A day after being knocked out of the singles of the J60 Santo Domingo International Tennis Federation Junior Tournament in the Dominican Republic, T&T's Jordane Dookie moved into the semifinals of the girls' Under-18 doubles with her partner Ollivia Cela of Poland when they defeated the team of Dominican Republic's Joelle A Fiallo Schad and Paolo Garcia of Venezuela, Thursday.
Playing in the first quarterfinal contest, the combination of Dookie and Cela first prevailed in the opening set, 6-1, to grab a 1-0 advantage in the encounter before confirming their entrance into the semifinal round with a 7-5 second-set triumph over their counterparts.
They will now come up against the fourth-seeded pair of Maria Gell of Dominica and Valerie Gomez of the United States on Friday, with a win expected to see them through to tomorrow's Saturday's final. Dookie, who has been making waves on the local scene, while at the same time carving out a name for herself on the international scene told Guardian Media Sports yesterday that today's semifinal contest will be a competitive one between the teams.
"For that match, we need to have the chemistry and the energy to pull off the win," said Dookie adding that she and her partner have gelled nicely this tournament and could well take it all the way. "I like playing with her, we get along well. I think we complement each other."
On Wednesday, Dookie's run in the singles came to an end when she was beaten by American Daniela Chica 6-1, 6-2 in the round of 16.