T&T's junior tennis ace Jordane Dookie missed out on the opportunity to gain revenge on Guatemalan Carlota Balseiro in the Girls Under-14 final of the COTECC Under-14 Copa Flamenco Tennis Tournament in Santo Domingo on Thursday.
For two days straight (Wednesday and Thursday), persistent rain prevented a showdown that Dookie had been waiting for. She told Guardian Media Sports yesterday that she had a point to prove: "It was disappointing that the match was cancelled because the girl I was going to play, Carlota, I played her in the last tournament and I lost, but I wanted to come back out and proved myself and maybe beat her."
Dookie's journey to the final came at the expense of countrywoman Cameron Wong in the semifinals on Tuesday 6-2, 6-1 to maintain an unbeaten run thus far.
Balseiro on the other hand prevailed over Ariella Schaeuffler of St Lucia in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in the quarters before clobbering Paulina Ovalle of Guatemala 6-0, 7-6(1) in the other semifinal match for her final berth.
Dookie was also expected to combine with teammate Jaeda-Lee Daniel-Joseph for the Girls Doubles title on court 10 against the pair of Balseiro and Margaux Botran, both of Guatemala, but that was also cancelled.
Dookie and her teammates are scheduled to return home sometime soon, but she said she has gained some valuable lessons from the tournament:
" It was a really good experience. I got to play people I never really played against and it was good that I came out with a win, even though I didn't get to finish. I know I did well.
All the girls I played, they all had a different standard and a different style of play that I got to play against and learn how to counteract them," Dookie concluded.
