By Morissa Lindsay
Not even the unbearable heat will stop either Barbados or Ireland’s players when they face off against each other in the historic first round World Group ll Davis Cup tie to be played tomorrow at the National Tennis Centre in Wildey.
Barbados’ number two seed Matthew Foster-Estwick will play first against Ireland’s number one Simon Carr. This was decided during today’s press conference and draw held at the Radisson Aquatica Hotel and conducted under the supervision of referee Roberto Perez of Spain.
Two singles matches will be contested tomorrow on the opening of competition commencing at 11 a.m. followed by the other encounter between national tennis ace Darian King against Ireland number two Osgar O’Hoisin in the afternoon. On Saturday, King and Haydn Lewis will team up in doubles against O’Hoisin and Conor Gannon while the reverse singles will follow if it comes down to that between the two countries.
Foster- Estwick confidently assured he was ready to give the home side a good start. Speaking about how he feels to be first up on court to compete, the Bajan number two said, “I am feeling pretty good. It has been a good week of training and I had a good set of preparation so overall I am ready to play.”
Meanwhile his singles opponent Carr is also feeling confident. “We are all feeling good both myself and the team and we are looking forward to this Davis Cup tie against the experienced Barbados side, so we are looking forward to get going.”
It will be an interesting battle between the two men given that Foster-Estwick does not have a singles’ ranking but the Irish Carr does at 767 in the world. On the other hand, King is ranked 868 in singles which is to be expected, given that he has not played on the international circuit for some time. His opponent O’Hoisin is ranked 811 but ability-wise the Barbadian is certainly capable of winning he encounter.
Meanwhile, Foster-Estwick’s world unranked status does not mean he cannot cause an upset. And given that this year he has been on the International Tennis Federation Futures circuit playing against top 500 players in the world, this should be a boost to his confidence going into the matchup against Carr.
The 25-year-old Foster- Estwick who holds a BS in Kinesiology and a Masters in Sports Administration, deservingly earned his place to be the number two ranked for Barbados having finished runner-up to King last year December in the Barbados Tennis Association’s Top 8 Invitational.
Even though King won in straight sets at that time, Foster- Estwick certainly sent a message that he deserves the number two spot left vacant by the veteran Lewis who occupied that position for a long time over the years. In the Top 8 Foster- Estwick came up against a competitive field of players that also included fellow Davis Cup teammates Kaipo Marshall and Xavier Lawrence. That perhaps made life easier for the national selectors including Barbados Davis Cup captain Damien Applewhaite to go with Foster-Estwick.
With this unprecedented heat affecting Barbados, captain Applewhaite explained that because his players are accustomed to the hot weather conditions, they are not concerned at all going into the tie.
“We are from here so we are very used to this weather. Our practice times were scheduled at the times we play on the match days so we are ready for tomorrow and Saturday,” Applewhaite explained.
He added: “We have played in hotter weather across the world so there hasn’t been any major complaints about the hydration in the camp. We have remained
hydrated throughout the week so we are ready.”
Ireland captain Conor Niland admitted that Barbados was a bit warm but said his team is ready to do battle. “We have had a great week. It is warm but these guys are on the road 30 weeks a year and we train in Spain and the United States, so we are accustomed to heat as tennis players in the best of three sets. So, we are looking forward to get going tomorrow and our number one and two are based on rankings so we are looking forward to the tie.”
President of the Barbados Tennis Association Dr Raymond Forde and Vice-president Junior King were in attendance for the draw. Forde said he expects the tie to be competitive as spectators will also be allowed to watch the matches over the two days.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
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