THREE players who were formerly part of the world's tennis elite will be looking to boost their ranking at the XL Capital Bermuda Open which starts on Monday at the Coral Beach Club.

Swedish great, Thomas Enqvist who in 1999 was ranked fourth in the world, is now ranked 101. American Jan-Michael Gambill, who was ranked 14th in the world in 2001, is now ranked 123 and both he and Enqvist will be playing the XL Open for the first time.

A player who has taken an even bigger fall, Nicholas Lapentti from Ecuador, is now ranked 148 after climbing to number six in the world in 1999. Lapentti will be hoping the Coral Beach clay courts will give him a boost back up the ladder ? and he will also be hoping he will do better than last year at the XL Open when he was beaten in the second round by Jan Frode Andersen in three exciting sets.

Gambill, who has been hampered recently by injuries and a loss of form, said this week from Florida where he was playing in a Challenger event: "It hasn't been a good year for me so far."

However he did make it to the quarter-finals in Memphis and has also made it to a final and two semi-finals in doubles. At 28-years-old, the six-foot-three-inch right-hander has won over $3.5 million in prize money in his career which started when he turned pro in 1995.

Ten years on the ATP circuit have taken their toll as he has suffered from shin splints which have set him back.

But he has beaten the best the world previously and fans may get to see some of that superb shot making next week on the clay at Coral Beach.

Gambill said this week from a Challenger event in Florida: "I have never been to Bermuda before but I have heard the tournament is very good ? I know a lot of the players look forward to it."

And although Gambill said he preferred hard courts or grass, he did have high hopes to do well on the clay.

"It hasn't been my best year on tour but I am always looking to improve. I have been battling some shin problems for some time now. I prefer hard courts and grass but hopefully I could do well on clay."

And while South Americans have traditionally done well at the XL Open, Gambill said: "Well they are brought up on clay and they are used to it but that doesn't necessarily mean they are always going to win on it."

Gambill has certainly beaten the best around in previous years ? in fact the last time he played against world number one Roger Federer he won. He said: "I have played Roger four or five times now and I won the last time we played." That was two years ago when Gambill reached the final in Doha. Of Federer, Gambill said: "He certainly is playing awfully well right now."

Gambill also has one of the more unusual hobbies of ATP players ? he spends time and money protecting likes of lions and tigers.

He supports Cat Tales Zoological Park near his hometown of Colbert in Washington state.

"It is a place I support as a charity ? helping endangered wildlife especially cats. It originally started when I was making enough money to start donating to charity. I also used to play Davis Cup and the US used to give us money to do