Bicknell blazes in Florida

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Blaise Bicknell, without much fanfare and publicity, went about joining the long list of sporting personalities who have made Jamaica proud, when the nine-year-old on Monday captured the boys' 10 and under title at the Orange County Fall Designated Florida Championship, which was held over three days in Orlando, Florida.

Bicknell, who went into the tournament ranked 20th, brushed aside top seed Piercarlo Usai in straight sets in the final, winning 6-4, 6-4.

Bicknell was just as impressive en route to the final as he blazed through the full 32 draw, which consisted of only the top 64 10 and under boys in Florida. He registered straight sets wins over the number seven, number three and number two seeds. His fifth victory was against an unseeded opponent in the opening round.

Based on the number of points Bicknell is set to garner for his tournament victory, it is expected that he will break into Florida's top 10.

Very grateful

Bicknell, who returned to the island yesterday afternoon, was very grateful for the assistance he received, which he believes helped him to triumph.

"I feel great because I played the best tennis of my life and I enjoyed it very much," Bicknell expressed. "I have to thank my coaches (Melville Spence and Damion Johnson) and my parents because they support me a lot, and my nanny called Maize."

He added: "My nanny Maize is very nice to me and she always cheers me on when I am playing."

The Hydel Academy student was confident ahead of his meeting with the tournament's top seed, who is the number two ranked player in Florida.

"I thought I could beat him (Usai) because I have played him before and back then he was OK, and then I met him again in another super series and he was number one in that tournament and I beat him 6-2, 6-0," Bicknell reminisced.

"He has improved because he was out of school and went to Chris Evert (Tennis Academy) and trained there, so I knew that he would get better and I had to play better than before," he added.

Bicknell hopes to eventually become the number one player in the world and emulate his idol Rodger Federer.

He currently plays most of his tennis in Florida because the International Tennis Federation (ITF) does not allow juniors to play international tournaments in the Caribbean until they reach age 11.

Bicknell's older brother, 12-year-old Jacob, returned from Curacao on Sunday where he represented Jamaica. He did fairly well by advancing to the semi-finals of the 14 and under ITF competition.