Steep learning curve ahead for Jamaica

JAMAICA WILL face a big test today and tomorrow in a bid to be counted as one of the top 32 international tennis teams. The Jamaican team will oppose hosts Lebanon in a Davis Cup World Group II team tie starting today at 4 a.m. (Jamaica time).

The team of Rowland Phillips, Blaise Bicknell, John Chin, Daniel Azar, and David Goldsmith finds itself up against more seasoned campaigners in Benjamin Hassan, Hady Habib, Hasan Ibrahim, Mustapha el Natour, and Louay Makke of Lebanon.

Tennis Jamaica President John Azar told The Gleaner yesterday that the team is in great spirits ahead of the opening match.

“They have been training hard together all week and are fully focused on the task at hand. The nucleus of this team have been together for the past three Davis Cup ties, and whenever they get together the camaraderie is always very good. This week has been no different,” Azar said.

He added: “The guys know the task will not be easy as Lebanon are a tough team. That said, we did not come here to lose and our guys are rearing to go. We are looking forward to a good start from Randy in the first match, and Blaise has been in the form of his life, so once those guys execute well tomorrow, we should be fine. The conditions are very similar to those our team normally play under so I don’t expect that to be a factor.

“Lebanon have a very strong team led by Hassan, who is ranked in or around 250 in the world, and Hady Habib, who comes in ranked around 400. While they may be higher ranked than our guys currently, matches like this are not won on paper but on execution on the day. Our team is well prepared, and, while taking nothing away from the Lebanese, we are confident that our boys can and will get the job done.”

The match-ups in the tie against Lebanon, set to be played at the Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon, do not seem to suit the Jamaicans.

The country’s first challenge will be dealing with a different type of surface.

Speaking to media, Davis Cup captain Mel Spence said he was comfortable with the team’s acclimatisation to clay.

However, the Labanese are adept at playing with the heavy top spin required to be successful on the clay, something the hard-court experts on the Jamaican team do not have much experience contending with.

In the first game of the singles competition, Jamaica’s most experienced player, 29-year-old Phillips, will face off against 28-year-old Hassan, counting the only time Jamaica will have an older player on the court.

The year’s difference may not count for much with Hassan, ranked all the way up at 209th in the world, facing off against Phillips, who is ranked 1,778.

Bicknell, ranked the highest among the Jamaicans at 430, won’t have things his own way either, as he goes up against Habib, ranked 390. The younger Bicknell will be hoping that his 22-year-old legs will prove the undoing of the higher-ranked 25-year-old he faces.

The first doubles match of the tie on Har-Tru Court is expected to feature Bicknell and Phillips up against Habib and Hassan.

As a doubles combination, the Lebanese are also with the advantage. Hassan is ranked 1,132 as a doubles player, and Habib is ranked at 732. This does not bode well for the Jamaicans, with Bicknell ranked at 1,542 and Phillips ranked at 1,882.

A plus for the Jamaicans, however, is that the rankings may not matter as this is not an indication of how well two players may play with each other.

Tomorrow, when the reverse singles take place, Hassan plays Bicknell and Habib plays Phillips.

The equations don’t seem to get better at this point, with Hassan even further ahead of Bicknell in terms of ranking than was the case with Habib, and Phillips, again a heavy underdog.