Michael Russell will be hoping it's a case of deja vu when he tackles the XL Capital Bermuda Open next week.

The pint-sized American reached the semi-finals of the Coral Beach tournament last year before finally falling to beaten finalist David Sanchez.

The Island tournament marked the middle of a purple patch for Russell, the highlight of which came during his appearance at the French Open at Roland Garros in May.

After seeing off Nicolas Mahut, Sergi Bruguera and Xavier Malisse the 23-year-old came up against the formidable Gustavo Kuerten in the last 16.

Russell came within a point of victory over the then world number one, losing out in an amazing five setter, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 1-6.

"That was unbelievable," he said of the clash. "I played qualifying and then a couple of days later I found myself playing on Centre Court against Guga (Kuerten) and almost winning that match.

"It was an amazing feeling. A lot of times I thought about that as a little kid growing up, playing on Centre Court at the French Open - it was really neat."

Not resting on his laurels, he went on to become the first American to qualify for four different Grand Slams in succession.

"Overall, it was a great year. I started about 165, 170 (in the rankings) and I finished at 85. It was a big jump for me," he said.

Russell is the first to admit he is not yet the finished article, but that is something he uses to drive him on.

"I feel like I'm still improving a lot, every time I play," he said. "Learning different things and being more comfortable on the court and definitely more comfortable on tour playing the different guys."

As so many players say, there is a fine line between being successful and winning Grand Slams, but Russell believes he is heading in the right direction.

"It's still tough mentally out there. Everybody can hit a good ball nowadays, that's why you see so many of the top players losing earlier than what they used to," he said.

"Everyone is good. You see (Pete) Sampras or another top guy lose to someone ranked 60 and people say `How can he lose to that guy?'

"All of a sudden, eight months later that guy who was 60 is now 20. Sometimes people do not give the guys who are still coming up and still getting there enough credit.

"It's tough, everyone is hungry and everyone's looking to beat everyone else."

There will be plenty of big names seeking to beat each other next week and Russell is looking forward to a tournament for which he has a real fondness.

"I like to play on clay a lot. I have the most fun on clay because I can use my speed a lot more and can use the whole court, it's not just serving," he said.

"Last year was my third year but that was my best performance. I had a great time.

"I think I was in form and because of the conditions and the atmosphere I was real comfortable playing in Bermuda.

"I came through qualifying and that was tough. The guy I beat (Nicolas Thomann) beat (Andre) Agassi the next week."

It was the fact he had to do it the hard way that led to his success, Russell believes.

"I got through some tough matches in qualifying and by the time I got to the main draw I was ready to go," he said. "I got through a couple more good matches and I was ready to kick some butt."

Self-confident without being over-confident, Russell looks no further than himself when asked who might be the last man standing come next Sunday.

"I think (my chances) are pretty good," he said. "I always rate my chances pretty high, especially on the clay court. Just because I never give up on any point and in order to beat me a guy is going to have to hit a lot of winners and stay out there a long, long time."

Russell's rivals have been warned.