Johnson, Harrison cop titles at JN Bank Open Tennis Championships
DAMION Johnson and Jenna Harrison captured the singles titles at the seventh staging of the 2017 JN Bank Open Tennis Championships, at Liguanea Club in New Kingston recently.
For Johnson, the defending men’s singles champion, this was his fourth hold on the title after defeating third seed Dwayne Pagon in straight sets 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker), 6-2.
Prior to winning the final, Johnson had to come from a set down to knock out fourth-seeded Marcus Malcolm in three sets — 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker), while Pagon knocked out top seed Duainne Miller 6-3, 7-5 in their respective semi-finals.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Jenna Harrison, seeded fourth in the women’s singles, won her first major singles title in an adult competition when she defeated third seed Pauline Hylton 6-2, 6-4.
Harrison in her semi-final had eliminated second seed Shea-Ann Kameka 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Hylton upset defending champion and top seed Micheala Stephens 6-4, 7-5.
Johnson said it was a tough match against Pagon, especially in the first set.
“My opponent was playing really good as we went down in a tiebreaker before I won the set. I had two good chances to win the first set, but Pagon fought back well with some good shots to draw level,” Johnson said.
He said in the second set he kept his composure and played some steady shots, including slicing and working the ball around. “It was a good match, and though Pagon is a very good opponent, my game was at a different level than his.”
Meanwhile, Pagon said he played well, especially in the first set, but in the second set he was not serving as efficiently as he should, and that was his downfaull.
“Johnson is a very good player as he played some very good shots, and he was also very steady with his composure, and I congratulate him on his fine performance in winning. One day, however, I am going to beat him,” Pagon promised.
For his victory in the men’s singles, Johnson collected the winner’s championship trophy and a cash prize of $200,000, while Pagon collected a trophy and the runner-up cash prize of $100,000. The losing semi-finalists received $50,000, losing quarter-finalists $25,000, and players reaching the round-of-sixteen got $12,500 each.
Meanwhile, Harrison said she was very confident entering the final and gave high marks and praises for her three coaches, Llockett McGregor, Jair Lysons and Peter Berry, who all asked her to enter the tournament.
“It was the second time I was playing against Hylton, as I had lost the first meeting against her. this is the first time beating her and I am very happy to have won. I kept my composure in both sets and played some good shots,” Harrison said.
The Class Two men’s singles was won by Garth Darby, who defeated Rudolph Jack Jr 6-2, 6-4, while the Class Three men’s was won by Stuart Allen, who defeated Ricardo Livingston 7-6, 4-6, and 10-8 in the super tie breaker set.
Michael Collins, client relationship manager (acting) mortgage sales of JN Bank, congratulated all champions and players who participated in the championships to make it very successful, and said the bank looked forward to continuing its sponsorship.