Bermuda aren't Davis Cup champions yet.

They just played like it.

Summoning courage from some vast store, Ricky Mallory and Donald Evans yesterday powered their way to singles victories over Costa Rica in the American Zone Group IV championship before a boisterous crowd at the Southampton Princess.

Despite a loss to the visitors in the doubles match that followed, Bermuda won the tie 2-1 and all but assured themselves a move up to Group III next year.

And speaking of Group III, third-round play continued yesterday, with Panama remaining the only unbeaten team among the eight countries following their win over Antigua.

But the day belonged to Bermuda, in particular Mallory, who used inspiration from his late parents to hold off Fernando Martinez 6-3, 7-5, and Evans, who overcame leg cramps and an impressive 17-year-old named Federico Camacho to pull out a 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 decision.

Michael Way and James Collieson were then beaten by the Costa Rican pair of Javier Solera and Martin Echandi 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-4. Two of the three Group IV teams advance, putting pressure on Costa Rica to beat the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States today. Bermuda play OECS tomorrow.

Mallory was captain Steve Bean's surprise choice to open Bermuda's third Davis Cup appearance and he didn't disappoint -- despite butterflies the size of Longtails.

"I was nervous as hell out there,'' the 31-year-old Belco employee admitted.

Mallory, who has been playing in the US the past two years while attending school in Philadelphia, said he had no problems sleeping on Wednesday night, after finding out he would start -- a far cry from the night before, when "I had a feeling I might be asked to play singles''.

But nerves were only part of the problem. Staring into a blinding sun, he served a half-dozen double-faults in being broken by the 19-year-old Martinez in the first and third games. "The sun completely threw me off,'' Mallory said.

A technical adjustment courtesy of Bean solved that and Mallory soon found his rhythm, alternating a punishing forehand with a slicing backhand to win the final three games.

In the second set, though, Mallory began to wilt, drifting balls into the net and finally losing his serve in the sixth game. Down 2-4, Mallory faced the prospect of Martinez' serve -- and a third-set rubber, he admitted later, he probably wouldn't have been able to win.

"I had to break him,'' Mallory said. "I was telling myself, `Come on Rick, you have to do it. This is it'.'' Martinez promptly took control at 40-15 but Mallory battled back and somehow got his racquet on a passing shot, dribbling it over the net and back-spinning it away from his charging opponent. Mallory took that game and the next one, but serving at 4-5 he double faulted and seemed to be fading fast.

That was when he called upon his parents, father Richard, who died of a heart attack two years ago, and mother Evelyn, who died of cancer eight months later. "I was asking them to give me strength,'' Mallory said.

They did. Mallory fired two straight winners for the game, broke Martinez to go up 6-5 and then served out the game thanks to two misses into the net by the Costa Rican.

Mallory's struggle was nothing compared to Evans'.

Blown away in the first set, Evans endured a topsy-turvy second set, struggling with his serve -- and with Camacho's. He broke the young Costa Rican champion twice in the first six games -- only to be broken right back; he went to the net -- only to either rip a return into the mesh or get burned by pinpoint passing shots.

Tied 5-5, he rallied from a 15-40 deficit to win the 11th game -- then lost the 12th. The tiebreaker was Camacho's turn to falter and Evans reeled off five straight points to steal the set.

But Evans' struggle continued in the third set when he was broken in the second game and fell behind 0-3. Somehow he kept his confidence, finally catching up the Costa Rican's serve, making fewer mistakes and, ultimately, winning the next five games.

It was 30-30 when cramps in his left thigh threatened to break the momentum he had built. After a three-minute injury time-out, Evans lost the next two points but recovered in time to take the next game, when Comacho again launched his service return long.

As is his custom, Evans wouldn't talk to The Royal Gazette -- but Bean did.

"It took him a while to get into the groove,'' Bean said of Evans. "But that's Donald. I've seen it over and over from Donald. I knew he'd step up.'' Bean credited Evans' decisiveness and a few gambles for the turnaround -- but hinted that Camacho might have let the pressure get to him.