Jamaica Davis Cup captain backs team to defeat Kiwis
Published:Sunday | December 22, 2024 | 12:14 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
CAPTAIN of Jamaica’s Davis Cup team, Noel Rutherford, says with the current pool of players performing well on the circuit he’s confident that they can get the better of the New Zealand team in their upcoming tie set for February 1-2, 2025 at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre.
“Right now, our guys are playing good tennis and they’re confident each time they step on the court. The ball is round and on that day, if you’re playing well, anything can happen. Therefore, I have a lot of faith in our guys,” Rutherford said.
After suffering a 3-2 defeat to Caribbean counterparts Barbados earlier this year, the Jamaicans were relegated to Group 3 of the Davis Cup.
However, the team was given a lifeline due to a recent restructuring of the competition, which gave a fourth qualifying spot to the Americas region. Jamaica, the highest-ranked team that did not remain in Group 2, secured the opening.
According to Rutherford, following the defeat to Barbados the team went back and studied film which he hopes will help in correcting their mistakes.
“Barbados is history, as we want to look to the future and to the upcoming tie against New Zealand. I’m sure the team learnt a lot from Barbados. We went back to the drawing board and I’m sure they learnt a lot that can help them in the upcoming tie,” he believes.
While he hasn’t yet confirmed the squad that will face New Zealand, Rutherford shared that he’s pleased that “Mr Davis Cup”, Rowland Phillips, has opted to reverse his retirement decision.
“Well Randy Phillips is back on the team. He had retired but came back. We still have a long way to go and I can’t say for sure the exact team as there’s still a long way to go and I think closer to the tie I’ll be able to say more about the squad. I still need to look at the players and see where their levels are and take it from there,” he noted.
With just over a month before the tie begins, Rutherford shared that based on what he has seen in the preparation phase they are all ready to represent the country well.
“There’s still more than a month to go so I need the time to look at them. They’re all in training, playing tournaments and getting themselves ready. All of our players are committed to the programme and I’m sure they’re ready to give of their best,” Rutherford said.