The feet-stamping and flag-waving will create a crescendo of noise and colour as Nick Kyme strides out in front of the best possible crowd against the worst possible opponent on Monday, to kick off one of the grandest sports events Bermuda has ever staged.

The planet's top 31 players and the technology industry's most ingenious graphics and analysis will combine to create a feast of squash the likes of which the world has never seen.

The $120,000 Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters, part one of the largest deal ever signed in the growing sport's history, actually begins earlier in the day - but Kyme stepping out to take on world champion Thierry Lincou is the symbolic climax of years of preparation and the beginning of a squash tournament to remember.

Last year the 24-year-old was visibly shaking as he anxiously stumbled out into a euphoric reception from 600 mad-keen squash fans and did his reputation no harm with a brave, battling performance against perennial champion Peter Nicol.

This time around, Bermuda's top pro claims he is better prepared to concentrate on the match. And he will certainly need to be as he takes on the formidable Lincou, world number one, world champion and a man who will be keen to erase the memory of an opening round defeat last year on that same glass-court in this same dramatic and impressive venue.

There will be no generosity offered from the 28-year-old Frenchman to the local hero, there are just too many points and too much money at stake for Lincou to want to do anything but go out there and win - and do so in aa short a time as possible.

Lincou, steady, reliable, unrelenting and capable of retrieving almost any ball from anywhere is the player Kyme, himself not renowned for shotmaking and ingenuity, would love to be.

"This is the biggest game of my career, there can be no doubt about that," said Kyme from his temporary British-training base, a welcome distance away from the hype surrounding the event back at home.

"He is an incredible player and I know that it is going to be a huge challenge for me. I am nervous but not as nervous as last time because I will know what to expect on the court and from the crowd.

"It is working out well for me not being in Bermuda at the moment, I am having a few problems with my swing and not having people reminding me every day that I am playing the world number one in a few days is fine.

"I know that when I come back there will be plenty of pressure but this is such a great opportunity for me that I can't complain about that - this is what I have been working towards.

"I owe a lot of thank yous for giving me the opportunity to play in such a prestigious event - it is an honour to be involved in such an incredible tournament."

Incredible tournament, however, is probably an understatement, this is the Masters, a gathering of the greatest players on the circuit for the second most prestigious title up for grabs.

Hosting the event for the first time in the western world, Bermuda is proving that it is more than just a little island with a disproportionately advanced standing on the sporting map - it is a veritable squash Mecca.

@$:Handing this mid-Atlantic speck two consecutive years of Masters tournaments and then a World Open for 2007 is proof that the Professional Squash Association are more than happy - after viewing the popular $55,000 Open last year - that Bermuda's squash minds are capable of putting on the larger event.

And so it is that the top players begin to pour into the Island today, many bringing wives and girlfriends to enjoy the beaches and cocktails while their men sweat it out over five games in five days.

The addition of this extra fifth round - major tournaments often just have 16 in the main draw - could favour the younger players, with the older guard likely to struggle in longer matches over the week.

"Lincou has to have a good chance," said Kyme, slightly uncomfortable with being asked to predict the winners of a tournament he is competing in, but realistic enough to know that it is not going to be him.

"He is a very solid player and very difficult to beat. He gets everything back and makes very few mistakes. The warmer conditions in Bermuda keeps the ball in play more which will work to his advantage.

"But the more adventurous players like Amr Shabana and Anthony Ricketts can beat anybody on their day when they are in the zone. They're less consistent but when they are on fire there is no one in the world that can beat them - and Ricketts is hot right now.

"The winner will definitely come from the top ten, I don't think an outsider could fight through all the rounds but I also am not sure that someone like Jonathon Power or Peter Nicol could last all the way through five games in this humidity.

"David Palmer, though, has probably got a great chance. He took January off and is playing well at the moment. He knows his way around Bermuda and would love to win this one."

Split between the Bermuda High School for Girls gym, with its newly-installed state-of-the-art all-glass court, and the glass-backed court at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association headquarters in Devonshire, top-class squash will be played all week starting on Monday.

But with a woman's exhibition and the 'Voice of Squash' thrown in for good measure, once Kyme's Monday heroics are out the way, all roads point to Saturday, April 9 and a battle royale for bragging rights, prestige and the homour of being the first Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters winner.

Take your seat, settle back and enjoy the thrill of an athletic, dynamic, spectacular and entertaining ride through the very best the squash world has to offer, all beautifully presented on your doorstep.