SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Barbadian men’s doubles pair of Stephen Slocombe and Kaipo Marshall created history on Monday when they qualified for the final of the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC).
Kaipo Marshall (right) and Stephen Slocombe (centre) with coach Damien Applewhaite at the CAC Games in the Dominican Republic. (Photo courtesy BTA)In doing so, they will earn their country’s first-ever tennis medal at a major multi-sport Games, which also includes the Pan American Games or Olympic Games.
Slocombe and Marshall advanced to the gold medal round without taking the court, as they recorded a walkover victory over Puerto Rico’s Yannik Alvarez and Leonardo Vega.
Earlier, the Barbadians produced an impressive performance in the quarterfinal to upset the fourth seeded Mexican pair of Alan Sau and Rodolfo Jauregui 7-6 (5), 6-3, to book their spot in the semifinal.
In the final, they will face El Salvador’s Cesar Cruz and Diego Duran, who qualified by creating a major upset, defeating the top ranked Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Gomez and Cristian Rodriguez in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
