From left: Randy Phillips, Blaise Bicknell
Singles victories from Rowland “Randy” Phillips and Blaise Bicknell gave hosts Jamaica a 2-0 lead over Estonia after day one of their group two Davis Cup tie at the Eric Bell National tennis Centre on Saturday.
The day’s first match of the tie saw Jamaica’s Rowland “Randy” Phillips dominate Estonia’s top ranked player Kristjan Tamm 6-1, 6-1 in just one hour to give the hosts the lead.
“Very solid and consistent on my part,” said Phillips on his performance after the match.
Phillips noted that he did not expect such a one-sided match on paper as he is currently ranked 1387 in the ATP rankings while Tamm is much higher at 663.
“It went a lot better than expected. He’s a tough opponent and maybe he didn’t play his best today but I took advantage of my opportunities,” he said.
“I think the atmosphere unsettled him. The crowd helped me out a lot and gave me energy,” he added.
With Jamaica hosting a Davis Cup tie for the first time since 2007, Phillips also spoke about what it meant to play at home.
“Extremely special. It’s a dream come true. Looking over and seeing my family and friends after points kept me locked in and focused for sure,” Phillips said.
With Phillips already in the win column, it was time for Blaise Bicknell, Jamaica’s highest ranked player at number 769 in the ATP rankings, to take the court against Kenneth Raisma who is ranked number 1640.
It was the Estonian who was in the ascendancy early, racing out to a quick 3-0 lead before taking the first set 6-4.
Bicknell was not done, however, and rallied to take the second set by a similar score before overwhelming his Estonian counterpart in the third, winning 6-0 and securing the lead for the Jamaicans heading into Sunday. The match lasted an hour and 46 minutes.
Jamaica has a chance to clinch the tie on Sunday when Phillips and Bicknell take on Raisma and Jurgen Zopp in doubles.
The 34-year-old Zopp, who retired from professional tennis in 2020, achieved a career high ATP ranking of 71 back in 2012 and reached the third round of the French Open in 2018.
The match gets underway at 1:00pm (2:00pm ECT) and can be viewed on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.
Sinner revels in 'special feeling' after confirming year-end number one ranking
Jannik Sinner says it is a "special feeling" to confirm the year-end number one spot following his Shanghai Masters semi-final win.
Sinner is the first Italian to end a calendar year as number one, having clinched the top ranking with a 6-4 7-5 win over Tomas Machac.
He will face Novak Djokovic in his maiden Shanghai final, and his fourth consecutive showpiece, though he lost the most recent in Beijing to Carlos Alcaraz last week.
Sinner (2023-24) has become only the third player in the Open Era to reach seven or more ATP event finals on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2004-07 and 2014-2015) and Novak Djokovic (2011-13 and 2015-2016).
Sinner, who has 64 wins under his belt this season, is the 18th player to end the year as the top-ranked player and said he has fulfilled a childhood dream in doing so.
"It's amazing. It's something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the number one," Sinner told Sky Sports.
"Now having the year-end, it's also a different and special feeling.
"It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around — the family and friends and also a big credit to my team."
Djokovic hoping 'stern' Fritz test is ideal preparation for Sinner showdown
Novak Djokovic expressed his relief at reaching the Shanghai Masters final, saying his win over Taylor Fritz pushed him to his limits on Saturday.
Djokovic kept his hopes alive of claiming a 100th tour-level title with a battling 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the American after overcoming a hip issue at the end of the second set.
The 37-year-old required a medical timeout in the closing stages of his almost two-hour-long battle but returned to the court to reach his fifth showpiece match in Shanghai.
In doing so, Djokovic surpassed Andy Murray (four) for the outright most finals reached at the event, while also extending his unbeaten run against Fritz to 10 matches.
But the 24-time grand slam champion acknowledged the challenges he faced against Fritz, who threatened to take the encounter the distance.
"It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament," said Djokovic.
"At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover, and I had some issues here and there on the court, physically, yesterday and today. But I managed to overcome it.
"It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing probably the best tennis of his life coming off a grand slam final, and he's playing really well, particularly on this surface.
"He's serving big, so I knew it was going to be a big test for me. I did not want to get to a third set, and I'm just glad to overcome in two.”
The Serbian's victory set up a meeting with world number one Jannik Sinner, who beat Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 in the other semi-final.
It will be the pair's first meeting since their final four clash at the Australian Open earlier this year, a contest Sinner would go on to win his maiden grand slam title.
But having performed well at his first tournament since his US Open exit, Djokovic is hoping to join Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer in the 100 club against a player he described as "the best in the world."
"I came to Shanghai after five years of not playing in China, the place where I've always had great success, both in Shanghai and Beijing," said Djokovic.
"[I've won] many titles, had great battles and great performances. I’ve said it many times, the support that I get here is tremendous, and I'm very grateful.
"That creates an energy that keeps me going, keeps me running, so I did come here definitely with a vision and a desire to get to the final and fight for a 100th title.
"I get that chance against the best player in the world, and let's see what happens."
CONCACAF President to visit Jamaica next week
President of the governing body of football in the region, CONCACAF, Victor Montagliani, will be visiting Jamaica starting Wednesday October 16, 2024 for two days.
On his visit to Jamaica he will meet with the President of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, the Prime Minister of Jamaica The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, and also the Minister of Sport, The Honorable Olivia Grange.
Montagliani will also watch some matches in the Jamaica Premier League.
“We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani to Jamaica. This is a momentous moment for us,” Ricketts said.
“The last time he was here was for the FIFA Football Summit in Montego Bay in 2018. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with CONCACAF,” he added.
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