Karsten Braasch believes he could beat two of the world's top 10 women's tennis players -- at the same time.

Coming from German Braasch, on the Island and preparing to play in next week's Bermuda Open, the claim that he could defeat the Williams sisters is no bar-room boast. He's already done it once.

And Braasch has no doubts over his ability to repeat his exhibition match victory of January last year, despite the fact that Venus Willams is ranked sixth on the Women's Tennis Association tour and Serena Williams ninth.

"I could still beat them easily, even though they are now playing great,'' said Braasch, the current world number 257.

"You cannot compare men's tennis with women's -- they are different sports.

You wouldn't try to compare men's soccer with women's.'' Even playing on his own against both sisters had not provided a serious test, he recalled.

"They didn't have a chance against me. I was not even playing at 100 percent.

I was not serving properly,'' added Braasch.

Although his comments at the time were seen by some as insulting to the women's game, Braasch said it had simply been a case of being honest.

"People asked me questions after I played the girls and I was just telling them what I thought,'' he added.

The 31-year-old has an unorthodox serving style, which will be familiar to Bermuda Open regulars.

He once said of it: "When I see my serve on TV, I have to laugh at myself. As long as it is effective, I don't have to change anything.'' It has been effective enough to earn him more than $1.1 million in 13 years as a pro and the scalps of greats like Stefan Edberg (1995) and Ivan Lendl (1994) earlier in his career.

Braasch has arrived early on the Island for this year's Open to give himself extra time to prepare to compensate for his lack of tournament play this year.

"I haven't played for five or six weeks. I have had some minor injury problems and I haven't been able to practise a lot,'' he said.

Yesterday morning, Braasch spent 90 minutes knocking up at Coral Beach with fellow German Dirk Dier, his doubles partner for next week. The pair were the first two ATP Tour players to fly in for the Open.

And he was delighted to be back: "I really like the Island. The weather is good, the people are nice and I think it is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been to. If I can fit it into my schedule, I always try to come.'' Braasch was more confident about his chances in the doubles than the singles and said: "We might make the semi-finals or the final, but it depends a lot on the draw.'' Braasch said life on the tour was harder than some people might think.

"It's a good life, but it's a tough one. It's not easy to live out of a suitcase 40 weeks a year and sometimes you don't get to see your family for a long time.'' The event opens with qualifying matches, starting at 9.30 a.m. on Saturday, when Bermuda Davis Cup stars Ricky Mallory, Donald Evans and possibly Michael Way will be bidding for glory against overseas players.

The draw for the qualifiers will be made on Friday evening.

On Sunday, a junior tennis clinic at Coral Beach, from 2.00 to 4.00 p.m. will give youngsters their chance to meet some of the top players competing in the Open.

American Richey Reneberg, the former world number one doubles player, will be one of those joining in training drills and hitting with up to 100 young players.

Action man: Karsten Braasch, one of the ATP Tour stars who will compete in next week's Bermuda Open, pictured during a previous appearance at Coral Beach.