It's tough to make an impression in the fiercely competitive world of the men's professional tennis tour -- and now James Collieson knows just how tough.

Bermuda's number one Davis Cup player has returned home from a whirlwind tour of Europe a better and wiser player, but without the ATP Tour ranking point he sought.

Collieson played only two matches during his month-long tour, after finding admission into tournaments his major stumbling block.

But armed with knowledge gained from his first foray into the world of the paid ranks of men's tennis, Collieson is keener than ever to make a breakthrough.

"It was certainly an adventure, although I did not get into as many tournaments as I wanted to,'' said Collieson.

The 23-year-old University of North Carolina student initially flew to Germany, where he lost his first-round qualifier against a difficult German opponent 6-4, 6-4, on red clay, a surface relatively new to him.

"I turned up in Zell on the Thursday and no-one was there,'' said Collieson.

"Signing in was on the Sunday night and there was no-one to hit with. So for two or three days, I was stuck in a hotel and had no-one to hit with until I played on the Monday.

"Considering all that, I think I played pretty well. It was on red clay, a surface I'm not used to, but I found it suited me in terms of my groundstrokes.

"The problem I had was with my movement on the slippery surface. I've played most of my tennis on hard courts in the US. Good clay-court players slide into their shots, but I found that difficult to do effectively.'' Struggling to come to terms with clay left Collieson with a partially ruptured lower hamstring.

He became friends with Australian Lee Pearson, ranked among the world's top 400, and part of a group who were able to travel and practise together. They clocked up thousands of miles on the road and travelled to tournaments in Germany, Poland and Russia, but time and again Collieson was denied entry into events.

Two or three qualifying-round victories would have given Collieson the single ATP point which would grant him automatic entry into satellite tour events, but without that point, he was subject to a lottery system. Gaps in his paperwork did not help.

"I had a letter with me saying I had played Davis Cup, but some stuff was supposed to have gone to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) saying I was nationally ranked, but it had not been done,'' said Collieson. "I am going to contact the ITF to see exactly what I need to help me get into these tournaments.'' One of the major plusses of the trip was the opportunity to practise with top players -- something he has also done in Bermuda with Island resident Pat Rafter.

"I hit with a lot of guys who were playing in the tournaments and I realised that stroke for stroke, I am as good as they are,'' said Collieson.

"I played some good practice sets, although I know that doesn't mean much at all. I played one Australian guy, ranked about 400 in the world and we each won a set.

"I found out later that two weeks before he beat Nicolas Escude, who is ranked 18th in the world. Anyone in the top 1,000 is capable of beating anyone else on a given day.

"I believe I am now a world-class practice player. By that I mean an observer would not know who was the better player. What I have to do is convert that to matches.'' His second match did not come until last week at a hard-court tournament in London, where he was initially told there was no place for him in the qualifying round. "I went out and hit for an hour and a half with the number one seed and when I came off court they told me someone had dropped out and I was in, so then I had to go out and play.

"Those are the sort of difficulties you have to contend with.'' Collieson went on to lose in straight sets, but remained undeterred as he prepared to try again.

"My last programme of college tennis does not start until January and I have still have some funds left, so maybe at the end of September I'll go on tour to the US or the Bahamas.

"I'm going to work hard on my weaknesses and do a lot of speed work and maybe less long-distance running. Rafter has got a reputation as someone who is not a great tennis player, but works three times as hard as the others.

"I've seen him work and I know I can work just as hard. Anything I might lack in ability, I'm determined to make up for with hard work.'' James Collieson: keen for another taste of life on the ATP Tour, despite a difficult introduction to the professional circuit in Europe.