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Pacific Oceania loses to Barbados, relegated to Group III
The Pacific Oceania team poses for a group photo before their Davis Cup Group II tie against Barbados in Bridgetown, Barbados this past weekend. At left is the CNMI’s Colin Sinclair. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Pacific Oceania has been relegated to Group III in the Davis Cup competition after losing its Group II tie against Barbados, 3-2, this weekend in the National Tennis Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The hosts clinched the tie yesterday after their No. 2 Kaipo Marshall beat Pacific Oceania’s No. 2 Clement Mainguy of Vanuatu, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Earlier, Barbados forced a do-or-die second singles after their top singles player Darian King defeated Pacific Oceania’s No. 1 Colin Sinclair of the CNMI, 7-6, 6-3, to even the tie at 2-2.
Pacific Oceania pulled ahead, 2-1, of Barbados after Sinclair and Brett Baudient of the Cook Islands defeated King and Matthew Foster Estwick, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5, in the doubles.
Last Saturday, Barbados drew first blood when King didn’t allow Mainguy to celebrate his 20th birthday with a win after beating him, 6-4, 6-0, in an hour and 11 minutes.
Pacific Oceania, however, responded quickly with Sinclair routing Marshall, 6-2, 6-1.
Last August, Pacific Oceania returned to Group II after topping the 2022 Asia/Oceania Group III Davis Cup Event in Tay Ninh, Vietnam.
Entering the tie ranked No. 74 in the world, Pacific Oceania beat No. 69 Vietnam in the finals not only to get a promotion to the Group II Play-Offs in 2023 but also take the No. 1 place in the positional Play-Offs.
Vanuatu’s Clement Mainguy gave Pacific Oceania a 1-0 lead after defeating Linh Giang Trinh, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the opening singles.
Vietnam, however, equalized when Nam Hoang Ly, who is ranked No. 344 in the world, got the better of the CNMI’s Colin Sinclair, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
In the deciding doubles, Sinclair teamed up with Cook Islands’ Brett Baudinet and outlasted Ly and Quoc-Khanh Le, 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-3.
