Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport
IT WASN'T always pretty, it certainly wasn't always dry, but at the end of the day, it was mission accomplished for the Jamaica tennis team.
For the third straight year, captain Douglas Burke's side was forced into an Americas Zone Group Two relegation battle and this time, against Guatemala at the Tryall Club in Hanover, it won 3-2.
Ryan Russell, as is his wont, was the star playing close to his home base in Montego Bay.
MUCH-NEEDED POINTS
The spunky left-hander waltzed through both of his singles rubbers and the doubles, with Jermaine Smith, to collect the three points required to stay in Group Two and relegate the Central Americans back to the Cup netherworld known as Group Three.
Russell is the axis upon which this team revolves but the contributions of Smith, second singles player Damion Johnson and even back-up Eldad Campbell should not be underestimated.
ENNIS ROLLER-COASTER
'Giant' Smith is the equivalent of a tennis roller-coaster when he's high, he's very high and when he's low ...
However, last Saturday, after a shaky start, Smith became the dominant force on the court, with Russell, against the feisty Tweedledee and Tweedledum combination of Manuel Chavez and Luis Perez-Chete.
Young Johnson, a Texas Junior College student, dropped his Cup debut singles rubber to Cristian Paiz, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, but the sting he took out of Paiz's legs cannot be underestimated as the latter was battered by Russell the following day.
Campbell played a rubber of no significance against the impressive 19-year-old Israel Morales and lost 6-4, 6-1.
Still, the hard-hitting 17-year-old Wolmer's schoolboy is considerably more than just a Cup prospect and the experience could prove invaluable to his development.
With the likes of Damar Johnson and Dominic Pagon in the college wings and unavailable due to school commitments, the future looks rosy for Jamaica, but it would be nice to play on sultry April days for promotion rather than demotion.
