After an intriguing weekend of qualifiers, the serious business of the main draw of the XL Bermuda Open begins today with perennial Bermuda visitors Kenneth Carlsen and Tomas Zib in action.

Greg Rusedski, arguably the biggest name at this year?s event at Coral Beach, will see doubles action this afternoon with Canadian star of the future Frank Dancevic featuring in this evening?s top billing match.

The Open has already been blessed with two days of sunshine for its qualifiers with some players having to battle through three matches to earn a spot in today?s draw of 32 thanks to a larger than usual entry.

The qualifiers were last night slotted into the main draw and this year?s first round has set up some interesting match-ups with number two seed Nicolas Lapentti taking on fellow wildcard entry Phillip Simmonds in the tie of the round.

Ecuadorian Lapentti, formerly the world?s number six, will have to work hard for a place in the next round when he takes on the American teenage sensation and junior Grand Slam doubles winner tomorrow.

Top seed Luis Horna, defeated on Saturday 6-3, 6-4 in the Houston Clay Court championships semi-final by Andy Roddick, will face Frenchman Sebastien De Chaunac while Rusedski meets German Bjorn Phau ? a quarter-finalist last year.

Jose Acasuso, the 2001 winner who has now shortened his trademark flowing locks, faces fellow Argentinian Diego Veronelli.

For the qualifiers who battled through to the main event, they are going to have to battle against both higher-ranked opponents but also the effects of fatigue after as many as three matches in the weekend?s humidity.

?We have pretty much already played a tournament and now we are starting a new one,? said Canadian Simon Larose, who defeated American Kiantki Thomas 6-1, 7-5 and then Emin Agaev of Azerbaijan 6-3, 7-5 to earn the right to take on Argentinian Juan Marco in the first round.

?It?s always a relief to get through the qualifiers of any tournament, it takes quite a weight of your shoulders. And now I can concentrate on the main draw. It will be tough but there are no players I am afraid of. I respect them, but I don?t fear them.?

The only qualifier to face a seed in the first round is Argentinian Nicolas Todero whose straightforward 6-1, 6-1 win over Bermudian James Collieson was followed by a 6-4, 6-4 win over Swede Lindstedt and then yesterday?s game of the day.

The powerful Todero defeated crowd favourite Dusan Vemic of Serbia 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 with a no-nonsense style in complete contrast to the entertaining antics of the bearded, sunglasses-wearing Vemic, whose defeat will see the tournament lose a real showman.

Frenchman Stephane Robert, on his first visit to Bermuda, defeated compatriot Maxime Boye 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday before a victory over the bad-tempered Hugo Armando in three sets yesterday.

?It was very windy,? said the 23-year-old Robert, who came back against the increasingly angry American to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and earn the right to play Eric Taino in the next round.

?I had to go to the net more. I am a baseline player but in the wind I had to use the net. I will do that again if I have to.?

The final player to squeeze through the weekend action was American Kevin Kim, no relation to Alex Kim who takes on Carlsen today, after defeating top-seeded qualifier Ramon Delgado of Paraguay 7-5, 6-1.

?My goal was to get through the qualifying,? said Kim, a first time visitor to the tournament.

?But I don?t have any goals now, I am just going to take one match at a time and see what happens. Everyone can beat everyone at this level so let?s just see what happens.?

In today?s games, sixth seed Martin Vassallo Arguello of Italy, whose favourite surface is clay, will make his XL Open debut against Swede Bjorn Rehnquist while Zib, a Czech player on his fourth visit here, takes on Jan Frode Andersen, a Norwegian who was defeated in the second round of the French Open in 2001.

Franco Squillari, an Argentinian who has twice reached the semi-finals here, takes on fellow countryman Federico Browne in the other singles match of the afternoon.

The evening match, scheduled for 6.30 p.m. on centre court, sees 19-year-old Dancevic, a wildcard recipient, play German Philipp Kohlschreiber, a 20-year-old ranked 168 in the world.