Many people try to pull strings to get into tennis tournaments, but Craig Brotman has got it down to a fine art.

Brotman, who hails from Georgia, is a common sight around Coral Beach Club come XL Capital Bermuda Open week.

But aside from those connected with the tournament, not many people really knows what he does.

The Royal Gazette, however, sought out the man as he went about his business overlooking Centre Court.

You see, Brotman is a former player who reluctantly gave up the game but could not leave the scene altogether.

So in order to get his fix he became a stringer and now runs Pro Circuit Stringing, a company that travels the US tending to the needs of the world's top players.

Brotman and his employees string, weigh, balance and reshape handles and have a number of players under contract.

"A friend of mine turned pro after winning the NCAAs and asked me to start taking care of his racquets and from there I got into it," explained Brotman. "It's not easy to break into, it's hard to gain their trust.

"I played so I know what a player is looking for. I know what a good string job is and what a bad string job is."

At the Bermuda Open Brotman can expect to string hundreds of racquets.

"Last year we did 220. This year there was a weak qualifying (event). If we had had the qualifying we had had last year it would have probably been up to about 300 racquets," he said.

An average day runs from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. or when the last players have left the court.

Although the majority of stringing is done between matches, Brotman has to be on permanent standby in case a player is unhappy during a tie.

"Last night (Wednesday) we had that with Mike Russell. He lost the first set (against Taylor Dent). The racquets were too loose and we went 11lbs up in tension.

"I did two for him during his match. There was a lot of pressure because he was kind of freaking out about his racquets."

Russell went on to win and its results like that that inspire Brotman in his work.

"Indirectly, I am responsible for how they do. Some people would say I am one of the most important people here," he said.

On average, Brotman can restring a racquet in 12 to 15 minutes, but then he's had plenty of practice.

"I have been doing this 25 years. The more racquets you do, the faster you become. You pick up different techniques to make you faster," he said.

"If they are on the court I try to get it out to them within three games."

If most people had just put their heart and soul into a particular job and then saw the recipient of their work hurling it around like a piece of rubbish, they would have a right to be offended. But Brotman understands why players take their failings out on their equipment.

"I know what they are going through because I played," he said. "I used to throw racquets and I had a temper."

Brotman admits he didn't "have the head" to excel on the court, but is happy with where he is at now.

"You either like it or you hate," he said. "But what it has enabled me to do is stay in the game."

Brotman, who classes his profession as an art, is a man who clearly loves what he does.

"I don't look at this as a job. I can't think of a better place to be this week than Bermuda," he said. "Sitting out watching some of the best players in the world play tennis and dealing with them."