Bermuda’s rising tennis talents have faced a second consecutive day of frustration at the ITF World Junior Tennis campaign, as the boys’ team fell to a comprehensive defeat against Honduras in Santa Tecla.
Following a testing opening day for the girls, attention in Group C turned to the young Gombey Warriors, who found the going equally difficult against a clinical Honduran side. Honduras wasted no time asserting their physical and tactical authority on the hard courts in this primary regional gateway for Under-14 prospects.
The Central American side took an immediate lead through Gerardo Zuniga, who delivered a powerful baseline performance to defeat Bermuda’s Trystan Thompson 6-0, 6-1. The defeat left the Bermudian youngsters with a mountain to climb early in the morning session.
The deficit was doubled in the second singles rubber as Sebastian Eduardo Flores Nieto squared off against Manuel Maldonado. Despite Maldonado’s efforts to extend the rallies, he was unable to overcome the consistency of Flores Nieto, who secured a 6-1, 6-1 win to clinch the tie for Honduras with a match to spare.
With the overall result decided, Honduras maintained their momentum into the doubles. The pairing of Mateo Lagos and Gerardo Zuniga proved too coordinated for Riley Maybury and Trystan Thompson, closing out a 6-2, 6-0 win to complete the 3-0 sweep.
Despite the setback, the Bermudian squad remains focused on long-term development goals. The team will look to regroup quickly before their final group fixtures as they aim to secure their first points of the qualifying event.
