JENSON Bascome and Andy Bray will be battling it out for the honour of being Bermuda's top-ranked player when they compete in the Island Construction Open next week.

Bray had shared the number one spot with Bascome until the Heineken Open two weeks ago when he lost in straight sets to James Collieson.

The latest rankings, released this week, show that Bermuda Davis Cup player Bascome has edged a few points ahead of the Englishman.

Collieson's gritty 6-3, 6-4 triumph in the Heineken final ? despite playing with the handicap of a small piece of wood lodged under a finger nail ? saw him leap from number 15 to third in the rankings.

Collieson will not be playing in the IC Open singles at Pomander Gate, so number one seed Bascome and number two Bray will be hot favourites to meet in the final.

Bray, a former Middlesex county player and captain of the Loughborough University team when they won the British Universities title for a third year in a row, was a finalist at Pomander Gate last year when he lost in three sets to Chilean Ben Ureta.

Bascome has significantly cut down on his tennis practice in recent months because of academic pressure ? he is studying for a doctorate in physiotherapy at Philadelphia's Temple University.

But everyone in the men's draw will have to respect the island's most rapidly rising star, Gavin Manders. The teenager is ranked 12 and is sixth seed for the IC Open, but he has made great strides forward in the past year.

Manders, now ranked in the top four juniors in South Carolina, this year won his first Davis Cup singles match and has set his sights on victory at Pomander Gate.

And Bascome will remember well that Van Der Meer Tennis Academy student Manders beat him 7-6, 7-6 during Davis Cup trials in February.

Other top contenders are David Jenkins (third seed), Sam Maybury (four) and Roger Marshall (five).

Youngster David Thomas earned his first senior title by winning the Heineken B singles and climbs from number 27 to number nine.

The most notable climber in the women's rankings was 16-year-old Morgan Lightbourne, whose victories in both the A and B divisions at the Heineken Open pushed her 29 places up the Bermuda rankings to number four.

Lightbourne defeated 13-year-old Junior Fed Cup player Caitlin Gordon 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final to clinch her first senior title.

None of the top-three ranked women in the country were playing in that tournament ? but all are competing at Pomander Gate.

Zarah DeSilva will be defending her title as number one seed, with current Bermuda number one Ashley Brooks the second seed and Tara Lambert thrid seed.

Although he will not be playing singles, Collieson will be partnering number one doubles player Bray in men's doubles. The pair will be seeded one after winning an entertaining Heineken final against Mark Cordeiro and Mike Curry. The second seeds are Bascome and Manders.

The top women's doubles player, Laverne Stowe, who won the Heineken with Dede Cooper, will be favoured to triumph again, as this time she will be partnering Brooks.

The IC Open will be played through this weekend and next week and the singles finals are scheduled to be played on Saturday, June 5.

Top ten men: 1 Jenson Bascome, 2 Andy Bray, 3 James Collieson, 4 Jovan Whitter, 5= Sam Maybury, 5= David Jenkins, 7= Roger Marshall, 7= John Johnston, 9 David Thomas, 10=Eugene Simmons, 10= Benjamin Lau.

Top ten women: 1 Ashley Brooks, 2 Zarah DeSilva, 3 Tara Lambert, 4 Morgan Lightbourne, 5 Liz Osborne, 6 Shonette Wilson, 7= Jo Tucker, 7= Barbara Lambert, 7= Tracy Berrell, 10 Caitlin Gordon.