The Bahamas falls to Paraguay

Wed, Jun 21st 2023, 11:32 AM

The Bahamas' chances of moving out of Americas Group III and into group two in Davis Cup action for 2024 took a serious hit on Tuesday, as they dropped their second consecutive matchup in the regional tournament at the Club Internacional de Tenis in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The Bahamas fell to the host nation, three matches to none, and is now winless in five tries against Paraguay in Davis Cup history.

In the first match of the day, Denali Nottage played in the number one position in singles for The Bahamas and lost in three sets to Martin Antonio Vergara del Puerto, 6-3, 5-7 and 6-2, in a match that lasted two hours and 16 minutes. Nottage won just 62 percent of his first serves (29-for-47) compared to 73 percent for his opponent (47-for-64). He was also broken six times in the match and broke service just three times, and his opponent won 103 total points compared to 92 for Nottage.

In the second match, playing in the number two position in singles for The Bahamas, Kevin Major Jr. suffered a straight sets loss to Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, 6-4 and 6-4, in a match that lasted an hour and 29 minutes. Major won just 67 percent of his first serves (24-for-36) compared to 81 percent for his opponent (29-for-36). He was broken twice in the match and came up empty in five break point opportunities of his own and won 55 total points compared to 65 for his opponent.

In the third match of the day, The Bahamas' doubles team of Donte Armbrister and player/captain Marvin Rolle lost to the team of Vergara del Puerto and Vallejo in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-2, in a match that lasted an hour and four minutes. Vergara del Puerto and Vallejo won 87 percent of their first serves (20-for-23) compared to 60 percent for Armbrister and Rolle (18-for-30). The Paraguayans won 56 percent of their second serves (15-for-27) compared to 53 percent for Armbrister and Rolle (8-for-15) and also broke Armbrister and Rolle four times while being broken just once. Vergara del Puerto and Vallejo won 54 of the total 95 points.

Rolle is the veteran of the team, making his 19th appearance in Davis Cup action. Major is making his seventh appearance at Davis Cup, Armbrister is on the team for the second time, and Nottage is the rookie.

Now down two ties to none, The Bahamas finds itself in a must-win situation over the next two days of competition if they want to be promoted to the Americas Group II for next year. The team faces Costa Rica today and Honduras tomorrow.

Just the top two teams in each pool will have a chance at promotion. They will play a crossover playoffs against the top two teams from the other pool with the winners of those games playing for the gold and the losers playing for the bronze. All three of the medal finishers will be promoted to the Americas Group II for next year.

The Bahamas is in Pool B with the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Honduras. The teams in Pool A are Bolivia, Venezuela, Bermuda and Panama. The bottom two teams will be relegated to the Americas Group IV for next year.

The Bahamas fell to the Dominican Republic on Monday and host nation Paraguay yesterday.

The event is being played on outdoor clay courts and wraps up on Saturday.

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