The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Davis Cupper Donte Armbrister and national junior champion Denali Nottage took their opponents right to the wire, only to lose gruelling three-setters in their first round matches in the International Tennis Federation’s Junkanoo Bowl Under-18 Tennis Tournament.

Armbrister, back home after representing the Bahamas as a member of the American Zone III Davis Cup team last month, lost 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 to No.5 seed Victor Lilov of the United States of America.

Fresh off clinching both the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s under-16 and under-18 singles titles last week, Nottage, from Grand Bahama, was unable to dismantle Switzerland’s Kaj Quirijns, who held on to win 6-7 (8), 7-6 (10), 6-3.

Armbrister and Nottage were two of four Bahamian male competitors in action yesterday at the National Tennis Centre. The others were Anthony Burrows, who lost 6-0, 6-1 to No.7 seed Joshua Miller from the USA and Grand Bahamian Kofi Bowe, who lost 6-1, 6-0 to Santiago Giamichelle of Argentina.

Lilov def. Armbrister

In what turned out to be one of the most competitive matches played so far in the tournament, Lilov had to dig down deep after he came back from a 3-2 deficit when the rain came to halt play and a 7-5 loss when they continued to play.

“It was a tough match. I had some chances to win, but it was very difficult to pull it off because he was playing extremely well,” said Lilov of his victory.

“I was down 4-2 in the third. But I had a lot of chances and I tried to take advantage of as many of them as I can so that I could win it. It was tough at the start because he had about 40 people in the stands cheering for him, so I had to regroup and keep my composure.

Lilov, a 15-year-old from Naples, Florida, managed to break southpaw Armbrister for a 4-4 tie in the third and he broke the Bahamian again to win the game, set and match at 6-4.

Armbrister, admitting that he will have to improve on his serve, said it was tough losing the match.

“After the rain came down, I took the first set, but he started to gain his momentum and forced the third set,” Armbrister pointed out.

“I just played his game until I got to 4-3. Then he broke me and that turned things around in the third set.

“It was hot too, so it was a tough match. I got a little tired too. We both were tired, but he managed to pull it off in the end.”

Quirijns def. Nottage

In a match that could have gone either way, 14-year-old Quirijns prevailed in two tiebreakers to force the third and deciding set as he held on for the win. “It was a tough, long match, very good points on rallies,” Quirijns said. “We struggled and battled it out long.”

With the score tied at 1-1, southpaw Quirijns pulled out to a quick 3-0 lead to start the third set. He slowly stayed ahead at 4-1 and 5-2 before he went on to secure the game, set and match.

Quirijns, making his debut in the Bahamas, said it was a good win and he enjoys being here.

“It’s hot,” he said of the playing conditions. “But I’m looking forward to another tough match.”

For Nottage, it was a tough pill to swallow. “I knew I could have come out on top,” he said. “I had several match plays, but I couldn’t close out. On the match plays, I was playing cautiously instead of trying to go for the match points.”

Nottage, however, said he will chalk it up to a learning experience. “When I get match points, I just have to go for my shots and play to win,” he summed up.

In other singles matches played yesterday, No.2 seed Jack Anthrop of the USA won 6-2, 6-1; No.3 seed Spencer Brachman, also of the USA, won 6-0, 6-1 over Jose Pablo Garza from Mexico and Luis Fernandez of the USA won 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-5 over Alexandru Filip Bucurescu of Romania and Jakub Ostajewski of the USA won 6-0, 6-1 over Kai Hitomi of Japan.

Today, Bahamian top seed Sydney Clarke will highlight the action when she plays her second round match against Mary Jean Brumfield, from the USA, after receiving a bye in the first round. The action starts at 9am.