Davis Cup squad undefeated in play

By RENALDO SMITH

NG Sports Reporter

The Bahamas' Davis Cup squad went to Nueva San Salvador, El Salvador with their game faces on as they are determined to return to the Americas Zone Two for next year.

And after their first two matches, the four member team of Chris Eldon, Marvin Rolle, Devin Mullings, and H'Cone Thompson are definitely on the right path after consecutive wins over Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago.

It has been the combo of Rolle and Mullings that has gotten the job done for The Bahamas so far.

In their 2-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday, Rolle needed three sets to get past Shane Stone 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the opening match at the Maya Country Club.

Mullings on the other hand, made his singles match look easy as he got by Richard Brown 6-1, 6-4.

The duo then dropped the doubles match 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 to Shane and Troy Stone but still won overall as a result of their stellar singles play.

This performance came after their strong performance against Puerto Rico, which allowed them to cruise to the 3-0 win.

Rolle defeated Puerto Rico's Ricardo Gonzalez-Diaz 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the number one singles, and then Mullings took care of Gilberto Alvarez 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in the number two singles match.

The duo then wrapped up the match with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Gabriel Montilla and Jorge Rangel in the doubles competition.

This year marks the first time since The Bahamas began Davis Cup play 17 years ago that the team has been forced to play out of the Americas Zone Three, after playing in Zone One for 11 years, and in Zone Two last year.

The Bahamas' Davis Cup team suffered a huge blow when Bahamian tennis sensation Ryan Sweeting opted to play exclusively for the U.S. over a month ago.

And although Sweeting's replacement Christopher Eldon has yet to compete, the team is showing that they are capable of representing the country and making a statement.

They will look to wrap up their impressive play when they face Honduras in their final Group A match. If they can continue to win, The Bahamas will likely advance to another round robin group.

The teams finishing first and second in the final pool will be promoted to the Americas Zone Group Two for 2007.

Teams finishing third and fourth in each pool advance to another round robin pool and the teams finishing third and fourth in this subsequent pool are relegated to the Americas Zone Group Four for 2007.

© 2006 The Freeport News