The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DORAL Park, Miami - Top seed Spencer Newman got off to a slow start and despite a comback, it was not enough to propel the Bahamas to its first victory in the second singles played on day one of the American Zone II Davis Cup tie.

Following No.2 seed Philip Major Jr’s four-set loss to Venezuela’s No.1 Ricardo Rodriquez, Newman fell 7-5, 6-0, 7-6 to the No.2 Luis David Martinez on Friday at the Doral Park Country Club.

The Bahamas will now have to make some adjustment for Saturday’s doubles to avoid getting swept 3-0 by Venezuela in the best-of-five matches. The reverse singles are scheduled for Sunday.

“I was settling into the tie. It took a little longer than I wanted,” Newman said. “I was supposed to take the corner and turn things around. I was right there. If I had grabbed that set, I know this guy would have been calling for medical time out and maybe it would have been a different outcome.”

With family members and friends from the Florida area in the stands cheering for him, Newman made it a close encounter in the first set. After being broken twice to fall behind 3-1, Newman broke back again to tie the score at 4-4 but Martinez broke service twice in between one from Newman to go up 6-5.

At 40-40, Newman and player/captain Marvin Rolle argued a call made against the Bahamas, but Martinez was awarded the advantage and he went on to take the set 7-5.

Newman couldn’t get it together in the second set as Martinez cruised to a shutout but in the third, after Newman held for a 1-0 lead, Martinez had to receive medical attention. He came back to the court and fell hitting a high volley return return for a 15-0 lead. Rodriquez went on to hold with an ace at 40-30.

Newman then held to 30 for a 2-1 lead and broke to go up 3-1. However, Rodriquez stormed back to break twice to for a 4-4 tie, Newman again broke for 5-5 but Rodriquez returned the favour to go up 6-5. Newman then broke again for force a tiebreaker.

At the end of an exciting tiebreaker, Newman hit a volley long off the net to lose 7-5 as Rodriquez and Venezuela celebrated a 2-0 advantage.

“I just went out there and gave it my best shot,” Newman said. “That’s how I was thinking after the second set. I knew I was right in there.” Although the Bahamas trail 2-0, Newman said the tie is far from over.

Rolle, who is expected to play doubles on Saturday, said the team fought right to the end in their two matches. “PJ came out with fire. I was surprised. He handled the pressure very well,” Rolle said. “At the end of the first set, he started cramping and that came from his nerves playing in his first five-set match in his first Davis Cup tie, even thought he was on the team before.

“I told him that the nerves will hit him, but when they hit him, he will have to relax. He was able to pull off the first set. I was very proud of him.”

As for Newman, Rolle said he had it. “The first set he was right there. The second set he had a little bit of a let down, but in the third set he fought back. He had set point, so he was right in it. That’s all I could ask of our players. We were hoping that he would have come out with the win, but he fought right to the end. That’s all I could ask for.”

With the doubles being the pivotal match in the tie, Rolle said the Bahamas may shuffle the line-up after he talks with the other players. He said if it’s not him and Justin Lunn, it could be either Major Jr or Newman. In any event, Rolle said they will come out strong and try to rally behind the crowd to win.

Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s president Elwood Donaldson said he was encouraged that the Bahamian players gave a good account of themselves. “Venezuela is seeded number two in this zone and as we just moved up to this zone, we had a hard draw, but looking at the matches, I think our players competed and they had their chances,” he said. “We had a few calls that were questionable, but you can’t blame losses on calls. We made a few errors, but our players showed that they are at this level.”

Both the Bahamas and Venezuela are sponsored by Skyros, a locally-based company in Miami. They have outfitted both teams, with the Bahamas wearing the aquamarine, gold, black and white outfits, while Venezuela are wearing their national burgundy and white.