with some of the world's best at the XL Tennis Classic, which takes place from December 6-12 at Coral Beach & Tennis Club.

Already confirmed for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour are Bryan Shelton, Aaron Krickstein and Grant Connell with other top names expected to be signed up shortly, including Patrick McEnroe, Paul Annacone, David Wheaton, MaliVai Washington and perhaps Mats Wilander and Henri Leconte.

Top Bermuda players Donald Evans and Billy Way have been guaranteed spots in the main draw of the doubles play while Evans has also been pre-selected for singles play.

Last December, Evans was given the number one ranking by the American Tennis Association for his fine play during the 1992 season.

The Bermudian faces stiff competition made up mostly of top college players looking to use the ATA as a stepping stone to playing professionally on the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and ATP tours.

The ATA is also regarded as a breeding ground for aspiring black tennis players.

Other Bermudians may yet be added to singles and doubles play for the inaugural Classic with trials taking place on two separate weekends -- October 9-10 and 16-17.

Classic official Alec Anderson -- attending the US Open in New York -- could not be reached for comment yesterday.

A second pair may be included in doubles play, with one more player from a group of eight Bermudians definitely joining Evans in the qualifying rounds.

Vying for a singles spot opposite Evans are Jerome Bradshaw, Ken MacDonald, Steve Bean, Brian Way, Mike Curry, Sam Maybury, Blair Rance and Monty Nearon.

Following the competition on October 16-17 the top player from this group will join Evans. A second player from this group may still get the opportunity to play in a qualifier.

Meantime, in doubles play, two members from the following group will earn a possible spot in the qualifying rounds of the Classic: Ricky Mallory, Stewart Smith, Bean, Curry, MacDonald, Maybury, and Brian and Michael Way.