The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

It was an easy day in the office for some of the top players as day one of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s week-long Giorgio Baldacci Open Nationals got underway yesterday at the National Tennis Centre.

Although some of the big names in the sport opted not to compete this time around, the field of players still entered makes for an exciting march to the selection of the first two players on both the Bahamas’ 2022 Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup for women) and the Davis Cup for men.

Veteran Davis Cup player/captain Marvin Rolle, playing as the number two seed, blanked Shavano Hanna 6-0, 6-0, while No.3 seed Spencer Newman took the first set 6-0 and was leading 3-0 when Nathan Thompson was forced to retire.

Collegian Donte Armbrister, the No.3 seed, had to work a little harder before he prevailed with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Kofi Bowe out of Grand Bahama.

On the ladies’ side, unseeded Sierra Donaldson ousted youthful Maddison Bowleg with a 6-0, 6-1 victory and another rising young star Sapphire Ferguson, also unseeded, prevailed with identical scores of 6-3, 6-3 over Sierra Rodgers.

Today, the action will heat up on the court with some exciting matches:

At 9am, highlighting the female side of the coin will be top seed and defending champion Sydney Clarke, who will go up against Sierra Donaldson, while No.2 seed Elana Mackey will take on Sapphire Ferguson.

Both Clarke and Mackey are home from college and will be getting their first taste of competition as they seek to secure another spot on the Billie Jean King Cup, following their selection this year with player/ captain Kerrie Cartwright and Sierra Donaldson, another collegian.

Following those matches, the men’s play will intensify when the Newman brothers will share the spotlight.

Top seed Baker Newman will clash with Rodney Carey Jr, while Spencer Newman, the No.3 seed, will compete against Michael Major Jr.

Two other seeded players will be in action later in the day as Marvin Rolle will square off against either Vontenken Rolle or Sharano Hanna, who will play an early match at 8:30am. Donte Armbrister will be back in action when he faces off against Denali Nottage.

The BLTA expected a bigger draw with players like Kerrie Cartwright and Grand Bahamian Simone Pratt entered on the ladies’ side and Kevin Major Jr, Philip Major Jr and Jacobi Bain on the men. But none of those players, nor Justin Roberts, the top ranked Bahamian player on the International Tennis Federation, showed up to participate.

While the top two players from the Open Nationals will automatically qualify for the national team, the BLTA is expected to hold another trials next year to complete both teams.