Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
RUSSELL
JAMAICA BEGIN their quest for Davis Cup qualification against the Dominican Republic this morning at the Liguanea Club, starting at 10:00.
Ryan Russell, Jamaica's number one ranked player, is joined by teammates Damar Johnson, Scott Willinsky and Jermaine Smith.
Russell will start the quest against Victor Estrella. In the second game of the day, Willinsky will take on the Dominican Republic's number two seed.
While the Dominican Republic will be fielding a team ranked 45th in the world, the Jamaicans, ranked 68th, are fancied by coach Douglas Burke, who believes his team stands a fair chance.
"They are a solid and strong team," he said. "Our team is very confident with home court advantage and all that so I think we'll do well," said Burke
Players from either side know each other well, playing on the ATP tour.
The Dominicans boast the same team that was knocked out of the final round of the group stage against Mexico last year.
Jamaica also lost to the Mexicans in the first round last year and had to play-off to remain in the group for this year's tournament.
While being cagey about revealing strategy, Burke said what he knew about the Dominicans might be of help to his team.
"We have determined the game styles against those guys. Both teams know each other fairly well so they're no real secret it's a matter of getting out there and performing," he said.
