Compliments of the Nation Newsby BERNARD BABB June 2006

A FIVE-MEMBER TEAM will represent Barbados in Davis Cup tennis competition in El Salvador, starting on Wednesday.

Barbados will contest Group Four in the Americas zone along with St Lucia, Bermuda, the United States Virgin Islands, Panama and the OECS.

The team is being coached by non-playing captain Kevin Yarde and includes Russell Moseley, Damien Applewaite, Michael Date and Australia-based Haydn Lewis.

Competition is being played on red clay at the Maya Country Club in San Salvador and runs from June 14-18.

The Barbadian squad completed training sessions over the weekend and coach Yarde said they were not daunted by a lack of available clay courts on the island.

"We have a good squad of talented players and I think they will be able to make the adjustments ... we have about two days to get used to the clay," Yarde said.

The players are not new to Davis Cup play, having been on previous squads, and represent the current crop of the island's leading players.

From the glory days of competing in Group 2 in the 1980s, Barbados has been languishing in Group 4 among the weaker teams in the Americas for more than five years, and the squad is seeking to elevate the country to Group 3 this year.

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Picture this... the crisp coolness of early morning, in the undergrowth frogs and crickets cling to the illusion of night, in the treetops melodic birds welcome the warming sun. Feet thud energetically on grass or hard court and the thwack thwack of ball against racquet announces the first game of the day.

	At luxury tennis retreats, hotels, villas and apartments, throughout the Caribbean you will find accommodation with courts, ideally suited to groups or individuals coming to play. If tennis is your game, a tennis holiday in the Caribbean is a must.
In Barbados tennis courts can be found throughout the island and tennis is played competitively at all levels. BARBADOS' latest sporting prospect intends to seriously pursue his dream of making an impression on the international tennis world.
	Haydn Lewis, a 19-year-old left-hander and one of the island's most promising junior tennis players in recent years, has turned professional and will pursue his career from the Australia-based camp of coach Peter Smith. Right now I have an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking of 1223 but I hope to be among the Top 600 in the world by the end of 2005," Lewis told WeekendSport. < Read more >
Tennis real estate in Barbados is plentiful, most notable is Sugar Hill, the magnificent vision of David and John Lloyd.
	Sir Cliff and David Lloyd (serving) partner in the Sir Cliff Richard Invitational Tennis Exhibition held Sunday 13th February 2005 at the David & John Lloyd Centre at Sugar Hill.

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