Maginley eager to play in Davis Cup

Antigua & Barbuda’s number one ranked Davis Cup player, Jody Maginley, is eager to represent his country in the prestigious competition alongside three of the country’s other top players.
Maginley, who recently turned pro, said competition in the Davis Cup has been one of his lifelong dreams.
“It’s always a dream to play for your country. I’ve never played Davis Cup and for some people, Davis Cup is even better than playing Grand Slam and it’s just the pride of playing for your country and it can’t be replaced by anything. I wanted to play junior Davis Cup when I was young so I am excited this year to play,” he said.
“I know of other players who wanted to play but just couldn’t because of different situations but as far as I know, it’s the best team they have put out so I am happy,” he added.
Maginley has been selected alongside the experienced pair of Kevin Gardner and Carlton Bedminister and junior player Cordell Williams Jr for this year’s Davis Cup.
Hoping that his experience on the pro circuit could benefit the team, Maginley said it has been a learning curve.
“There are guys who have been playing for years that are still playing at this level which, sometimes could be discouraging but for me, it’s encouraging because I like to know that I am playing against guys who have been on the tour for years and I am doing well in my first couple of months,” the player said.
“People are very negative about professional tennis. People always say and especially in college, if you don’t go to a good college you can’t play professional tennis and if you weren’t good as a junior then you can’t play so I always knew how tough it was,” he added.
The Antiguan said he will continue to work at his game at that level.
“From January until now, the first six months, was basically about playing a lot of tennis, getting used to the pro ball and playing the games that I want to play to be successful not at this level but at the higher level so the first six months was just about playing the right way and now it’s more about getting my ranking, getting my foot in the door so I can play the higher level tournaments,” Maginley said.
Antigua & Barbuda’s’ leg of the competition is slated to serve off on July 12.
The Antigua & Barbuda Tennis Association (ABTA) had said it is hoping that the Ministry of Sports and by extension, the government, will come to its rescue and provide the EC $17,000 deficit required to fully cover all costs associated with the country’s participation in the Davis Cup.