Mark Venom Griffith Retains BRTO Title with Calm and Calculated Victory over Shakeem Nurse

There is still no remedy for the poisonous sting of Barbados’ best player Mark “Venom” Griffith among the current crop of road tennis players.

The venomous Griffith showcased sublime skills in some scintillating rallies, marked by breathtaking backarm and forceful forehand returns to upstage teenaged prodigy Shakeem Nurse 21-18, 21-18, 21-19 in an attritional men’s final of the BTMI/Digicel/NATION Barbados Road Tennis Open inside the Wildey Gymnasium on Sunday night.

While the 39-year-old Griffith scholarly moved the ball around the court in his typical workmanlike manner , the 18-year-old Nurse showed flashes of brilliance as he frequently unfurled sliced backarm drag shots and ferocious forehand line strokes, embellished by lethal injections, to the delight of the 2 000-plus spectators.

There was an anticlimactic end to the three-set, one-hour victory for the defending champion Griffith, who not only retained his crown with his disciplined and determined display, but earned $20 000 for the second consecutive year. (EZS)