DAVIS CUP HISTORY is about to be served up here at home.
That, and a good dose of revenge.
Just one more victory is all that separates Barbados from its first ever Americas Group II final after El Salvador’s doubles side retired hurt yesterday, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead heading into today’s final day at the National Tennis Centre.
Mere moments after dynamic duo Darian King and Haydn Lewis wrapped up the third set, El Salvador no.1 Marcelo Arevalo finally succumbed to a lingering back injury while trailing 6-2, 4-6, 6-7(9) alongside brother Rafael.
It was the rather unfortunate finish to a doubles match that was so tightly-contested between two rivals who are meeting for the third time in five years.
But Barbados won’t be concerned with how the win comes, just once it comes, as the visitors have taken the last two ties in El Salvador.
“Of course it’s a good feeling, but the job is not done yet,” said local captain Kevin Yarde. “It feels good though because this is the situation we wanted to be in.”
They almost found themselves in a situation of a different kind though, having meekly dropped the first set while going down an early break in the third.
However, the home town heroes rallied behind a supportive crowd, breaking Marcelo via return passes from both King and Lewis to battle back from a 3-0 hole.
And they still very nearly gave the break back, with Lewis falling into a 15-40 hole while serving to send the set into a tiebreak.
But the big-hitting lefty came up big when it mattered most, saving both set points with a huge ace up the tee and another service winner, then setting up King for an easy smash with a kick serve.
The ensuing tiebreak was no different from the set itself as neither team gave an inch while trading points in a gripping back and forth affair.
Both sides even failed to capitalise on a pair of set points, until El Salvador blinked first when Rafael double-faulted on the unlikeliest of foot-fault calls on Barbados’ third set point.
“I was a little surprised when I heard the call, but also very happy,” Yarde said.
But insult was quickly followed by injury for the visitors as Marcelo never re-entered the game following the break while clutching his back in pain.
To make matters worse, the El Salvador no.1 is scheduled to take the court first today against King to keep the tie alive.
The visitors had employed a tactic of staying back on the return, and that seemingly threw off the dynamic duo, who had clearly problems putting away first volleys.
Lewis and King eventually adjusted in the second set, taking advantage of a Marcelo double fault when King sneaked in for a timely smash.
That was just one of five straight breaks of serve, until Lewis eventually held his nerve with two huge aces up the tee and another pair of equally big service winners.
