Devastating Bicknell, limping King register Davis Cup victories
AFTER AN enthralling day one of Davis Cup Group II tennis between host country Jamaica and Barbados, there will be all to play for when action starts later this morning at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre.
The teams would end the day locked on one win apiece after top seed Blaise Bicknell sent the Jamaicans into an early lead, getting the better of Kaipo Marshall 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 (2-1).
Bicknell was in a no-nonsense mood, dominating the proceedings and forcing Marshall into errors. Bicknell would falter in the second set but recomposed himself in the third, displaying his devastating best, much to the pleasure of a vociferous crowd.
Bicknell said the heat yesterday played its part in the game, but that Marshall suffered more.
“It was tough but in the third set I felt like he felt the sun far more than me. I just persevered and pushed through. In the second set I came out a bit slow, not as focused and tried to overhit the ball as opposed to being relaxed,” said Bicknell.
Marshall said he made way too many errors in the match.
“In the third set I had a bad start and didn’t play to the level that I was hoping to have played. I felt like I defeated my own self as I made more errors than my opponent, that’s why I ended up losing,” said the Barbadian.
In the day’s final, Barbados’ top seed Darian King was made to suffer to come away with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 (2-1) result, Leading 5-0 in the third set, King, en route to what appeared to be an easy victory, aggravated a right knee injury, which allowed Phillips to bring the game to 5-5.
The limping King managed to pull off a miraculous victory, saying he was pleased with the fight he showed.
“It took fight and heart but I’m a different player when I’m playing for the country. My Davis Cup record is pretty high and I knew my team was counting on me as we were down 1-0. My plan was to settle and play my game and I’m happy to have come out with the victory. I think I did something dumb as while leading 4-0, I was really trying to get the break to go up 5-0 and that was the main cause and then I started to feel the effects,” King explained.
Day two will commence later today at 11 a.m. with three matches on the cards.
First up Bicknell and Phillips will play King and Haydn Lewis, before the reverse singles where King and Bicknell are scheduled to face off and Phillips is set to go head-to-head with Marshall.
The loser of the tie will be relegated to Davis Cup Group III.