But with a lot of Davis Cup and little bad weather preceding it, spectators will have to wait another day or two before checking out the big guns and the big games.

Of today's half-dozen first-round matches at Coral Beach, only one of them includes a guy who might realistically hope to be around come next weekend.

But then tournament director Alec Anderson and ATP supervisor Mark Darby didn't have a lot of scheduling options after conducting the draw yesterday afternoon.

Six of the top eight seeds were involved in Davis Cup play this weekend and three of them -- Hernan Gumy, Lucas Arnold and Franco Squillari -- must come from Buenos Aires.

Another, number two Richey Reneberg, is still in action as his American team continue their tie against Russia today. Meanwhile, number three Christian Ruud, heads here from Romania, where his Norwegian team lost 3-0.

The top seed is Sargis Sargsian and while he wasn't in Davis Cup, he was in a tournament in Houston and isn't expected in until at least today.

The 32-man field features six Argentinians and their familiarity with clay usually gives them a head start this time of year. One of those is Sebastien Prieto, who, at number 148, is the highest ranked player in action today.

Prieto, who only turns 23 next month, had a ranking of 381 at this time last year but credits the Open for a swing that has seen him climb 223 placings.

"Confidence,'' he says quickly when asked what the difference has been.

"I mean, how much could I learn in one year?'' While he lost in the first round to Nicolas Lapenti last year, he had emerged from a tough qualifying round, knocking off Luis Adrian Morejon, who was ranked right around where Prieto is this year, in the process.

"I took those wins with me to the next tournament and it went from there,'' he said. Prieto is also coming off a strong showing in the Lipton Championships. And unlike others, he says he doesn't have any difficulty switching from hardcourt to clay.

Provided he gets by doubles specialist Doug Flach today, he could meet countryman Gumy in the second round.

But the most intriguing match of the first round is Dennis Van Scheppingen, carrying the same number eight seed as he did here a year ago, against 1996 champion MaliVai Washington.

Washington, whose ranking has slipped to 222, is still on the rebound following knee surgery last year. He spent two hours practising on the courts yesterday, followed by 30 minutes with an ice pack on his left knee and two more hours conducting a junior clinic for more than 90 local youngsters.

He's easy to spot: He's the one with a conga line of youngsters following him around.

He shrugged off the attention, saying "Kids are kids. It doesn't matter who you are, so long as you're a pro,'' but may have underestimated his popularity in Bermuda.

As for the knee, which was operated on nearly a year ago and caused him to miss seven months of action, it's still an intangible.

"Some days its feels 100 percent and that's when I feel like I can go out and win any match,'' said Washington, the 1996 Wimbledon finalist. "But there are other days, it's 80 percent and it's sore. Those are the days I don't have good movement and I'm going to struggle.''