January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Losing was good for us
Tennis players say they benefitted from Davis Cup play
The side — David Thomas, Romar Douglas, Jevon Whitter and Tony Thompson — arrived back on the island from El Salvador yesterday, without having won a set in their four matches.
But the frustration at the repeated defeats was tempered by the fact that all of them feel they have improved from the experience.
With senior pros James Collieson, Jenson Bascome and Gavin Manders all unavailable, Bermuda fielded a young and inexperienced side.
They were soundly beaten by St Lucia, Barbados, Panama and the U.S. Virgin Islands, finishing bottom of their group.
The Bajans won the group with Panama second. Both move up to Group III of the Davis Cup America's Zone.
Bermuda's 17-year-old debutant David Thomas flew into Bermuda at 2:30pm yesterday and was back on the court by 6pm taking part in the ITF junior tournament.
He said: "It was good for me to see the calibre of opponents and the standard of tennis in our group and it gives me something to work towards."
He said he was considering delaying his college application to go to tennis school and build up more ranking points.
"I want to advance my game and give Bermuda a better chance to go on to the next group up."
Romar Douglas, who at 21 was one of the senior players on the team, said Bermuda was at a disadvantage in that all the other teams had at least one player who was on a different level to the rest.
"The experience was wonderful. It's always good to play guys that are better than you.
"We didn't get good results but we all played hard and fought to the end for our country.
"Until we've got that one player that can hold the backbone of the team together we will always struggle against these teams.
"But it was good for all of us to see the level that we have to get to. Anyone can do it. Bermuda has a lot of talent but it is going to take a lot of practice and commitment and dedication to tennis."
Jevon Whitter, also 21, agreed.
Whitter, who made his Davis Cup debut at 16 and has now been in the competition four times, said he had struggled at crucial stages in each game. "I didn't feel outclassed. I'd worked hard in training but there is a difference between doing it when you are just hitting and putting it together in a match — the nerves beforehand and even on the court.
"I wasn't match tough and I was losing the big points."
Taking a sound beating hasn't deterred him from getting back into competitive tennis though. He now hopes to compete in the CAC Games.
"I hadn't played that much competitive tennis recently but playing in this tournament was a great experience. I've been bitten by the tennis bug again."
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