Tennis Players To Head To Junior Davis Cup
The Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association announced its first team competition participation for this year, with some of Bermuda’s top male juniors set to compete in the Junior Davis Cup Tennis competition being hosted by the Dominican Republic from February 24th to March 1st.
Non-playing captain Jerome Bradshaw said, “The BLTA has been sending its Junior Boys and Girls to these team events for the past five or six years. It is natural for the players to compare their results to those of predecessors.
“Aside from the comparison interest, the main goal is to provide developmental experiences for the Bermuda players, by exposing them to unknown competition. They understand that they will be playing amongst some countries that are at our level, as well as some very strong, more seasoned players whose only interest is tennis, even in this Under 16 Age Group.
“In terms of an expected result, our first goal is to make the ‘Main Draw’, and then do the best we can and pick up some valuable experience along the way. This is an individual sport using a team format.
“There will be the individual pride of performing in individual matches, but they also understand that they must win at least two out of the three matches to win a tie. We will be pleased with making the main draw, anything better would be an additional thrill.”
This is a pre-qualifying tournament where the winning team earns a place alongside perennial power houses, the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Final Qualifying round will take place in May of this year.
In this 16 and under age group, Bermuda’s team consists of Nicholas Lines, Tanner Boyle and Dylan Powell.
The team has been engaged in training and match play exercises since the Christmas break and are in their final stages of preparation before they depart for the capital, Santo Domingo on February 22nd.
Approximately 16 countries are expected to take to the courts at the National Tennis Center in a week long slug fest. The eligible player age range is between 13 years and 16 years which represents a birth year between 1998 and 2001. Many of the world’s top senior players had competed in this event in their region, during their tennis developmental years.
The format for the team competition is to be confirmed on site, however the usual arrangement has been for an initial round robin followed by a knock out and feed in position draw. Each tie will consist of two singles matches and one doubles match. Total matches won will decide the winner of the tie. Ultimately there will be the winning country followed by position placements from 2 to 16.
In the 2013 event, Bermuda finished in the number 12 position out of 15 countries.
