Jamaica’s Davis Cup World Group Two qualifier is level at 1-1 heading into the final day against Uruguay at Liguanea Club in New Kingston, after Saturday’s singles matches.

Rowland “Randy” Phillips gave Jamaica a tough start but lost the opening singles match 3-6, 6-7 to Uruguay’s Franco Roncadelli. Blaise Bicknell then pulled Jamaica level, holding off a strong fightback from Joaquin Aguilar Cardoza to win 6-3, 3-6, 7-6.

Three matches are scheduled for today, starting with the doubles match, followed by the two remaining singles.

Daniel Azar and Nicholas Gore will represent Jamaica in the doubles against Roncadelli and Cardoza. Bicknell will then face Roncadelli, while Phillips is set to play Cardoza.

In front of a packed crowd, veteran Phillips, who recently came out of retirement, battled hard but fell in straight sets to Roncadelli, 3-6, 6-7. Roncadelli is ranked 340 in the world.

Phillips, 32, fought through the heat on the hard court and, despite loud support from the home crowd, was unable to overcome the higher-ranked Uruguayan, though his performance earned plenty of respect.

Roncadelli, wearing white shorts and a light blue top, held his opening service game after being taken to deuce by Phillips.

Phillips started slowly on serve and double-faulted while facing an early break point, falling behind 0-2 in the first set.

The crowd lifted Phillips with chants of “Let’s go Randy” as he broke back immediately with a sharp backhand passing shot to close the gap to 1-2.

He settled after that, winning eight straight points to draw level at 2-2.

Roncadelli held a tight service game to lead 3-2, before play was stopped for about five minutes when former World Netball President Molly Rhone suffered a medical emergency and was taken away in a wheelchair.

After the delay, Phillips held to make it 3-3, but Roncadelli edged ahead, breaking serve and closing out the first set 6-3.

Roncadelli again broke early in the second set to move 2-0 ahead. Phillips fought back to level the set and later led 5-4, pushing for a deciding set, but Roncadelli recovered, forced a tie-break, and won it 7-6 to take the match in two hours and five minutes.

The mood lifted around the venue when Bicknell, ranked 491, stepped onto the court to face Cardoza, ranked 591.

Bicknell came out firing, racing to a 3-0 lead and taking control with powerful groundstrokes and strong serving to claim the first set 6-3.

On paper, it looked like a physical mismatch, with the 6-foot-3 Bicknell up against the 20-year-old Cardoza, who was born in Argentina and stands 5 feet 6 inches tall.

But Cardoza showed plenty of fight. He struck the ball cleanly, served well, and pushed Bicknell hard, winning 66 per cent of his first-serve points. Bicknell, who hit two aces, won 69 per cent of his.

Cardoza turned the match around by breaking Bicknell twice to take the second set 6-3, raising concerns among the home fans about Jamaica slipping further behind.

The final set was tight, but Bicknell kept his composure in the tie-break to win 7-6, bringing Jamaica back level at 1-1 and setting up a decisive final day.

Jamaica’s Rowland “Randy” Phillips during his battle with Uruguay’s Franco Roncadelli (not in picture). (Photo: Joseph Wellington)