The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Day two was a struggle for Team Bahamas at the American Zone III Davis Cup tie.

The Bahamas was blanked 3-0 by the host country and fell to 1-1 in the group stage yesterday at the event in Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica.

Philip Major Jr was first up in singles play and lost to Sebastian Quiros 4-6, 3-6.

“It was a tough match, today was a tough day at the office, but I fought until the end, gave myself a chance, but he just played better than me today,” Major Jr said.

Baker Newman followed with a three-set loss to Jesse Flores 6-3, 3-6, 2-6.

“It was a tough three-set match, Jesse is a good friend of mine I know from playing in Miami. He did well and played a good match so credit to him but we have to go hard in the paint tomorrow.”

The tie closed with a loss in doubles play. Justin Lunn and Donte Armbrister lost 4-6, 4-6 to Rodrigo Piedra.

Lunn said: “Overall the match was good, I thought we played well as a team. It was a learning experience for us because we barely play doubles.”

Armbrister added: “It’s my first Davis Cup tie, first time playing with Justin so I think we did well. It was good to have the Bahamian crowd cheering for me, especially my family, it was a moment I’ll never forget.”

The Bahamas continues the group stage against the US Virgin Islands today. Eleven countries are vying for the top spot in the Davis Cup Americas Group III tournament as they seek to win promotion to Group II for 2020. Along with the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, other participating teams include Antigua an Barbuda and US Virgin Islands in Pool A while Honduras, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Panama and Bermuda comprise Pool B.

Group III is split into two pools and teams will compete in a round robin group stage to earn spots in the playoffs.

The Bahamas came into the tournament as favourites after an undefeated run through last year’s event, which included wins over Costa Rica and Antigua and Barbuda. They are also the highest seeded team in the field based on Nations Rankings Points at No.77. The US Virgin Islands look for their first victory in the competition since 2009.

The currently approved format allows each nation the opportunity to earn the same number of Nations Ranking Points. A higher ranking will increase a nation’s chances of qualifying for a higher group the following year.

Last year, the Bahamas defeated Costa Rica 2-1 to join Honduras, who won 2-0 over Paraguay to advance out of Zone III and into Zone II. But a reconfiguration of the tie saw the Bahamas returning this year to play out of Zone III again.