Barbados to battle against Ireland in Davis Cup action

By Morissa Lindsay

There is a sense of confidence coming out of the Barbados camp as the island prepares to host and play Ireland for the first time in Davis Cup history, commencing this Friday at the National Tennis Centre in Wildey.

This is a first round World Group ll tie between the two countries and during today’s press conference held online via Zoom, Vice-President of the Barbados Tennis Association, Junior King, confirmed that all spectators are welcomed whether vaccinated or not while non-playing captain Damien Applewhaite said that he believes the teams are evenly matched for the two-day tie.

The competition is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. with the reverse singles and ends on Saturday with the doubles and singles. Applewhaite explained that preparation has gone well for his team which comprises top national ace Darian King and the experienced Haydn Lewis along with Matthew Foster-Estwick, Kaipo Marshall and Xavier Lawrence.

Captain Applewhaite said he is happy with the team’s preparation so far and that they have had what he described as a decent training block in August. The last time Barbados competed at home was September 2021 when they defeated Indonesia 3-1 at the National Tennis Centre.

“Not every preparation is perfect. We are trying to get a little more match play up until the match day on Friday,” Applewhaite stated. He added: “I think that the teams are evenly matched from a ranking point of view. Like Darian’s ranking is around 800 but he has the ability to go higher. Similarly, their number one is around the same ranking so I am looking forward to a competitive tie come Friday.”

The expectation on national top seed King is always high especially competing on home soil and having not played for a couple months it may be a bit tough for him against Ireland’s number one ranked player Simon Carr with a world singles ranking of 767 compared to the Barbados star at 868.

Those rankings may just be on paper because King formerly ranked 106 amongst the world’s best in 2017 and which is his highest ever ranking to date, is more capable ability-wise, than that 868 reflects. In fact, King assured local spectators that he is ready and they can certainly look forward to a good show from him.

Some have questioned his ability at age 30 and whether he still has what it takes to compete at that level but King stated that nothing for him has changed since he began playing at 16-years-old. He reiterated that this weekend his intention will be to secure victories and ensure that Barbados stay in Group ll.

“Preparations have been going pretty well, as you know I haven’t been on tours for the past months. For me it is just to go out there and really enjoy myself. I am happy to be back on court this weekend. I can’t wait to obviously compete, I am known to be a great competitor on court so it doesn’t matter who I play at home on my home ground it is going to be tough for them.

“It is for me to stick to my guns which is with the help of the crowd and sticking to my game. I don’t think anything has changed from when I was 16 to 30 now, so for me I am just excited to be back here. There is going to be high expectations here but I haven’t played in a while so I am just really looking forward to battling and hopefully pulling out the victories and for Barbados to stay in group two,” King explained.

Fellow longstanding Davis Cup player for Barbados, Lewis, shared similar sentiments to King, that the bottom line is to win for Barbados. “Like Apple (Applewhaite) said we had a good training block a few weeks before and then I put in a lot of my own work. So I am feeling great physically and mentally even more so. It kind of goes back to what Darian said before about just enjoying competing for Barbados and having the opportunity to do it and just go out there and do it to the best of my ability.”

Marshall, the youngest player on the Barbados team revealed that college tennis (Duquesne Dukes University) gives him the types of match play required to compete at the highest level and more importantly how to win games.

In terms of this World Group tie against Ireland, Marshall told local media: “Things are looking up. I feel really good on court and I had a good summer playing at a lot of tournaments in Florida, Dominican Republic. I am also feeling really well and I know all the boys are feeling well and ready to compete this weekend.”

Fellow team member Xavier Lawrence does have a slight advantage over his other teammates given that he has competed against one of the Irish players in the past. Lawrence, who was also based in Europe this summer, also encountered other players that are in the top 500 of the world.

“I think that in terms of matches, match plays, and fitness all of that stuff, I can’t be anymore ready, as ready as can be. I came across their number two guy before, he was playing out of his mind the best match that he has played that time,” Lawrence said.

Foster-Estwick has been competing on the International Tennis Federation Men’s Futures circuit for the past year and that has made him a lot more comfortable against higher ranked opponents. “Overall I feel ready to compete, I have been training really well and the team has been training well,” he added.

Also representing Ireland are Osgar O’Hoisin, Michael Agwi, Conor Gannon and David O’Hare. The draw to decide how the matches will be played is slated to take place this Thursday morning. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb