THEY played only one match in St. Vincent, but Bermuda's two teenage Davis Cup rookies came back wiser tennis players.

Jovan Whitter and Ryan Swan, both 16-year-old students of Warwick Academy, got their chance to play a doubles rubber together in the final match of the week against Bolivia.

The two more experienced members of the team, James Collieson and Jenson Bascome, had shared the entire workload during the week, playing singles and doubles in a series of tight matches as they kept Bermuda in contention for promotion from American Zone Group IV.

But by last Saturday, with promotion chances gone and Bermuda up against the overall tournament winners Bolivia, captain Steve Bean threw the youngsters into the fray.

Taking on the world number 32 junior Alberto Sottocorno and Gonzalo Ulloa, Swan and Whitter came out firing on all cylinders and raced into a 3-1 lead. They eventually went down to a 6-3, 6-3 defeat, but the youngsters were praised by Bean and were able to draw plenty of positives from their Davis Cup debut.

Both players said that nerves had not been a problem.

"It was not as nerve-racking as I thought it would be," said Whitter. "There was no pressure. We were playing the best team in the competition.

"We went out there and played very well and were 3-1 up with Ryan serving at 40-15. I think we could easily have won that match if one or two points had gone differently."

Swan said: "We knew we had no chance of going up and we were just excited, not nervous. We were ecstatic to get a chance to play.

"We went out there relaxed and we were talking and laughing with Steve Bean. We played well against the best team in the tournament."

Swan added that the week in St. Lucia had been a valuable experience which would stand him in good stead, should he be selected for future Davis Cups.

"The Davis Cup was everything I hoped it would be and more," said Swan. "The whole experience was great.

"The level was very high quality and we were able to see what will be expected of us in the future. We learned a lot from Jenson and James and the way they behaved on and off court. They and Steve Bean were really like mentors to us.

"Jenson is a good person and on court he fights for every single point. James struggled with the heat and cramped up in the first match, but he still played a high level of tennis and when we needed him to win, he did.

"We also saw how well they carried themselves on court. Some players from other countries would shout at line judges and argue when things went wrong. But James and Jenson were very patient and just enjoyed being out there representing their country."

Whitter echoed the feelings of Swan about the senior team members.

"Jenson and James showed us the ropes," said Whitter. "We could not have asked for better role models."

He added that he fully understood the reasons that had restricted him and Swan to just one match and he had no argument with the captain.

"I went down there not expecting to play a match, but of course I was hoping to get a chance to play. All the matches were very close and while we still had a chance of going up, James and Jenson had to keep playing.

"It was a bit frustrating. But I think Steve Bean made all the right decisions. We still got a lot of experience and doing so well against the best team gave us so much confidence.

"I will be training very hard, so in future I will be able to give my team more support than I could this time."

Both players said they intended to play more doubles together in local tournaments - starting at next month's Heineken Open - with the aim of being a stronger pair for future Davis Cup tournaments.

Swan said: "We are going to try and play some doubles, so we can get more used to playing with each other, just in case we both get on the team again next year.

"It won't be easy because there will be a lot of others trying to get into the team, but now we've had this experience it would be nice to get selected again."

Bermuda's Davis Cup American Zone Group IV results: Bermuda 2 US Virgin Islands 1; Bermuda 2 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States 1; Bermuda 1 St. Lucia 2; Bermuda 2 Barbados 1; Bermuda 1 Bolivia 2. Bermuda finished third.