Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport
JAMAICA'S DAVIS Cup campaign in Uruguay was painlessly put out of its misery on Sunday when the hosts wrapped up the reverse singles in quick time for a 5-0 triumph at the Cantegril Country Club in Punta del Este.
The whitewash on red clay has, for the fourth straight year, relegated Jamaica into an Americas Zone Group Two elimination tie - this time against the Netherland Antilles and probably in Jamaica.
On Sunday, Uruguay captain José-Luis Damiani rested his stars Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Felder after jobs well done and threw back-up singles players Martin Vilarrubi and Federico Sansonetti into the fray against young Jamaicans Damion Johnson and Eldad Campbell and the results were just the same.
Disparity in talent
Vilarrubi, with a world ranking of 533, got by Johnson with relative ease in their best-of-three dead rubber, 6-1,6-4, before Sansonetti double 'donutted' Campbell 6-0, 6-0.
In the five matches over the three days, Jamaica were unable to win a single set and only 18 games in the 13 sets played.
The disparity in talent and experience was obvious with Jamaica, without a world ranked player, going up against a team with three men ranked near or better than 500 (Cuevas 245, Felder 318 and Vilarrubi).
However, despite that, Jamaica captain Douglas Burke said the major difference between the teams was the ability of each on the red clay.
"They (the Uruguayans) have grown up on this surface," Burke said during the tie.
"For our guys it's something new. We came over here early to prepare on the surface but you can't make up for a lifetime of experience in a few days," he said.
"We were never quite comfortable out there and lacked the feel for moving and recovering on red clay. So, we were often off balance," Burke said of the surface which requires a lot of "sliding" to the ball.
Since entering Group Two in 2004, Jamaica have played two ties on clay and were swept 5-0 in both.
With the South American rout behind them, the Jamaicans now have to quickly regroup and focus on the crucial tie against the eastern Caribbeans from April 6-8.
While Johnson and Campbell gained "valuable experience" the hard way in Uruguay, Burke will be hoping the island's top player, Ryan Russell, will emerge from his self-imposed competitive tennis exile and Damar Johnson will have fulfilled college obligations at University of Louisville in time to lead the team's fight to avoid the drop to Group Three.
Uruguay 5 Jamaica 0
M. Felder def. D Johnson 6-0, 6-0, 6-1.
P. Cuevas def. E. Campbell 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
Cuevas/Felder def. E. Henry/J. Smith 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
M, Vilarrubi def. Johnson 6-1, 6-4.
F. Sansonetti def. Campbell 6-0, 6-0.
