A superb, battling performance by James Collieson was not enough to prevent Bermuda's men's tennis team from losing 3-0 to Jamaica on day two of their Davis Cup campaign in Havana yesterday. Collieson's singles rubber went to the wire, but he finally went down 2-4, 4-1, 1-4, 4-0, 6-4 to Peter Gordon in a gruelling battle which lasted a shade over two hours in the relentless sunshine.

Collieson's efforts set the tone for a much improved performance from Bermuda, who were comfortably beaten by hosts Cuba in their opening match in the American Zone Group Three tournament on Wednesday.

Donald Evans was once again beaten in straight sets, 4-2, 5-3, 4-2, by Scott Willinsky, and the Virginia-based veteran was suffering from exhaustion towards the end of the match.

Ricky Mallory and Jenson Bascome competed well in the doubles against the hard-hitting Jermaine Simmons and Elvis Henry, but were eventually beaten in a fourth-set tiebreaker, as the Jamaican duo triumphed 4-5, 4-2, 4-1, 5-4.

Collieson looked to have the beating of Gordon for much of their epic clash, particularly after winning the third set to lead by two sets to one.

Afterwards he was disappointed to have lost, after having worked himself into a winning position.

"I am not worried about my tennis, I think I'm playing pretty well,'' said Collieson. "It's just the winning of matches that's bothering me.

"I'm starting to wonder about the mental aspect and whether there's something extra I need. People say I've been unlucky, but after so many times being unlucky, maybe I've not been unlucky, maybe I need a little bit extra mentally.

"%But my tennis is definitely moving in the right direction and if I can keep on playing like I did today I'll be happy.'' Strong, gusty winds were a major factor in the match and made serving difficult and Collieson admitted his opponent had coped better with the challenge.

"I like to serve quite flat on the first serve, but to do that you need to toss higher and that was difficult in the wind,'' said the 23-year-old.

"He was able to do more with his serves and hit a few good kickers, so he was getting more free points off his serve than I was.'' Collieson started superbly and took the first set 4-2. In the second set, Gordon found top gear with his kick serve, sometimes forcing Collieson to return from above head height, and the Jamaican took the set 4-1.

Collieson dictated play from the baseline in the third set which he took 4-1, but Gordon grabbed the momentum to take the fourth set 4-0 and stormed into a 3-1 lead in the fifth.

Collieson dug deep to fight back to three and saved three match points before incessant pressure from Gordon paid off and he edged the set 6-4.

Jamaica sealed victory when Willinsky wrapped up his match against Evans in relatively straightforward fashion.

Bermuda go down fighting From Page 19 The tall Evans had some success picking off points with his main weapons -- his serve and his net play. But Willinsky hit some fine passing shots on both flanks as he seized the initiative and never let go.

The second set was a tight affair and at 3-3 and serving, Evans had a glimmer of a chance. But two dipping returns and a scorching forehand pass by Willinsky rendered three of Evans' net attacks fruitless and earned the Jamaican the break, before he served out the set, 5-3.

Mallory and Bascome again produced a sparkling performance in the doubles, but again it wasn't quite enough to overcome tough opponents.

The first set went to a tiebreaker, which the Bermudian duo won 7-4 on the back of some sharp work at the net and solid serving by both players.

The Jamaicans finally got the measure of Bascome's steady serve and dealt better with th threat of the topspin lobs which had served the Bermudians so well in the first set. Simmons and Henry took the second set 4-2 and the third 4-1, before a tight fourth set. The Bermudians fought back from 2-0 down to pull back to 2-2 after two magnificent returns by Bascome earned a break of Henry's serve.

It went with serve to 4-4, but this time the Jamaicans prevailed in the tiebreaker to take the match.

Bermuda's opponents today in their last Group B match are Bolivia, who like Bermuda have lost to Jamaica and Cuba.

A win for Steve Bean's team would earn them third place in the group and mean they would play the fourth-placed team in Group A in a play-off on Saturday. A defeat today would mean a clash with the third-place team in Group A.

Victory in the Saturday play-off would mean Bermuda will stay in Group Three for next year, while defeat would mean they would place in the bottom two of the eight-nation tournament and so be relegated. A further play-off for final position will follow on Sunday.

Ricky Mallory: The local veteran will be hoping for third time lucky when he plays doubles against Bolivia in today's Davis Cup tie.