One of the showpieces of local tennis begins today with one certainty - there will be new men's and ladies' `A' singles champions.

Many of the Island's top players will be fancying their chances of lifting the primary Heineken Open titles in the absence of last year's winners Michael Way and Deborah Cheng.

Work commitments have thwarted Way's quest for back-to-back victories while Cheng bade farewell to the Bermuda tennis scene when she relocated to England last year.

Despite the loss of the defending champions, president of Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) David Lambert anticipates some enthralling matches given the line-up of competitors. There are a few foreign faces in the mix to spice up the action.

"This is one of the main tournaments on our calendar of events. It's been running since 1985 and has a very rich history of some of Bermuda's top players being past champions.

"We've just looked at the draw and it's a good-sized draw for each category. Jenson Bascome is the number one seed in the Men's `A' and Andy Bray from England is number two. In the Ladies' `A', Laverne Stowe is the top seed and a young lady from England - Lucy Windsor - is number two and I understand she has a good game. So that will be interesting," said Lambert.

John Johnston and Sam Maybury are the other two seeded players in the Men's `A' category while Ricky Mallory and Jenson Bascome are the top seeds in the Men's Doubles. Laverne Stowe and Barbara Lambert head the Ladies' Doubles seeds. The latter and Eldon Daniels are seeded number one in the Mixed Doubles.

Other well-known players vying for supremacy include Roger Marshall, Earl Leader, Mark Cordeiro, Kelly Holland, Gill Butterfield, Sheila Gomez and David Lambert, many of whom will be on court this weekend at the Tennis Stadium.

"There are also several top juniors playing in the `A' and `B' divisions. They are gearing up for next month's International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior tournament here and they are using this as a warm-up. We're glad to have them as well as many of our international players," added Lambert.

"Overall this is a well-entered tournament with a high number of players in all divisions and we're looking forward to some great matches."