Barbados tennis is going for its winners.
The team weren’t broken at the Group III level, so the Barbados Tennis Association (BTA) saw no need to fix anything, naming an unchanged squad ahead of the country’s historic Group II tie against Paraguay next month here at home.
The four-member squad, along with the non-playing captain and other specifics, were revealed yesterday at the National Tennis Centre during a Press launch for the three-day tie starting February 10.
“We had a recommendation from the selection committee of the council and we decided to stick with a winning team,” said BTA president Dr Raymond Forde of the decision to return the squad that won Group III in Bolivia last June.
Following a successful stint at the helm of the team, Kevin Yarde was predictably returned to lead the team, which will once again lean heavily on Barbados’ only two ATP-ranked pros: Darian King and Haydn Lewis.
No. 1 Seanon Williams was also unsurprisingly brought back following last year’s Davis Cup debut that saw the country advance from Group III and a domestic season where he won his fourth successive national title.
But speculation was rife that British-based player Anthony Marshall might’ve missed out on Barbados hosting its first ever Group II tie, with rumours circulating over his possible availability and his lack of communication with the executive.
However, Forde quelled any notion that Marshall wouldn’t be ready for the tie, saying that the association had kept in constant contact with the foreign player since he last played for Barbados in June.
“He’s been sending in reports to us and we’ve been following his progress,” he said.
Both King and Lewis are currently in the United States undergoing training sessions and are expected to contest a couple tournaments as preparation for the tie, while Williams has been home working four hours a day for six days a week.
His increased regimen is part of the squad’s attempt to deal with the rigours of moving from best-of-three matches to five-set tennis for the opening round encounter.
The tie starts on February 10 with the two opening singles matches, before the squads play a lone doubles match the following day. The tie then concludes February 12 with two “reverse” singles games.
But it’s not yet known how Yarde intends to deploy his players, as the possibility of playing extended matches could take its toll on Lewis and King – the players who are expected to play the brunt of the games.
“We are confident of doing well,” said Forde of the team’s chances.
“The team does hinge around our two top players, Darian and Haydn, but decisions will be made during the tie and on the particular day but basically the team’s main focus may be on two players who might have to play all five matches.”
Ranked 80th in the world, Barbados face demotion back to Group III if they lose this opening round against the world No. 46 and then drop the next round against the losers of the Mexico-El Salvador tie.
While not disclosing a total cost, BTA senior vice-president Sandra Osborne said the executive is still in the planning stages of the event as the association has several specific requirements to meet and has asked corporate Barbados to come on board.