BAHAMAS Davis Cup team, from left to right, of captain Marvin Rolle, Donte Armbrister, Denali Nottage and Kevin Major Jr.
#By TENAJH SWEETING
#Tribune Sports Reporter
#tsweeting@tribunemedia.net
#THE Bahamas’ Davis Cup team has gotten off to a slow start at the American Zone lll Davis Cup in Asuncion, Paraguay.
#The team came into their third matchup of the week looking to bounce back after some tough losses to the Dominican Republic and Paraguay in previous games.
#However, the team suffered the same fate once again, this time losing to Costa Rica 3-0 at the International Tennis Club.
#The Pool B team needed the win to keep in contention to advance to the Americas Group ll in 2024.
#After going into yesterday’s matchup 0-2 at the Davis Cup, Team Bahamas looked to grab a win in one of three matches against Costa Rica.
#In match one, Grand Bahama’s Denali Nottage opened against Costa Rica’s Rodrigo Crespo Piedra.
#The matches went to two sets favouring Crespo Piedra 6-4 in the opening set and 6-2 in the final set.
#Nottage averaged 40% (18/45) on his first serves and 78% (14/18) on first serve points won.
#Meanwhile, his opponent averaged 57% on first serves and 81% on first serve points won. The Costa Rica player averaged 100% on second serves compared to Nottage’s 93%.
#After 1 hour and 3 minutes of action, Nottage amassed 37 total points won and his opponent capped off at 55 in the match.
#Kevin Major Jr, who made it to the Davis Cup for the seventh time, turned in a competitive match against Jesse Flores.
#The tightly-contested competition between the singles competitors went to three sets yesterday.
#The initial set went to Major, who earned a 7-6 win over Flores after winning the tiebreaker 7-5.
#In set two, both males were eager to get the win this time the tiebreaker went the other way favouring Costa Rica 7-6 following a 10-8 tiebreaker.
#In the final set, it was all Flores as he defeated Major 6-0 to get the win.
#In the final match, Team Bahamas was represented by Donte Armbrister and team captain Marvin Rolle.
#The captain is a seasoned member of the Davis Cup team, having earned the most years played (19), most total wins (43-37), and most doubles wins (29-22).
#The Bahamas needed a win to avoid sinking in an 0-3 hole.
#Costa Rica’s doubles duo of Luca Lo Nardo and Pablo Nunez brought their A-game and trumped The Bahamas in two sets 6-2, 6-2.
#The Bahamas remains last in Pool B with an 0-3 record after losing to Costa Rica, making it their first win of the Davis Cup.
#Pool B teams include Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras and The Bahamas.
#The top two teams will be promoted to the Americas Group ll in 2024.
#The Bahamas will look for its first win of the competition against Honduras today.
#Matchups wrap up on Saturday.