Bermuda number one Andy Bray went to bed on Friday night dreaming of an XL qualifying tie with former world number 85 Michael Russell.

But when he arrived at Coral Beach Club for his date with destiny he discovered that organisers had made an error with the original format and had redone the draw ? his opponent was now an unranked Wkwesi Williams from Barbados.

So Bray, spurred on by the frustrations of losing to doubles partner James Collieson in last year?s qualifying, gave everything in forcing his way past the 24-year-old Bajan 6-3, 6-3 to take his place for the ?dream match? against Russell in the second round.

Although Bray was then blitzed off the court 6-1, 6-0 by the former French Open quarter-finalist, who yesterday beat Mashiska Washington to earn a tie with sixth seed Razvan Sabau in the main draw, it was still a memorable day for the local player.

?I couldn?t have asked for more,? said Bray, who was hoping to team up with Williams in yesterday?s doubles qualifying but discovered there was no space for them in the draw.

?It started off being a bit of a funny day. I was getting myself psyched up to play Russell and then about ten minutes before I was due to go on, I get told I am playing someone else.

?I had to change my mindset because I knew the game was going to be winnable and after what happened last year I wasn?t going to waste my chance.?

Williams might have been celebrating his birthday on Saturday but Bray was not in the giving mood, racing to a 4-0 lead without unleashing any of his really big shots.

The Bajan, who was in the Davis Cup squad that beat Bermuda last year, seemed to be struggling with his own game at times, double-faulting with alarming regularity and making an obscene number of unforced errors for a pro.

Bray, for his part, played a sensible game, keeping the ball in and deep and actually holding back from going for some of the big winners.

Williams did begin to mix things up later in the opening set, making Bray do more of the work, although there was nothing the visitor could do to stop the local taking the first 6-3 in 40 minutes.

In bright sunshine, the best part of 150 people watched Bray do even more damage to the youngster?s confidence in the second set, racing to another 4-0 lead and making it hard for the casual observer to work out which was the touring pro and which the accountant.

The crowd were on their feet for the shot of the match, Bray stretching his lead to 5-1 after chasing down a netcord spinning off to the left and reaching down to flick an unplayable backhand winner at an almost impossibly tight angle across the net.

Although tiring slightly, Bray closed out the match 6-3 to book his tie with Russell.

Fellow local wildcard Collieson, meanwhile, had a day as wretched as Bray?s had been successful.

At 5-0 down to former XL semi-finalist Harel Levy, Collieson withdrew from the match after the injection he took on his golfer?s elbow before the match wore off.

A dejected Collieson was left unable to even serve and decided a premature end to proceedings was the best course of action.

?I just couldn?t go on,? said the Bermuda number two.

?I had been debating the night before whether it was even worth trying but I took my shot and hoped I could get through it, but it was no good.?

Bray had less than two hours to bask in the glory of being the first local wildcard to win a match against a pro in recent years and was soon back on centre court against perennial Bermuda visitor Russell, the number one qualifying seed.

After a jobsworth umpire had forced Bray to change his shirt due to an apparently over-sized Adidas logo, the local overcame two consecutive opening double faults to claim the first and his only game of the match before Russell showed the gulf between even players outside the world?s top 200 and part-timers.

In an understated masterclass. the diminutive American gave nothing away while hitting everything deep and heavy to keep Bray on the rack.

Winners were pulled out of the bag where necessary as Bray was simply badgered into submission.

?It was like a completely different sport,? joked Bray afterwards.

?There was nothing I could have done. I hit my best first serve and he sends a winner back past me before I know where I am. I?ve never played anyone like him ? even Pat Cash didn?t do things like that to me.

?It was great to play him, a really memorable experience. Playing someone like Russell is what I wanted from the XL ? and to get a win as well was just a bonus.

?It?s been a great day and now I?m looking forward to another week of watching the big boys play.?