A couple of the country’s top tennis players, Justin Roberts and Kevin Major Jr., will be looking to take their talents to Asia or Africa, playing in more tournaments in the first quarter of 2021. They plan to begin their journey on February 1.
Both players had a rough year last year in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic passing through. Coming down to the end of the year, only Roberts was able to experience action in tournaments overseas. Major was at home in New Providence practicing and gearing up for this year.
Roberts, Major Jr. and Roberts’ doubles partner Antiguan Jody Maginley are looking to travel together as a team. Roberts is now at home in New Providence and will head out to Texas this weekend. He said they usually play in the United States of America (USA) or Canada. However, in this part of the world, there are limited events through April, and there are a few in France and Spain.
“We are looking at Europe, Asia and Africa with Tunisia and Turkey on the radar but it looks more like Turkey. We are looking to get in like four to six tournaments there to get some momentum. From there I cannot say what’s next because the schedule changes as the year goes on. The first quarter of the year, we have to go on the other side of the world because there is not much on this side,” Roberts said. “The events in Turkey and Tunisia are easier money and travel-wise because every week there is an event there in the same place so we do not have to spend money on traveling. That makes more sense economically to go somewhere like that where we can get a lot of matches without spending too much money,”
Major said: “I’m finally around someone like-minded and it is a big plus that we are from the same country. There is not that culture barrier so that makes it easier.”
He added that nothing is stopping them this year, so either they “keep up or get left behind”.
Roberts is ranked at number 418 in the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) singles rankings and at number 812 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings. The latest rankings came out on Monday, January 4. Major is ranked at 1,182 in the ITF singles rankings and at number 1,549 in the ATP singles rankings.
Both Bahamian players were on The Bahamas’ Davis Cup team, along with Philip Major Jr. and Baker Newman. They were set to play last year but the event was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are both still looking forward to playing on the Davis Cup team, this year, if the tournament happens. The trip together is good for The Bahamas’ tennis fraternity, they said.
“I think it is great,” Roberts said. “I have not had a chance yet to play for the country in Davis Cup so it was an honor to have gotten the opportunity to play. That thing that for guys like who have not had a chance to run those teams, it is good to see us out there and still playing, following our dreams. I think it is a good thing for the sport as a country. It is good for us personally since we have been rivals and friends from under-12 so it is good to be able to finally try to take on the other countries in the world and hopefully, we can make the country proud.”
Major said he used last year to get better and is excited for this year.
“Last year was perfect because I know that playing in 2019 on tour was like I knew I had to get on a next level – a level I was not on yet. I accepted that challenge and last year was about me just getting to that level. It has been endless work and figuring out stuff that I needed to work on. I lost to good players so my gauge on what I need to get better is based on good players. The year 2020 has been about getting ready to take on good players,” Major said. “I’ve been training. Just because I can’t compete does not mean I can’t get better and that is what I have been doing for the past three months. I was mostly focused on stuff that I was not good at, and that has been the biggest change for me.”
Last year was Roberts’ first official year as a pro after graduating from Arizona State University in December 2019.
“I got off to a decent start,” Roberts said. “No one knew what to do after the pandemic hit and how long we were going to be out. I just trained and at the end of the year, back in November and December, I played three pro events. I struggled early but at the last event I played really well but ran into some tough draws with some good players. I found some good form, so I am looking forward to being able to build on that in the new year.”
The top ranked tennis player in the country played in the USA, Cancun, Mexico and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
He would have loved to have been on the road every month playing tournaments, but that is not the way it happened for him. He said he is looking forward to getting off to a quick start this year.
Having played under the new protocols of COVID-19, Roberts said that there is not many differences except getting tested for COVID-19 at times.
“The only real hassle is getting the test sometimes,” he said. “The differences are that you have to sanitize when you enter rooms and you have to keep your mask on when you are not on the court. When you are on the court there are no masks or special rules except where you place your towels in between points. I would not say that is difficult to play under those conditions. The only thing is that you have to do you best to not be positive for COVID-19. If you are tested positive, you cannot play that week or two or three weeks after that. You have to try your best to stay free from COVID.”
The former Arizona State University standout is excited for 2021 and is looking forward to getting a full year of professional tennis under his belt. He said this year is going to be huge for him, Major and the other Bahamian players, especially after what happened last year.
The post Roberts, Major Jr. to leave for international tournaments appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/roberts-major-jr-to-leave-for-international-tournaments/
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