The Dominican Republic’s best tennis players will be playing in the BNP Paribas Group I Las Americas Zonal Cup that opens at the modern Parque del Este tennis courts in Santo Domingo today, Friday 31 January. The World Cup qualifying event lasts until Sunday 2 February.
Dominican players will be matching Uruguay as they seek to advance to the World Group of the Davis Cup. Jose (Bebo) Hernandez (ranked 298th ATP), will face Martin Cuevas of Uruguay for the first points on the morning of 31 January.
The DR and Uruguay have met 5 times previously and Uruguay holds a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head. Uruguay have won the last three meetings between the two nations, including a 3-1 win in Uruguay in the 2013 Americas Zone Group I first round.
Victor Estrella, ranked at his personal best of 142 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the top ranked Dominican player. The other members of the DR team are Jose Olivares and William Kirkman.
The DR debuted in the Davis Cup tournaments in 1989 and has been playing in the Americas Zone for 25 years. The Uruguayans have been playing since 1931, having competed in 46 tournaments.
The DR is ranked 40th in the International Tennis Federation, while the Uruguayan team is ranked 31st.
The games began on Friday, 31 January at 10am. On Saturday, 1 February games will be played at 11am, the doubles event. The tournament closes on Sunday, 2 February with two more games at 10am.
To follow the games, see http://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie/details.aspx?tieId=100021105
For more on upcoming events, see www.dr1.com/calendar