By Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport 
Jamaica's Ryan Russell rips a backhand during his Davis Cup encounter against Mexico's Luis Manuel Flores at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston yesterday. Russell won 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
RYAN RUSSELL, the 20-year-old Jamaican from Montego Bay, turned the Americas Zone Group Two encounter between the hosts and highly-rated Mexico on its head yesterday with a sensational four-set win over the visitors' No. 2 player, Luis Manuel Flores.
The victory over fellow 'lefty' Flores split the opening day's singles and now makes today's doubles the probable decisive factor in a tie the Mexicans thought they could wrap up this morning at the Liguanea Club, New Kingston.
In yesterday's opening singles tie, Scott Willinsky was broken immediately by Mexico's No. 1 player, Miguel Gallardo Valles. He broke back in the eighth game to level the score at four games each but the solid counter-punching Mexican broke straight back and then held serve to win the first set.
BROKE DOWN
From then on Gallardo Valles systematically broke down Willinsky's game, first the potent serve and then the groundstrokes on the way to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 victory which ultimately highlighted the gulf between a player ranked in the 200s and one in the 1,200s.
A loss in the second singles would have all but killed any chance Jamaica had of winning the tie but Russell, who loves playing Davis Cup at the Liguanea Club, again rose to the occasion with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Flores.
Russell, following a solid game plan, kept the Mexican pinned to the baseline and simply out rallied the teenager time and time again - except for the second set glitch.
After the opening day's play, Jamaica's captain, Douglas Burke, was a happy man.
"I'll take the split. We are very happy with that," Burke said on a day in which the wind affected proceedings more than the heat.
"I thought Scott played well against Gallardo but the score didn't reflect that. Then Ryan came out ... if it needed to be five hours, it would be five hours but I think the conditions got to Flores. We wanted to make him earn every point and he was eventually broken down," Burke said.
DECISIVE
Today's doubles should be decisive and Burke is banking on the skill of Russell and experience of Karl Hale to carry the team to a 2-1 lead heading into tomorrow's reverse singles. The duo will face Daniel Langre and Victor Romero.
"We are 1-1 and we are going into the doubles very confident," he said.
Opening day hero Russell said fitness was a key factor in his victory.
"I saw he (Flores) was hurting in the second, third and fourth sets and I just tried to keep him out there and make him work real hard," Russell said.
Mexico's captain, Oliver Fernandez, was less than pleased by his team's first day performance.
"I am definitely not happy with the result today," Fernandez said at the team's hotel. "The players did not play as we expected. The doubles now are crucial but we will keep our team as it is.
"Russell is good, a good player, he got a lot of balls back ... he does not have a weapon, obviously, but he is better than Flores."
Today's doubles tie begins at the 10:00 a.m. at the Liguanea Club.
