A bad experience three years ago will help Jenson Bascome to hold his nerve when he plays his part in Bermuda's Davis Cup campaign which starts with a daunting clash against host nation Cuba in Havana today.

Bascome, at 21 the youngest member of the four-man Island team, suffered a hammering on his singles debut in what is the World Cup of men's tennis in Trinidad in 1998.

But the Temple University of Philadelphia student said the lessons learned from his baptism of fire will benefit him as he goes into his third Davis Cup.

"In Trinidad I remember playing singles for the first time and I was totally overwhelmed by the experience,'' said Bascome yesterday.

"I was trying to hit the cover off the ball with every shot and so I made a lot of errors and lost very quickly, 6-1, 6-1, I think, to a guy from St.

Lucia. That match has stayed in my mind and has helped me ever since.'' It was in another tie against St. Lucia, in Honduras last year, that Bascome showed the benefits of the big-match wisdom he gleaned in Trinidad.

Thrown into the fray for the opening singles rubber of the opening match,in place of Ricky Mallory who had woken up with a stiff neck, Bascome claimed a stunning victory which ultimately proved the key to Bermuda winning promotion from Group Four rather than St. Lucia.

"That day I was able to relax much more, I played much better and ended up winning,'' recalled Bascome.

"I am still pretty new to Davis Cup, but I am much more relaxed about it now than I was when I first started. I understand better what it takes to deal with pressure situations.

"This will be my first time playing in Group Three, but I feel ready for the challenge.'' Whether Bascome is involved in today's opener depends on the tactics of team captain Steve Bean.

With James Collieson and Donald Evans expected to play the two singles matches against Cuba, Bascome's best chance of a first-day appearance will come in the final doubles rubber. Bean will name his chosen doubles pairing after the two singles matches.

The tie will be played on the show court, which will host the opening ceremony involving all eight nations participating, before the action begins at 11 a.m.

Bermuda time.

Bermuda will get their first chance to play on the centre court at 8.15 a.m.

today, in a 30-minute warm-up. Workmen were yesterday still painting the court's white lines, having applied a fresh lick of green paint to the rest of the surface the day before.

By late yesterday morning, the framework for the temporary seating around the centre court had arrived, but work had yet to start on erecting it.

Chief tournament organiser Rolando Martinez Perez, president of the Pan American Tennis Federation, played down fears raised by the flurry of late preparations at the tennis complex on the eastern side of Havana. "Everything will be ready for Wednesday morning,'' he declared confidently at a pre-tournament meeting of team captains yesterday.

One surprise to emerge from the captain's meeting was that the tournament will not feature no-ad scoring (next point wins the game after deuce) for which most skippers, including Bean, had prepared their teams.

But that may be welcome news to players who will have to contend with two other experimental aspects -- short sets and bigger balls.

Bascome learns his lesson From Page 13 An uneven bounce on some of the courts and the wind could also be important factors this week, according to Bascome.

"On the courts we have practised on, the ball has sometimes got up very high, but then you get a few low balls as well,'' he said. "It will really be just a case of adjusting.

"The show court looks like it's really open to the wind. We have talked about that and how we must be forgiving on ourselves when we make mistakes because of the wind.

"On one side of the court, we will be fighting against the wind and on the other, we will have the power of the wind behind us and so a lot of balls will be going long.'' Bermuda will play Jamaica tomorrow and Bolivia on Friday, but today's clash is expected to be the toughest of the three Group B matches. On Saturday and Sunday the team will play off for final position.

Jenson Bascome: The youngest member of Bermuda's four-man team is hoping to benefit from his two previous Davis Cup experiences.