Jamaica's Damion Johnson plays a backhand during his singles match against Guatemala's Cristian Paiz on Saturday. Paiz won 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. - Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer

Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

JAMAICA'S DAVIS Cup team flies out today for its Americas Zone Group Two match against Uruguay and what appears to be certain doom at the hands of the hosts on their red clay courts.

Without the services of the island's No. 1 player and Cup stalwart, Ryan Russell, who is on a tennis sabbatical while he ponders his future in the game, the green, black and gold charge will be led by youngsters Damion Johnson, 21, and Eldad Campbell, 18, who have a combined total of two Cup matches between them - and they were dead rubber losses at that.

Facing the four-man Jamaica team, which also includes veterans Jermaine 'Giant' Smith and Elvis Henry, will be a fired up Uruguay team which boasts three players ranked among the world's top 550.

Even ever-optimistic Davis Cup captain Douglas Burke concedes the odds are stacked tremendously high against his team, and another date with an elimination tie from Group Two looms.

"I always go into Davis Cup ties optimistic," Burke said on Thursday.

"However, this will be a really tough challenge and I don't have huge expectations.

"What it will be is an investment in the future, and I am expecting the guys to acquit themselves well. Damion has been playing superbly in the United States and was the Junior College player of the year there last season," Burke said. "Eldad's been working hard, while he waits on a scholarship in the United States and Jermaine has kept himself pretty sharp in Philadelphia and will factor in the doubles and maybe even the singles."

To help the team acclimatise to the clay, Burke will have it on the Punta del Este courts for six days of build-up rather than the usual three, but even he concedes that is unlikely to help the cause.

"You can't compare six days to a lifetime on clay (like the Uruguayans) but it will all be great experience and hold us in good stead for the future," he said.

College duties

The captain would certainly liked to have had Damar Johnson and Dominic Pagon to call on for the Uruguay assignment, but college duties in the U.S. ruled them out.

However, the greatest loss is Russell who has been the anchor of the team for six years.

"We will certainly miss Ryan but, after about eight months off, he's just not in competition mode," Burke said. "I have the utmost respect for him. He has given so much and carried such a load in the Davis Cup for us. I hope he will be available for our second tie, but that's purely up to him and what he wants to do with his future."

Even at full strength, Jamaica would be hard pressed to avoid the relegation play-offs again as looking across the net at the visitors will be the likes of world No. 226 Pablo Cuevas, Marcel Felder (322) and Martin Vilarrubi (521).

The winner of the tie, which starts next Friday, will advance to the Group Two semi-finals where they will meet either Ecuador or the Netherland Antilles while the losers of the opening round ties will fight it out to avoid the drop to Group Three.