Bermuda will not be taking any chances when they open their Davis Cup campaign today.

The Island are sending their two top players - James Collieson and Jenson Bascome - into battle against the US Virgin Islands (USVI) when singles and doubles action starts in the tennis tournament's Americas Zone Group Four in St. Vincent.

Team captain/coach Steve Bean has opted to let teenage newcomers Jovan Whitter and Ryan Swan watch from the sidelines while their more seasoned compatriots take to the court, first playing singles in the morning and then combining for doubles in the evening.

"Those guys (USVI players) are fit and ready to go and we need to put our best foot forward early in the competition. Our other two players are rookies and they need to watch a bit to see what this level of tennis is all about," reasoned Bean, speaking from St. Vincent yesterday.

Thankfully, he noted that a change in format should be a blessing to the Bermudian contingent given the limited experience in the camp.

"Usually we play the doubles right after the singles matches but now we will have a break inbetween and this will give our players a chance to rest. This is a good thing because sometimes Collieson and Jenson will be repeating - playing singles and then doubles."

Jenson will be the first Bermudian player on court when the No. 2 singles matches serve off at 9.30 a.m. This will be followed by the No. 1 singles in which Collieson will feature. These two will return to oppose the USVI in doubles at 6.30 p.m.

Tomorrow, Bermuda will face off against the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and then prepare for what Bean termed "a real tough" contest against St. Lucia on Wednesday. Following Thursday's rest day, they will play Barbados on Friday and wrap up competition against Bolivia on Saturday. The Bermudians were scheduled to meet Antigua and Barbuda next Sunday but the latter have withdrawn from the tournament.

Bean said the squad, which left here on Friday, had settled in well and members were trying to acclimatise to the "very warm conditions", the courts and to the type of balls being used. The Bermudians arrived in St. Vincent on Saturday, having spent Friday night in Canada.

Meanwhile, life vice-president of the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association Allan Simmons expressed realistic sentiments about the team's chances in this tournament.

"We hope to win as many matches as we can but, I think, moving up into Group Three is probably a tall order for the team that we have. Our job is to expose these youngsters to Davis Cup tennis and hope that they will improve," he said, adding that despite possibly being "intimidated" he expected the teenagers to "do okay".

"Also Steve is a good coach and I think he will be able to encourage them and get the best out of them."

Simmons noted that how much Whitter and Swan - ranked number three and four respectively in the Bermuda team - get to play will depend on various factors such as who the opposition is and if there are any injuries within the team. Such decisions will rest with Bean who does not have to name his line-ups until match day.

Based on past experience, Simmons pinpointed Bolivia as the toughest opponents but noted that the composition of teams changed each year "so you never really know how good a team is going to be until you play them".