DAMION Johnson and Shaneka Knight crowned themselves men’s and women’s singles champions, respectively, at the 2016 General Accident Insurance Company Open Tennis Championships that ended at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston on Monday night.

The finals of the championships had to be postponed from its original day last Sunday due to the inclement weather that affected the Corporate Area.

The men’s singles final in particular produced a keenly contested duel between top seed Johnson and second seed Dwayne Pagon, which provided top-class entertainment for spectators.

In the action-packed game, Johnson prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to come away with the title along with the winner’s cash award of $150,000. Pagon collected $75,000 and the second place trophy.

“It was a very good win for me as I had to play some good shots to get the better of him (Pagon), especially in the first set, but I executed some good shots to win,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Pagon said it was a hard-fought match and hopes to meet Johnson in another showdown.

“I had the chance to win the first set, but I narrowly lost it. I was also confident that I could have turned the table on Johnson, but he played extremely well and he was the player to beat in the tournament,” Pagon said.

In the women’s final, second seed Knight defeated top seed Ffion Fletcher 6-4, 6-1.

The 25-year-old Knight walked away with the winner’s top cash award of $50,000 and the championship trophy, while Fletcher collected $25,000 and the second-place trophy.

Knight expressed delight, in not only winning her first major singles title, but avenging a previous loss to Fletcher.

“I was ready and confident to play Fletcher and I executed many good shots and it was also a revenge victory as she had beaten me in the NCB tournament last year, so the score is now even,” said Knight.

Fletcher, on the other hand, claimed she was not at her best after coming off a four-month knee injury.

“As a result of a slight pain in the knee, I tried to finish the point quickly to avoid playing too long. I rushed my shots too, and that’s one of the reasons I lost easily, “Fletcher said.