The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THEY have long been close friends and junior rivals. Now Nikkita Fountain and Grand Bahamian Larikah Russell are teaming up to play together as a doubles combination - a role they have played admirably for the past few years. Having represented the Bahamas in the Fed Cup, the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Commonwealth Games, the pair is back for their second appearance as a wild card entry in the main draw of doubles of the Bahamas Open Women's Tennis Tournament. In their debut at last year's tourney, they came close to advancing to the second round after losing a close encounter when the $100,000 tournament was held at the National Tennis Centre. This year, they are two of four Bahamians who are expected to appear in this year's tournament slated for this weekend. "I'm pretty excited to be back in it again, to be granted the opportunity," Russell said. "Last year was a sensational tournament, a great experience and I think this year it's going to be even more remarkable." For Fountain, she said "it's exciting once again to be here. To play at this level is just amazing. Last year we came very close. We had match point. But this year, we will try our hardest to win that match point and come out with the victory." While the two are scheduled to play in the main draw of doubles starting next week, Gabrielle Moxey will get the Bahamas on the scoreboard when she squares up on the court in the qualifying round Saturday to get one of the six spots into the main draw. The main draw is scheduled to start Monday and included in the field of 32 players vying for the championship title will be Grand Bahamian Simone Pratt, who was granted a wild card by tournament organiser Ty Olander. As the most experienced player in the quartet of Bahamian entries, Russell said she's not disappointed that she won't be able to play singles because she's injured and, in doubles, she has Fountain to help pull her through. "We're pretty comfortable with each other. We know each other's game so we know how to cover for each other," Russell said. "I have to do most of the work sometimes but I enjoy playing with her. We keep each other calm and loose and have fun." Fountain noted: "We complement each other very well. We love playing doubles together and I think we just make each other confident and comfortable on the court. So it's a really good combination for us." As for 16-year-old Pratt, who will get a chance to play in singles, Russell said she's looking forward to seeing how well she (Pratt) will fear against the visiting international players. "I think she will do very well," Russell said. "I think it will be a good experience for her." Fountain also has high expectations for Pratt, whom they played with as members of the Fed Cup team. "I think she has been doing well this year. She played number one for us at Fed Cup this year so hopefully she can come back and take all of that same enthusiasm that we had and do her best, no matter what the outcome," she said. "She can't let us down. She just has to go out there and try her best. This is a high level of competition." During the initial tournament last year, the fans' support certainly wasn't what Olander and even the players anticipated. Hopefully, the numbers will swell this year, considering that there are some more Bahamians competing. "I think this year it has already started off better," Fountain said. "Driving around, you see a lot of posters advertising the event. We also know for a long time that we would be in the main draw, so we have been involved in the tournament a lot more this year. "So we have been advertising the event through word of mouth and so a lot more people are aware of it, so I think it will definitely be a much bigger and better event this year." Both players expressed their gratitude to Olander for giving them the opportunity to get the exposure at home once again. "This is a first-class event here at home, so we are proud to be a part of it," Russell said. And with the tournament being here, is there any pressure on the players to perform before the home crowd? "I think going into it we are the underdogs, so we just have to give it all we have," Fountain said. Russell noted that "we love being the underdogs, so we will be all right."