Clarke books TT Davis Cup spot

MICHAEL CLARKE defeated Ryan Lorimar in two matches yesterday to seal the final spot on the four-member national men’s tennis team, who would participate in the American Zone Group III at El Salvador in June. The Davis Cup trials were staged yesterday with two encounters between the 15-year-old Clarke and the 21-year-old Lorimar at the Tranquillity Tennis Club, Victoria Avenue, Port of Spain.

The first game, which served off at 9 am, was a tense affair, with Clarke prevailing in three sets — 6-0, 3-6, 6-2. But the afternoon’s contest was more one-sided as Clarke, who has been playing on the professional junior circuit in the United States, romped to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Lorimar. And Clarke would join the Stone brothers Shane and Troy, and Richard Brown, in the TT lineup. The national quartet will, in the Group III qualifiers, oppose the likes of Costa Rica, Cuba, Bahamas, Haiti, Honduras, Puerto Rico and the hosts during the week-long event, with the top two advancing to the American Zone Group II.