Bolivia had a disappointing start in the first round of the Davis Cup World Group II Play-Offs, losing the first two singles matches to Georgia, this Thursday in Poland, where they are obligated to win the next three matches on Friday to advance; otherwise, they will be relegated.
A fairly young selection presented itself to face the international duel, including Juan Carlos Prado (17 years old), Agustín Cuéllar (19), Santiago Navarro (19), and Raúl García (20), all coached by Mauricio Solís.
The 2-0 advantage for the Europeans put pressure on the Bolivian team, who will have to deliver a perfect performance in the doubles match and the two singles matches on Friday.
If they succeed, they will advance to the World Group II to face one of the 12 countries that lost in the World Group I Play-Offs in September of this year.
But if they lose, they will be relegated to the Group III of America to play that phase this year.
The cement courts of the Leszno Tennis Club host the series between Bolivia and Georgia, who are facing each other for the first time in the history of the Davis Cup.
Prado opened the round against Aleksandre Bakshi. Both had a great first set, as no one gave up points until 4-4. In the next two games, they broke each other's serve and reached 5-5, eventually reaching 6-6 and going to a tiebreak.
In that instance, Bakshi was more solid and won 7-6(1).
The second set was the complete opposite of the first, as the Georgian player was totally superior and took advantage of the unforced errors of the Bolivian to win 6-1 with two service breaks.
García and Zura Tkemaladze played the second match of the day.
At the beginning of the first set, the young Bolivian showed strength, but as the minutes went by, he was overcome and ended up losing 6-2 and 6-1.
ERWIN QUISPE PERCA