Weedon crowned tennis champion

Anastasia Weedon is the new Evian National Open Tennis Championships Women’s Singles champion. She 6-4, 6-2 defeated Dayna Grazette 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday when the annual championships continued on the Port-of-Spain Public Courts. Grazette, the number two seed, beat Samantha De Gannes 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the final while Anastasia Weedon, the number one seed, beat number four Carlista Mohammed 6-2, 6-4 in their semi-final to advance to the title decider.

Speaking after the final Weedon revealed that she was fatigued after the Mohammed match going in to the final and that Grazette’s hard returns did not make her job any easier. But after adjusting to her opponent’s power, Weedon relied on her returns as her service failed and rallied to the finish of a match she knew she could win. Despite good all-round play Rodney Ross fell to Shane Stone 6-2, 6-0 in the Men’s Singles semi-finals. Stone had earlier beaten Michael Cooper 6-1, 6-1. stone advanced to the semis with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 come-from-behind victory. Stone shed the rust from his first game of the championships but Ross put on his game face and made the number one seed bring his “A” game to the court, making for a well contested, interesting semi-final and probably the best match of the championships so far. Earlier Men’s Singles matches saw Richard Brown beat Arnold Viarruel 6-0, 6-0 and Richard  Mc Letchie 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the semi-finals.

Ivor Grazette beat Dunstan De Noon to advance to the “semis.” In other matches Mc Letchie beat Christopher Brash, 6-2, 6-1; Stuart Perkins beat Peter Scott 6-2, 7-5; and Michael Cooper beat Everest Simon 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the quarter-finals. Shane Stone teamed up with his brother Troy Stone in the semi-finals of the Men’s Doubles to beat Mike Irish and Ricky Villaroel 6-1, 6-1 and book their spot in the final.