J'cans hunt Davis Cup promotion
A five-man team comprising Dominic Pagon, non-playing captain, Rowland 'Randy' Phillips, Dimitri Bird, Duainme Miller, and Marcus Malcolm will leave the island tomorrow to represent Jamaica in the 2018 Americas Zone, Group 3, Davis Cup competition, which will take place at the Costa Rica Country Club from May 28 to June 2.
Eight other teams will be participating. They are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Panama, and Paraguay. The teams will compete in two Pools-A and -B on a round-robin basis. The top-seeded nations are Paraguay and Honduras, and they will be placed in opposite pools prior to the draw on Sunday.
The winner of Pool A will then meet the runner-up in Pool B and the winner of Pool B will meet the runner-up in Pool A. The two teams who come out on top will be promoted to Group 2 in 2019.
Jamaica's captain said yesterday that he expected his team to do well and qualify for Group 2 next year. "We came very close last year and were within one game of being promoted. We would really like to make it this year.
"Preparation has gone well," he said, "and the players are confident." Phillips, who has been competing in several tournaments overseas recently, is expected to play at No.1 for Jamaica.