Jamaica's Ryan Russell launches into a forehand during his Americas Zone Group Two Davis Cup singles match against Rasid Winklaar of the Netherland Antilles yesterday at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre. Winklaar won 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-2. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

THERE WAS nothing Good about Friday for the Jamaica Davis Cup team in its Americas Zone Group Two relegation clash with the Netherland Antilles at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre in Kingston yesterday.

The hosts dropped both opening singles matches at the refurbished complex off Marescaux Road and now face an almost certain drop to Group Three next year.

Jamaica's No. 2 singles player, Damion Johnson, was totally outclassed by world 296 ranked Jean-Julien Rojer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening match and then No.1 Ryan Russell suffered only his second singles loss on home soil when he was beaten 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-2 by fellow lefthander Rasid Winklaar.

Jamaica now must win today's doubles and tomorrow's reverse singles to pull off a miraculous comeback and cling to Group Two for a fourth straight year.

"We are just going to be ready, go out there tomorrow and give it our best," said disappointed Jamaica Cup captain Douglas Burke.

"In the first match, Jean-Julien just played too well and controlled the match and Damion just couldn't get going," Burke said.

"Ryan started his match really well but the youngster, Rasid, hung in there. It was a high-quality match but after the tiebreaker Ryan's game went down a little bit and Rasid showed a lot of poise."

Jamacian broken

Twenty-five-year-old Rojer pretty much dominated Johnson in an opening rubber which never reached any grea He broke the Jamaican in the second and sixth games of the first set and that set a trend for the rest of the encounter as he broke him three more times in the second and twice in the third set for a comfortable victory.

"I just tried to move him around a lot," Rojer said of his tactics yesterday. "I was also working on a few things in my game out there. I had been playing events at highe in South America - it's lighter air and faster. It's a lot slower at sea level ... slower and harder."

The second match was a superior standard as unforced errors were replaced by winners as the order of the day.

Russell, returning from a layoff from competitive tennis, recovered from 3-1 down to win the next five games and the first set.

He then broke Winklaar, 19, early in the second set and it looked like it was going to be just another fun run under the Jamaican sun for Russell, but the Curacao native fought back well and forced the set to a tiebreak.

Although Russell came back from 4-1 down to make it 4-3 in the tiebreak, that was as close as he would get as Winklaar reeled off the next three points to level the rubber at a set apiece.

Although the following two sets were tighter than the 6-2 scorelines indicate, Winklaar's steady, kicking serves and ability to run around on to his forehand proved too much for the gritty Russell.

"I thought we had a chance (to win both matches)," the Netherland Antilles' captain, Raoul Behr, said after Winklaar's win.

"I was hoping for it, for sure. The second match was definitely tougher because Ryan is tough and has a lot of experience but we played well and we played smart," Behr said.

Russell and Johnson must now shake off those defeats and bounce back for today's doubles against the likely duo of Rojer and Nick van Rosberg.

Action starts at 10:00 a.m.