Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor claimed their second Barcelona title in three years and their 35th as a duo, outlasting the Polish team of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in the Match Tie-break of Sunday's Open SEAT 2006 final.

A double fault by Matkowski gave the Bahamian-Canadian duo the early lead in the title match. He redeemed the error by firing an ace on Knowles and Nestor's next break chance - at set point - but saw the first set go to the top seeds when he returned the ball into the net on the no-ad point.

Fyrstenberg and Matkowski secured double break point to begin the second set, but had to wait until the ninth game to take their first and only break of the match. They only needed to hold serve to send the final to a decisive Match Tie-break, but Knowles and Nestor staved off a set point in the next game and returned the contest on serve.

The duos traded points in the first ten games of the second set tie-break before the eighth seeds pulled away to keep their title hopes intact.

The finalists found themselves in familiar territory after splitting the first two sets; both had prevailed in the Match Tie-breaks in Saturday's semifinals to advance to the final, and their last encounter had been decided in the same fashion - a 13-11 win by Knowles and Nestor in Sydney.
Once again, the top seeds proved themselves superior. They jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the Match Tie-break and sealed the Championship by reeling off the final three points.

Knowles and Nestor, who were playing in their fifth final of 2006, added the Barcelona crown to the Delray Beach and Pacific Life Open titles won earlier this year. They also joined Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi as the only three-time doubles titlists thus far in 2006.

The duo had been mired in a mini slump coming into Barcelona - exiting in the openers of their last three events - but will move up to No. 4 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race with their performance this week. [Source: ATP]

Addressing the Grand Bahama Rotary Sunrise Club, Edmund Rahming, Business Manger of the Grand Bahama Development Company, challenged local businessmen to join his company in their efforts to promote Grand Bahama. “We have a real need for a partnership between Devco and members of the private sector. I’d like to invite you as members of this organization and the private sector at large to partner with Devco in marketing Grand Bahama’s real estate development opportunities.”

He noted that Grand Bahama is facing its share of challenges and now that we are also competing on a global platform, we need to share our ideas and views. “In order for us to survive and compete well, we need to share pieces of vision and pieces of knowledge for the growth and development of the real estate market here in Grand Bahama.”

Mr. Rahming went on to highlight what he sees as the biggest potential for Grand Bahama, the second home/vacation home real estate market. He noted that the demand for these types of development in Grand Bahama is stronger that it has been in a long time, but unfortunately there is a quality inventory shortage in this market. “ The present demand simply can’t be met. Overall sales figures in this sector in 2006 and 2007 will be higher in large part due to the new projects coming on stream i.e. Ginn and Old Bahama Bay.”

It is Mr. Rahming's personal opinion that this growth will be “driven be the baby-boomers retiring who are desirous of having homes in more weather friendly places.” He went on to add that the current U.S. low mortgage rates, that currently average 6.37% for a US 30-year fixed rate mortgage, are also a huge asset for us. “Rates have been in the 5 to 7% range since 2001, these types of rates have not been seen since the 60s in the US. As long as US interest rates remain this low, all else remaining stable, we can expect to see growth in real estate investment of this type in Grand Bahama,” explained Rahming.

Mr. Rahming went on to explain his Company’s goals to capitalize on this projected growth with a strategic marketing plan for real estate development growth on the island, national campaigns and this year a larger international push. “We see the resort and second home/vacation home real estate market as virtually untapped and are seeking more investment on the island in this particular area. We are presently in negotiations with several developers and are
very positive about the potential outcomes and economic impact of these potential developments.”

Rahming also feels that the Company’s website is helping attract future investors. “We are trying to build more awareness throughout the Bahamas and the rest of the world of Grand Bahama’s distinctive advantages. We believe that some of the ways we are achieving this is through attendance and participation at key relevant international conferences and seminars, the Devco website, high end collateral material, and the production of DVD commercials.”
At the end of his presentation Rahming was inundated with questions from the Sunrise group and some great ideas were suggested for Grand Bahamas’ needs. For more information about the Grand Bahama Development Company persons can go online and visit www.gbdevco.com.