Jamaica lose to Uruguay; crash out of Davis Cup
Jamaica crashed out of the Davis Cup Group Two qualifier after losing 1-3 to Uruguay at Liguanea Club in New Kingston on Sunday.
With the tie delicately poised at 1-1 from Saturday’s action, Jamaica were hoping that they could gain the advantage from the doubles pair of Daniel Azar and Nicholas Gore, fresh from not competing on Saturday.
But they lost 4-6, 4-6 to Ariel Behar and Franco Roncadelli, who played on Saturday. The Uruguay pair showed no sign of tiredness, propelling Uruguay to victory and 2-1 up before the reverse singles.
Jamaica’s back was against the wall but there was hope as the next man up was the country’s best player, Blaise Bicknell, who won his rubber on Saturday.
Bicknell, with the hope of a nation riding on his back, knew very well if he lost his match, Jamaica would be knocked out.
However, the task was a huge one as while Bicknell is ranked 491st in the world, Roncadelli was way higher at 351 and he lived up to his billing as the top player in the tournament, winning all his three games.
Roncadelli, who had defeated Randy Phillips on Saturday, was also part of the victorious doubles team. He returned after a 30-minute break and saw off Bicknell in three sets, winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Bicknell lost the first set 3-6, but rallied to win the second 7-5 and broke Roncadelli early in the third set for a 2-0 advantage. But Roncadelli showed his worth, breaking back twice to win 6-4 as the match ended in two hours and 53 minutes.
The scheduled fifth game between Jamaica’s Rowland “Randy” Phillips and Joaquin Aguilar Cardoza was not needed, as Uruguay had already won the tie.
Jamaica were trying to qualify for the Davis Cup Group Two for the first time in two years, having lost to Barbados in 2024 and New Zealand in 2025, both at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in Kingston. Jamaica’s last success at this stage came in 2023, when they defeated Estonia.
Last year, Jamaica went to the wire, losing 2-3 to New Zealand. The Jamaican team came from behind twice to level the series at 2-2 but Phillips, despite winning the first set 6-3, went down 3-6 3-6 to John Loutit, which promoted the New Zealanders to Group Two.
Blaise Bicknell of Jamaica tries to return the ball during Davis Cup singles competition against Uruguay at Liguanea Club on Sunday.
