stopped Alexis Davis, 6-1, 6-0 and advanced to the semis. Taylor said Antelo’s momentum kept his off balanced. “I had to stay back a bit more because he hit a lot of deep shots and he’s very deceptive,” Taylor noted. “He gave me a lot of pressure because he gets a lot of balls back. Also, he wasn’t missing many first serves. His first serve percentage was pretty good and his ground strokes were pretty good and that’s what gave me a lot of pressure in this match.”

Scott Bryson won the Men’s B final with a 6-4 and 6-0 triumph over Peter Poole.

Puerto Rico’s Vilma Matienzo needed three hours and 50 minutes to win the first tournament of her career, by using a series of comebacks to beat Grenada’s Sylma Phillips, a 3-time BVI Open champ who returned following a two year absence, 3-6, 7-5 and 9-7.

Grenada's Sylma Phillips, a former 3-time BVI Open Champ, could not hold off Puerto Rico's Vilma Mattiengo Photo: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

Phillips, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States champion, led 5-2 in the second set but failed to close the door on Matienzo, describing the match as the toughest she’s ever played. “I think I ran out of conditioning and that is what resulted in losing the final,” she said. “I was up 5-2, maybe I relaxed because I though I had the match in my hand already. Maybe I changed the game plan and she started coming back, leveled the game at 5-5, then it was too late to go back to my original plan.”

Matienzo, who collected the $1,000 winner’s prize, said Phillips played very well and she used lots of drop shots. “She had good nets, good overheads and good serve, but, I started playing to her backhand and that’s when she stared missing,” Matienzo noted. “I thought I was going to win easily, but she was a very good player. But, this victory is very special to me. It’s the first time I’ve ever won a tournament.”