Island number one Andy Bray will be a comfortable favourite heading into the Island Construction Open ? the second and most prestigious event of the domestic tennis calendar.

An unfortunate coincidence has left the Pomander Gate-based tournament clashing with Bermuda?s Davis Cup trip to El Salvador, robbing the event of locally-based Romar Douglas, Tony Thompson and David Thomas while Gavin Manders and Jenson Bascome are also unavailable.

This leaves David Jenkins as second seed at Pomander Gate and former Sri Lankan Davis Cup player Samitha Ranaweera the third ranked player.

But Bray is playing down his chances of defending the title and sealing stage two of his singles and doubles Grand Slam bid.

?No, not at all,? said Bray, when asked if he thought victory at Pomander Gate would be nothing more than a formality.

?There is no such thing as an easy tournament. You?ve got an ex-Davis Cup player, David Jenkins is no slouch and Jacob Trott is also a good player.

?It is a shame some of the other guys aren?t around because this is one of the better tournaments, you have a great sponsor, it is a well-run and efficient event and you have superb facilities at Pomander Gate.

?I?m looking forward to it as I do every year.?

Bray won the opening three tournaments of last summer before being denied the Grand Slam by James Collieson at the final hurdle ? although he did complete his second consecutive doubles Grand Slam with Collieson.

With Collieson pulling out of this season?s domestic competitions, Bray appears strongly placed to complete both Grand Slams ? this time with Jenkins as his partner ? although he is refusing to get carried away with the hype.

?I am taking it one match at a time, one tournament at a time,? added Bray.

?Things like that haven?t even entered my thoughts.?

In the ladies? competition, just eight players have signed up with only two of those seeded.

Ashley Brooks, who won the BLTA Open last month, is seeded one with Elizabeth Hartley seeded two.

In the men?s doubles, Bray and Jenkins are top seeds with Roger Marshall and Sam Maybury ranked two and Trott and Ranaweera seeded third.

The tournament begins today with the finals scheduled for June 17.