Bicknell takes singles title while Chopra and Kuhar rule doubles in Pembroke
Jamaica’s Blaise Bicknell and the American pairing of Keshav Chopra and Matt Kuhar were crowned champions as the ITF M15 tournament concluded at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium.
Persistent rainfall throughout the week presented logistical headaches for tournament organisers in Pembroke, but ground staff worked tirelessly to clear the schedule for an action-packed final weekend.
In the singles showpiece, top seed Bicknell capped a dominant campaign with an emphatic straight-sets victory over Poland’s sixth seed Kacper Szymkowiak.
The Jamaican dictated terms from the baseline, breaking early in both sets to cruise to a clinical 6-2, 6-2 triumph.
The doubles championship brought equal dominance for Chopra and Kuhar, who brushed aside third-seeded compatriots Nathan Cox and Jeffrey Fradkin 6-4, 6-2 in an all-American final.
Chopra and Kuhar’s title run was made all the more impressive by an endurance test in the morning semi-finals, where the top seeds dug deep to fend off Barbadian duo Kaipo Marshall and Stephen Slocombe in a marathon match-tiebreak, 4-6, 6-3, 13-11.
Cox and Fradkin had enjoyed a far smoother passage into the title decider, having earlier swept past second seeds Noah Schachter and Gray Voelzke 6-3, 6-3 before coming up short against the tournament’s standout pairing.
