Teenagers Dawoud Kabli and Lee Anne Lingo upset their top-ranked opponents to win the men's and women's singles titles on the final day of the National Tennis Championships at the Trinidad Country Club in Maraval, yesterday.The American-based Kabli, 17, a recent graduate of Florida's Evert Tennis Academy, took an hour and 43 minutes to beat defending champion Yohansey Williams 7-6 (5), 6-4.From the beginning, the number three played with grit and determination to challenge his 21-year-old opponent, who had lost just five games in four matches en route to the final.After taking the first set in a tense tiebreaker, he continued to build momentum in the second, racing to a 4-1 lead. However, the resilient Williams came back to even the score at 4-4 before Kabli held his serve and then broke in the following game to claim the title."I haven't played a tournament all year actually," he said afterwards.
"I was a little nervous at the beginning of the match since I had never played Yohansey before, but I know his game and after I let go of the nerves, I started playing well."With his brother Jabrille, Kabli also won the Men's Doubles crown with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Ivor Grazette and Lendl Smith.In the preceding Women's Singles final, Lingo, 17, fended off a courageous third set revival from three-time defending champ Carlista Mohammed to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The pair spent the first two sets neck and neck before Lingo, capitalising on Mohammed's struggle for consistency, sped to a commanding 5-0 lead in the third.However, Mohammed stunned the crowd with a dramatic comeback as she nudged her way to even the scores at 5-5, saving six match points in the process.However, an inconvenient rain interruption stalled her momentum and allowed Lingo to regather her composure.The two returned to the court 20 minutes later to squeeze in one more game, which Lingo won, before further showers swept the courts.
An hour and a half later, Lingo broke Mohammed's serve to win the third set 7-5 and with it, her first national title."Closing it off was a bit of a problem because I haven't really been practising or training so I'm not match ready," she said after the match."I was just telling myself to win four more points."Mohammed later got her revenge, though, teaming with Leah Alcala to win the womens' doubles final over Lingo and Keneel Teesdale 6-3, 6-2.
