The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas Davis Cupper Kevin Major Jr opened his 2019 season with a big victory in the men’s singles final at the BMW Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

Major Jr, playing as the No.8 seed, captured the title at the Pembroke Lakes Tennis Club in Pembroke Pines, Florida with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 decision over No.4 seed Jack Vance.

“It was cool because the only guy I lost to last year, I played him this time and I beat him in straight sets,” Major Jr told The Tribune. “So that felt pretty good. “I wasn’t playing with a lot of confidence or my best tennis but, as the tournament went on, everything started to fall into place for me.”

It was Major Jr’s first professional tournament for the year. He last played in December where he lost in the third round of qualifying at the Dominican Republic F3 Futures in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“Being the first tournament for the year, my performance was much better than anticipated,” Major Jr said.

In advancing to the final, Major prevailed with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) decision over No.3 seed Jibril Nettles.

In the quarter-final, he pulled off a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Andrew Liakhovych.

Major Jr came out of the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over No.10 seed George Davis and in the round of 32.

He blanked Aaron Rittberger 6-0, 6-0.

And in the round of 64, Major Jr pulled of a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Ramazan Nursev.

The tournament was a Region 8 played on a hard court surface.

Major Jr was named to the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s team for the Davis Cup along with Donte Armbrister, Justin Lunn, Baker Newman and Philip Major Jr.

The team will be coached by Marvin Rolle, but they are still waiting for the date and location for the Americas Zone II tie to be released by the Davis Cup organisation.

Major Jr, 23, last played for the Bahamas in 2016. It was his fourth straight year on the team since he made his debut in 2013. However, he didn’t participate on the team in 2017 and 2018.

In the meantime, he is hoping that he can get into a few tournaments in Mexico in March as he continues his pro career.

“It’s still early in the year. This is just my first tournament, but I intend to play a full schedule, so it was good to get my first tournament under my belt,” he summed up.

“It was pretty cool. I just have to keep going from here,” Major Jr added.