Bermuda’s young tennis hopefuls face an uphill battle in Guatemala after falling to a clinical Dominican Republic side in their opening Under-16 fixture.
Competing in the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup NAMCAM Pre-Qualifying Tournament, the Bermudian trio struggled to adapt to the high-altitude clay courts. The tone was set early as Jaden Jones fell 6-1, 6-3 to Daniel Ramirez, before Michael Collins was undone by the consistency of Miguel Baquero in a 6-2, 6-1 defeat.
With the tie already lost at 2-0, Collins and Jones teamed up for the doubles but found no relief, succumbing 6-2, 6-2 to complete a comprehensive 3-0 sweep for the Dominicans.
Veteran coach Brent Smith now faces the task of regrouping his squad ahead of their remaining group matches. With a spot in April’s final qualifying rounds in Canada on the line, the young stars must find their rhythm on the “red dirt” quickly if they are to keep their qualification dreams alive.
