The Bahamas’ senior men’s national tennis team got to the Americas Group III semifinals this past weekend, but fell 2-0 to Jamaica at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento Fred Maduro in Panama City, Panama.
Coming into Saturday, Bahamians Justin Roberts and Kevin Major Jr. had not lost any of their two singles matches in the group stage. However, on Saturday, both fell to their opponents and the doubles match was not needed. Jamaica was one of the two teams from the tournament to advance to the World Group II Playoffs in 2022. Guatemala was the other one.
Player/captain Marvin Rolle, who played two doubles matches alongside Baker Newman, said the tie with Jamaica was good but their opponent came out strong.
“It was a good Davis Cup tie. We got to the semifinals, so we gave ourselves a chance to go up. Jamaica came out strong. (Jamaican Rowland Phillips) only had about five unforced errors the whole match, so he definitely played solidly. Major had his chances, but he could not pull through. Roberts came out with the first set win and was up, but his opponent started playing very well and solidly. Give credit to Jamaica – they played strong,” Rolle said.
Rolle sports a 26-19 win/loss record in doubles in Davis Cup play. Newman has a 2-2 record in doubles. They fell short in doubles in both Group A ties this past weekend.
Major, The Bahamas’ second-seeded player in the tournament, was up first against Rowland Phillips in the tie against Jamaica. Major dropped the first set 6-3. Known for coming back in his matches, as shown in his first set losses all tournament, Major was unable to pull off a comeback this time. Phillips won the second set 6-2 to finish off the match in straight sets.
“It was a tough match,” Major said. “Overall, the tournament was a good tournament. It was only my second tournament for the year. I have improved a lot. I played two tough matches but was able to pull them out after losing the first set. I learnt that I could play a lot better tennis and I have been playing a lot better.”
The Bahamian was able to serve one ace in the second set and was able to win 24 first serve points. In his first game on Wednesday, he took down Cuban Lazaro Navarro-Batles, 4-6, 6-2 and 6-2. The Bahamian National Champion returned on Friday to take down Guatemalan Christopher Diaz-Figueroa, 3-6, 6-2 and 6-4. The 26-year-old now has a 6-8 record in singles at Davis Cup.
Major is looking forward to representing The Bahamas in the future, but says every time he plays in a tournament, he represents his country. He will come back home for two weeks before returning to Germany to train and play in tournaments.
Looking to tie the battle between the two countries, Roberts was up next against Blaise Bicknell. This match needed three sets to declare a winner. Roberts quickly won the first set 6-2. However, Bicknell won the second and third sets, 6-3 and 6-4.
“Davis Cup scenario is new to me,” Roberts said. “… a lot of nervous energy and there were some tough conditions. I was a little bit low on gas and I got tired. Kudos to Bicknell, he was able to push through better than I did at the end. I have a lot to learn and get better at for the next Davis Cup. I’ll be back stronger for sure.”
It was the 24-year-old’s first time playing at Davis Cup. He now has a 2-1 win/loss record. On Wednesday, he took down Maikiel Ponte Suarez, of Cuba, 6-4 and 6-4. In his second match, against Guatemalan Wilfredo Gonzalez, he won easily, 6-2 and 6-3.
Rolle chimed in on Roberts’ first time at Davis Cup.
“He was a big asset to the team and will be one for future endeavors. He is a strong player and we definitely like him on the team. We’re a big supporter of him. He jelled well with the team. We thank him for coming out and participating,” Rolle said.
Roberts will be looking to play more tournaments on clay at the end of this month, in Egypt, if all goes well.
Rolle, who has been representing The Bahamas at Davis Cup since 2001, said he hopes to return to Davis Cup for many years to come. Although they didn’t get promoted, he was happy with the team’s performance.
“We all wanted the win but overall, it was a good result because we got to see how the players played. We came together as a team. We did not get the win but overall it was a good Davis Cup tournament,” Rolle said.
Taking in the action live in Panama City was Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) President Perry Newton. He said The Bahamas had its opportunities and will look at the captain’s report.
“The team played really well. We were able to stay undefeated in our pool. We made it through to the promotional playoffs. It was a tough set of matches versus Jamaica. The team was definitely in it and we had our opportunities. We will analyze the captain’s report and will work from there,” Newton said.
The Bahamas played in Group A against Guatemala and Cuba. The team won both ties to advance to the semifinals on Saturday. In the six matches they played in Group A, they won four and lost the other two matches – both in doubles.
This tournament marked the end of two busy weeks of regional tennis action at the senior level for the BLTA. The senior women’s national team was in action the week before and made it to the semifinals of the Billie Jean Cup Tournament in Panama City. They placed third.
“I am proud of the teams’ performance. They did an outstanding job,” Newton said.
He thanked the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) and Street Trader Limited for sponsoring both teams.
The post The Bahamas misses out on Davis Cup promotion appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/the-bahamas-misses-out-on-davis-cup-promotion/
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