This New York-based former British National Junior champion is affectionately referred to as “the British bulldog” and known for his piercing racquet-work and deadly nick-finding front-court game, a perfect complement to the consistency and rock-solid play of his right-wall partner of the past three highly productive years, Preston Quick. Finalists no fewer than 10 times during that span (including in Baltimore, Wilmington and Brooklyn last season, the second consecutive year in which they were stopped short of the semis only once), they won the ’07 U. S. National Doubles crown at Merion, earning a straight-set final-round win over Clive Leach and Scott Butcher, and came within two points (leading 2-1, 13-12) of defeating Damien Mudge and Viktor Berg this past winter in the Heights Casino final, where Russell had been the assistant pro for several years before moving in ’06 to the New York Athletic Club. A former PSA top-50 and five-time PSA event finalist, this dedicated Yankee fan teamed up with his English compatriot Leach to reach the final round of the ’09 World Doubles in San Francisco in May, beating Mudge and Matt Jenson in the semis before losing to Paul Price and Ben Gould in the final.
