Bermuda suffered heartbreak against Panama at the Junior Davis Cup pre-qualifying tournament in El Salvador yesterday.

They produced their best tennis of the tournament, but it was not enough as Panama won 2-1 in a best-of-three series that went right down to the wire.

“We came so close, I felt like crying,” Steve Bean, the Bermuda coach, said.

Dylan Powell, the sole surviving member from Bermuda’s Junior Davis Cup squad, put up a good fight in the opening singles match but lost 6-2, 6-4 against Omar Caceres.

Caceres had things all his own way in the opening set, but Powell refused to roll over and nearly forced a third set after breaking his rival’s serve in the second to go up 4-3 before a series of unforced errors let Caceres off the hook.

Bermuda’s No?1 player, Luke Astride-Sterling, kept the Island’s hopes alive when he came from behind to beat Jorge Chevez 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to set up a winner-takes-all scenario in the doubles match.

With the series hanging in the balance, the local pair came up short in a 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Panama’s Caceres and Jayson Jaen.

Despite suffering their third successive loss, Bean is optimistic his players will savour victory before the tournament finishes on Saturday.

“The players and I agree that we are not leaving El Salvador without a victory,” he said.

Bermuda face US Virgin Islands today.

The Island’s hopes of progressing to next month’s Junior Davis Cup qualifying round in Roca Baton, Florida, ended earlier this week after 3-0 losses to top-seed Costa Rica and sixth-seeded Dominican Republic.