participants of the XL Tennis Classic, scheduled for December 6-12 at Coral Beach & Tennis Club.

Shelton, 28, is the latest in what is expected to be a long line of professionals agreeing to play in the inaugural event, which is part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour, and will feature some of the world's best men ranked in the top 100.

Shelton's most impressive accomplishment of the year took place last April when he reached the finals of the AT&T Challenge in Atlanta and then he landed in the semifinals of a tournament in Tampa Bay a month later.

Last March he defeated Andre Agassi in the second round of the Lipton tournament.

At Wimbledon this year Shelton defeated Kevin Curran in five sets during first round play, but eventually lost a hard-fought struggle to Boris Becker in the third round.

On Wednesday at the US Hardcourt Championships at Indianapolis, Shelton was defeated by Goran Ivanisevic, ranked fourth in the world, 6-3, 6-3.

Career-wise, Shelton has reached the finals of the French Open in mixed-doubles play and in 1992 he won the River Oaks International, first defeating top seed MaliVai Washington and then Jeff Tarango in the finals.

Born in Huntsville, Alabama, and now a resident of Atlanta, Shelton achieved the highest singles ranking his career -- 62 -- in June.

He burst into prominence when he stretched Ivan Lendl to four sets at Wimbledon in 1990 and obtained his first singles career title in 1991, making him the first black American to win a singles title since Arthur Ashe in 1978.

Tournament director Alec Anderson and his wife Maribeth will be attending the US Open later this month when the majority of the players for the Bermuda event will be signed up. Others expected to reach agreements could include Paul Annacone, David Wheaton, MaliVai Washington, Mats Wilander and Henri Leconte. Approximately 30 players will be participating.

Also, Elbow Beach Hotel has been confirmed as one of the official hotels for the event.

BRYAN SHELTON -- Confirmed for XL Classic.