Miller happy to be back with Davis Cup quintet
Published:Sunday | January 28, 2024 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
ONE OF Jamaica’s brightest local tennis prospects, Jeremy Miller, is elated to be back on the national team and is fine-tuning preparation for Jamaica’s Davis Cup clash against Barbados on February 3 and 4 at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre.
“It feels good to be back on the team as I’ve been trying for quite a couple years to get back on it. I was always falling short, sometimes just one win in the trials and missing out on representing Jamaica again,” he explained.
Miller, who was crowned the 2023 Innovative Amateur Tennis Classic champion, last tasted Davis Cup action in 2018.
Miller hopes the Group II elimination clash against Barbados goes in the same vein as was the case against Estonia early in 2023.
Blaise Bicknell, Daniel Azar, David Goldsmith, and Rowland Phillips round out the five-member team captained by Noel Rutherford.
“It’s super important as this tie will determine who stays in Group II and who gets demoted to Group III. I know for sure we want to go out there and give our best and try to give the home crowd something to be proud of. I know we made them proud last February and we would love to have a repeat of that,” Miller shared.
Ahead of the team’s one-week training camp, Miller believes that having all players on the same page is of paramount interest for them to play their best.
“Cohesiveness, so that we’re all on the same page and just go there with one mind, one plan. We will definitely need to buckle down, zone in and get the job done. We really need to play our best tennis in order to ensure that we stay in Group II,” said Miller.
Miller is hoping he can force his opponents into long rallies, which plays into his strengths.
“I don’t mind getting into a war of attrition. I also don’t mind exchanges some good ground strokes or tough, long rallies. So, hopefully I get a chance to get out there to showcase what I can do.”