Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

DAMION JOHNSON will kick off Jamaica's 2007 Davis Cup campaign today when he faces Uruguay's Marcel Felder in the opening singles rubber of their Americas Zone Group Two tie in Punta del Este.

In the day's second rubber, fellow Jamaican Cup novice Eldad Campbell will meet the hosts' number one player, Pablo Cuevas, on the red-clay courts of the Cantegril Country Club, about an hour and a half outside of the national capital, Montevideo.

Johnson, 21, and Campbell, 18, have played a mere two Davis Cup matches between them - both losses in dead rubbers - while the Uruguayans boast plenty of Cup experience and world rankings of 245 (Cuevas) and 318 (Felder).

Confident

However, ever-optimistic Jamaica team captain, Douglas Burke, is confident his young charges will acquit themselves well in their first true Cup tests.

"We are feeling good. We are in good spirits and confident," Burke said after yesterday's Cup draw. "We are well prepared as we have had a good week of practice and this is Davis Cup and nothing can be taken for granted.

"The courts are in great condition and you should be able to attack on them a bit. The weather is cooler than what we are used to, so that could also help us," he said.

Following today's singles will be tomorrow's doubles which should pit Jamaican veterans Jermaine Smith and Elvis Henry against Cuevas and Felder.

The reverse singles will be played on Sunday with Johnson facing Cuevas in the first clash and Campbell taking on Felder in the final match.

Singles action begins at 4:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. Ja time) each day while tomorrow's doubles will begin at 6:00 p.m.