James Collieson's foray into the world of the professional tennis tour has started with a narrow defeat, an unfortunate injury and some hectic travelling.

Bermuda's number one Davis Cup player went to Europe three weeks ago for his first taste of the Association of Tennis Professionals' Tour and in a quest to gain a world ranking.

His first event on the satellite tour was in Zell, Germany, where he went down 6-4, 6-4 in the first qualifying round.

The event, like most of the tournaments Collieson will enter in the weeks to come, was played on red clay.

The slippy surface was new to Collieson, who pulled a hamstring as he started to come to terms with a new skill, sliding into his shots.

Last week, he missed out on a second tournament in Berlin.

Collieson will be touring Europe over the coming month and his hectic schedule will take in tournaments in Italy and Croatia.

Collieson's father Will Collieson said: "James felt he played very well in his first match, but he said the level of play was unbelievable and all the guys are really hungry.'' And what they hunger for are ATP ranking points. If Collieson managed to earn one point from his travels, it would earn him automatic entry to qualifying rounds of satellite events and avoid the hassle of the `first come, first served' system.

Will Collieson explained: "Even though James is travelling a long way to places which are not easy to get to, there is no guarantee he will be allowed into the qualifying rounds when he gets there.

"If there are 60 qualifying places available and 200 players turn up, they will take the first 60.

"To earn one ATP point, you have to win two or three qualifying rounds, and if he had one point, he would be given entry. It's the elusive ATP points which everyone wants so badly.

"James feels the standard of play is so consistently high that you stand just as good a chance of winning in the main draw as in the qualifying.'' Collieson has befriended an Australian player, Lee Pearson, who is 395th in the ATP world rankings and therefore gains automatic entry to satellite tour events.

As well as travelling to tournaments with Pearson, Collieson is also training with him.

Collieson is due back at the University of North Carolina to resume his studies after the summer break at the end of this month. But his father said he hoped to stay in Europe into September.

His previous tennis experience has been mainly on the US collegiate circuit.

He also performed outstandingly for Bermuda's Davis Cup team in March in Honduras, winning four successive singles.

James Collieson: desperate to earn his first ATP ranking point in Europe.