It?s all about avoiding Argentinians for local players Andy Bray and James Collieson when they take to the Coral Beach clay in the XL Open a week on Saturday.

The doubles partners have been given wild cards into the qualifying for the annual event and both are looking for an American for their expected one match in the tournament, with neither anticipating making it through to qualifying on Sunday.

?I?d rather play Tim Henman at Coral Beach than get an Argentinian,? said Collieson, preparing for his fifth trip to the tournament.

And Bray, a chartered accountant with XL, shares this view: ?I am not much of a clay veteran and I don?t want to come up against some Argentinian who hasn?t missed a shot from the back of the court in the last three years.

?If I sat one down in my office with a calculator, I could out-number crunch them, but I could never out-rally one of them.

?I would be looking to get an American if possible, or James.?

For Bray, who missed out last year only because he didn?t receive confirmation until 10 p.m. the night before by which time he was out ?relaxing?, this will be one of the biggest matches of his life, whoever he plays.

?I am pretty excited about it already,? continued Bray, whose highlights include leading Loughborough University to a British Universities triumph and being the only non full-time player on the Middlesex senior county team.

?I have watched the event for the past couple of years and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would actually take part in it.

?Realistically I am not going to win my match but, as I should do in my job, I am just looking to give a good account of myself.

?The only goal I have set is to make it to the first ball change! No, but seriously, I have a big serve and if I can keep getting my first serves in then maybe I can pick up a game or two a set ? that would be great.?

Bray, ranked number one in the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association rankings, will train every night with Collieson in the lead-up to the event, and train on the Coral Beach clay, a surface he had never encountered before coming to the Island.

Collieson, who is no stranger to the surface and who has even made it through to the main draw in the XL before, albeit courtesy of a withdrawal, is hoping he has long enough left to prepare.

?I was thinking of trying to get down to Florida because the weather here wasn?t great,? continued Collieson, who ranks the XL with the Davis Cup as his favourite tennis experience.

?But now Andy and I are going to hit every night and will be running together to get in the best possible shape for this. I just hope I have long enough to prepare.

?A win isn?t going to happen but I am looking to enjoy myself and do my best.?

Collieson added that he thought the event was great for tennis on the Island ?giving everyone a chance to see some high quality players at close quarters ? it is a well-run tournament and it is great to hear how much the players like being here and like Bermuda?.