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By Neto Baptiste
Antigua and Barbuda’s lone professional tennis player, Jody Maginley, has returned to the winners’ circle just a little over two months after he became the first Antiguan to win an ATP Challenger 75 Tour event back in April.
Joining forces with Andre Ilagan of the USA, Maginley captured the M25 Santo Domingo doubles title after beating the pair of Lucas Andrade Da silva and Lucca Pignation, both of Brazil 7-5 6-7 11-9 in the final.
Speaking with Observer Media following his latest triumph, Maginley said his success is a reflection of his hard work and commitment.
“I’ve been working really hard on a few things, not just physically and stuff with my game but also, just really understanding the doubles schedule and the demands with that but I feel a part of a clear system in my game that my coach and I and my fitness trainer and my mental trainer have set out and I am just trying to execute and control the things I have within my power; so it’s nice to see the results are paying off. Obviously, I had the biggest win of my career in Morelos [Mexico] earlier this year and then this is just another sign that things are going well for me,” he said.
On their way to the final, Maginley and his doubles partner defeated the pair – Peter Bertrand of the Dominican Republic and Mwendwa Mbithi of the USA 6-2 5-7 10-8 in the semis.
The duo had earlier, comfortably emerged from the first round of the tournament after beating the Dominican Republic pair of Alejandro Jose Gandini and Enmanuel Munoz with scores of 6-7 6-4 10-6.
In April, Maginley joined forces with Cuba’s Alfredo Perez to claim the doubles title at the Morelos Open. In the process, Maginley also became the highest ranked Caribbean player with a live ATP ranking of 260.
The Antiguan noted that he has found success with several different doubles partners which highlights his ability to quickly adapt.
“I’ve been successful with different partners so that shows that I am adaptable and open to adjusting when I need to be. My rankings is going to be up in the 250s or 260s around there so I am now trying to get established in the challengers and look to push on and hopefully win some more tournaments in the year and keep that momentum building,” he said.
The M25 Santo Domingo is a professional tennis tournament held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as part of the ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour.
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