James Collieson will make history next week when he becomes the first local to take part in the main singles draw of the XL Capital Bermuda Open.

The Island's Davis Cup player is approaching his big day in a relaxed and positive frame of mind, after undergoing sessions with a sports psychologist in Florida last week.

Collieson, who flew back to the Island on Saturday, said yesterday he felt all the pressure would be on his opponent and was looking forward to his chance of playing in a pro tournament in front of a home crowd at Coral Beach.

The 23-year-old, who plays collegiate tennis for the University of North Carolina, was given a wild card by tournament director Alec Anderson.

He will not know his first-round opponent until Friday night when the draw is made. Whoever, it is likely to be the toughest opponent he has ever faced. And if he happened to win, it would be a sensation.

"The pressure will be all on my opponent,'' said Collieson. "They can't afford to underperform -- this is what they do for food.

"I can hope that maybe I catch someone on not their best of days. But that is out of my hands. Looking at Andrew Ilie last year, he was going through world-class guys like butter all week.

"And I could play someone in the zone like that. These guys don't get to be in the top 100 in the world by choking.'' Collieson was taking a realistic approach to his prospects of success in surely the most daunting match of his life.

"I'm in the main draw, so people will have paid to see me and I just want them to leave feeling like they have seen a good tennis match,'' said Collieson.

"Whether I'm ahead or behind, I'd like to think I'll be strong enough to stay focused on playing good tennis.'' Collieson had a tough time playing for the national team in the Davis Cup tournament in Cuba last month, as the side suffered relegation from American Zone Group III.

Asked to play five singles rubbers in successive days in the Caribbean heat, Collieson lost them all but competed well in all but one. Most of his opponents were full-time players.

Last week he visited the sports psychologist and a strategist at a training complex in Orlando, run by LDE Performance, to pep himself up in preparation for the XL.

The same complex has been used by the likes of Pete Sampras and Jim Courier.

"I was lacking confidence and they gave me specialist one-on-one coaching and it straightened me out a bit,'' said Collieson.

"It's very hi-tech training at the cutting edge of what's going on. They talked to me about strategy and training with purpose rather than just going out there and hitting balls.'' He felt the psychologist had helped him pinpoint some of his own weaknesses.

"I was always a bit sceptical about sports psychologists, but I found it useful,'' said Collieson.

"They helped me to cut out negative thinking and how to not worry about outside distractions.

"I think it would have helped me if I had gone there before the Davis Cup.

They told me I had lots of nervous energy and that would hinder me. I think I lose energy over-exerting myself between points.

"They also taught me not to think about future results. I tend to think, wow, I'm beating someone good, but they told me to shut that out of my mind. I definitely feel better for a week of being there.'' Collieson has not yet finalised his plans for the summer, which could involve entering professional tournaments in Europe and the US. The ATP Tour point he will earn from his main draw appearance at Coral Beach should guarantee him entry to qualifying rounds of pro circuit events.

Some players in the Open are expected to fly in today and Collieson plans to arrange practice with them to prepare for next week.

James Collieson: Will make history when he becomes the first Bermudian to play in the first round proper of next week's XL Capital Bermuda Open at Coral Beach.