III championships open at the Southampton Princess this morning will be the host squad.

Bermuda are in Group IV and don't begin play until Thursday. But they know a win in either of their two ties will lift them into Group III next year -- which is why they may allow themselves a few longing glances during their own run-up.

"I don't see any reason why we can't win one or both of our matches and go on to division three (next year),'' Bermuda captain Steve Bean said before the team's training session yesterday at the Princess' beach-side hardcourts.

First, the quartet of Donald Evans, Michael Way, Ricky Mallory and James Collieson have to get through Costa Rica and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

No one expects the matches to be easy. But unlike their two previous Davis Cup experiences, Bermuda no longer are just hoping to win -- they expect it.

That's what maturation and home court will do for you. "After playing the past two years, we know we can play at this level,'' said Bean, a member of the team in 1995, when Bermuda made their Davis Cup debut. "We're confident.

That's why we don't worry so much about who we're playing.'' For the same reason, the eight nations taking part in Group III competition don't appear overly concerned about their opponents. Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Barbados and Antigua/Barbuda are all veterans of international tennis.

The consensus is that the race to be promoted into Group II and to escape demotion into Group IV is wide open.

"Everybody's so close,'' said Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association president David Lambert. "There's no one player that can turn the tie around for one country.

Nobody is head and shoulders above everybody else.'' Handicapping the field is therefore a dangerous proposition. Guatemala and Barbados competed in Group II a year ago and might be an obvious pick; Jamaica and Bolivia were in Group II the year before that and should never be overlooked.

"It's noticeable,'' Jamaica captain Douglas Burke said when asked the difference between Groups II and III. "Not a huge difference but every team is strong in Group II.'' Burke, who spent 13 years in Canada before taking over as Jamaica's national coach in 1991, figures his team will do well. Jamaica has a rich Davis Cup tradition and Nicholas Malcolm, at 22 the country's national champion the past two years, is back.

But two others on the team -- Jermaine Smith and Jessie Smatt -- are only 18 and Burke concedes his team is in a building year.

Antigua/Barbuda are another team to watch. They have the only player in the tournament currently on the ATP Tour in Gavaskar Williams, who, ironically, played for OECS two years ago and defeated Way 6-2, 6-2. They also have Philip Williamson, ranked as high as 196 on the Tour five years ago.

Panama and Dominican Republic are others seen as having a good chance at advancement.

One wildcard in the mix is the hard courts at the Princess. Burke, for one, thinks works in his team's favour -- "That's what we're used to,'' he said -- and could work against South American sides weaned on clay.

Each tie consists of two singles matches and one doubles match but exactly who will play them isn't determined until just hours before. Coaches yesterday weren't about to tip their hand.

With two days before his team plays, Bean was planning on using the time to think his choices through. Only Way and Mallory have been training with him regularly. Collieson, who attends Auburn University in Alabama, arrived last week and Evans, who works in Washington, DC, doesn't get here until today.

DAVIS CUP WHAT: American Zone, Groups III and IV WHERE: Southampton Princess WHEN: Today through Saturday WHO: Bermuda, OECS and Costa Rica in Group IV; Antigua/Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Barbados, Jamaica, Guatemala, Bolivia and Dominican Republic in Group III OPENING CEREMONIES: Wednesday, 5.30 p.m. at Southampton Princess.

FORMAT: Two singles and one doubles match.