One of last year's Top 50 tennis players - Todd Martin - will be among the leading stars in next month's XL Open.

Organiser Alec Anderson has confirmed the gritty American's participation in the Challenger tournament, which will be celebrating its tenth anniversary.

On background, Martin is the highest-profile competitor to be booked for the week-long event and will come to Bermuda on the back of a strong 2002 showing which saw him return to the world's Top 50 for the first time in three years. He was 44th in the ATP Tour's year-end rankings thanks to an early flourish which saw him reaching the quarter-final or better in his first five tournaments.

The 32-year-old continued to excel on Tour and cause major upsets into the summer despite the frustration of losing in the third round of the Australian Open and in the second rounds of the three other Grand Slam events. In doubles, he won a fifth career title with compatriot James Blake in the TMS Cincinnati Open and his 2002 record was 17-11 on hard courts; 4-2 on grass and 3-3 on clay.

Though he has dropped to 126th in the rankings since the start of 2003, Martin remains a formidable opponent and will surely be looking to improve on his statistics in Bermuda. He was the top seed in the 1995 XL Open but was ousted in the second round by Australian southpaw Michael Tebbutt in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.

This week, he reached the Nasdaq-100 Open's quarter-finals in Florida, before losing on Wednesday to Paradorn Srichaphan in a gripping three-setter 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5.

Since turning pro in 1990, this 6ft 6ins player has earned $8 million in prize money. He reached the Australian Open final in 1994 and the Wimbledon semifinals that year and in 1996 also. In his 1994 run at the All England Club, he became the first player in the Open era to achieve four five-set wins at that venue. It was certainly a memorable year for the gutsy right-hander who also advanced to the last four in the 1994 US Open and ended in the Top 10 for the first time.

In 1999, he came close to defeating fellow American Andre Agassi in the US Open final when he held an 2-1 sets lead. However, his failure to convert eight break-points thwarted that opportunity.

Martin, who has eight ATP singles titles and five doubles, has been a stalwart campaigner on the American Davis Cup team. He was a member of the victorious 1995 squad and has an 11-8 record in singles matches and 3-6 record in doubles in 16 Davis Cup ties.