Tennis: Bermuda Defeat Barbados To Finish 7th
Bermuda’s Junior Davis Cup team placed an impressive 7th out of 18 countries beating Jamaica and Puerto Rico [6th seed] to qualify for the main elimination draw, and in the main draw, they narrowly missed defeating Aruba [3rd seed].
Bermuda’s Junior Davis Cup team then met the Dominican Republic, where once again it came down to a doubles decision which Bermuda lost 2-1 to the Dominican Republic.
Bermuda’s final match against Barbados on Saturday ended on a high note, with Bermuda winning 2-1 to place 7th overall, the highest finish for Bermuda since they started participating in the Junior Davis Cup event.
On Saturday, Scott Redmond played singles in the number 2 position against Barbados’s Kaipo Marshall, and was defeated 6-2,6-2. Despite the score, the match lasted an hour and 25 minutes and Redmond gave it his all.
Trey Mallory was up next playing number 1 position and made short work of Romani Mayers, 6-1, 6-0 in less than one hour. This meant the team was once again facing a 1-1 tie situation with the doubles being the decider.
Mallory teamed up with Simons to play doubles. Mallory and Simons won the first set 6-4, and were up 4-0 in the second set which looked to be an easy win.
Suddenly their 4-0 lead slipped and they found themselves down 5-4. Coach Mallory lit a fire under the players, and they re-focused and won the set 7-5 to take the match and the win against Barbados. Bermuda defeated Barbados 2-1, to place overall 7th.
National Tennis Director Richard Mallory and Coach of the Junior Davis Cup team said, “Our boys played some strong tennis, and really made an impressive showing this week.
“We had some close chances to place even higher, which shows we can hang with the best in the region. We can certainly hold our heads high and know that we gave it our all. I’m really proud of them and excited about the future of junior tennis in Bermuda.”
President Mike Wolfe said, “I am so proud of the teams’ performance and I’m looking forward to welcoming them home on Monday evening with their parents and supporters. The success of the team this week goes to show that our juniors have the talent and commitment.
“What we need more than ever to keep the momentum going in tennis is financial support. It cost money for court time, evening lights and coaches, not to mention the cost of traveling for international competition which is so important to our juniors’ development.
“If I had my way, the kids would be playing against international competition numerous times a year, imagine the results we could have as a country then.
“Like many sports we no longer receive a Government grant, hence we have to rely fully on fundraising for everything we do, many times coaches give their time for free but that is not sustainable. We’re hopeful that Bermuda will see that we have the talent and if we had the financial means we could go even further. “
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