St. Johnian George Lewis soared to victory with his doubles partner — younger brother Elvis Lewis — at the deJongh Group Family Tennis Tournament hosted by the St. Thomas Racquet Club over Easter weekend.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” said Lewis, a tennis instructor at the Racquet Club. “Some of the matches were difficult and, since my brother hasn’t been playing for almost 25 years, it was a bit tough. I was coaching him through the whole ordeal from day one and we pulled it out.”
The pair were unseeded going into the tournament but that didn’t stand in their way of taking down six pairs of opponents without losing a set. The Lewis brothers beat the team of Dencil Caines and Sonia Thompson 6-1, 6-0, in the championship match.
Tennis is a way of life for Lewis, who is also the planner for the St. John office of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency.
“I got interested in tennis when I was very young,” Lewis said. “My brothers and I used to just hit the ball around and others, like Gilbert Sprauve, kept me up with the game. Since I play all the time it’s fun to enter tournaments.”
The St. Thomas Racquet Club is not Lewis’ first experience teaching the sport, he was the tennis pro at Virgin Grand.
The St. John-native eventually moved up to be the resort’s Director of Tennis and remained in his position for 11 and a half years, watching the hotel’s name change to the Hyatt and finally the Westin.
Novice tennis players looking to improve should practice as much as possible, Lewis explained.
“I would say just keep up with the sport and play as much as you can,” he said. “Tennis offers a lot of rewards. You can travel around the world and make a living with tennis.”
“You just have to stay focused and follow your dream,” Lewis added. “If you like tennis that much, it can give you a lot.”
