Bermuda's top tennis players are being put through their paces in preparation for their next foray into international competition.

And the man in charge of sharpening them up, Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association's technical director Klaus Hoffman, believes the future looks bright.

Hoffman, hired by the BLTA last spring, is on the Island for a month to work with the men's Davis Cup and the women's Federation Cup teams.

Ironing out weaknesses in their games and toughening up the players, mentally as well as physically, in preparation for the rigours of playing on the world stage, Hoffman has been impressed with what he has found.

"I'm very pleased with the attitude of all the players,'' said Hoffman.

"They show great respect, listen hard and, to be honest, I find them easier to work with than players elsewhere.'' The German coach is based for most of the year at the International Tennis Academy, at Delray Beach, Florida, and has also worked in Germany and Canada.

He predicted that the Davis Cup team of Michael Way, Ricky Mallory, James Collieson and 19-year-old newcomer Jensen Bascome was strong enough to win the four-nation competition in Trinidad in March and gain promotion.

Last year in Bolivia they were relegated to American Group IV, but Hoffman believed they could bounce back up to Group III, by coming out on top against Barbados, Puerto Rico and host nation Trinidad.

"We are hoping and expecting to win promotion. Jensen Bascome is a much better player than he was last year and he is nearly there. He has the potential to be the best player in Bermuda in the next two or three years,'' said Hoffman.

Collieson is off the Island, but Hoffman holds team practice sessions with the other three Davis Cup players and the Fed Cup team three times a week. In addition, he oversees extra sessions with individual players as well as dealing with the administration duties which go with the job.

He felt the Fed Cup team, comprising 14-year-olds Zara DeSilva and Danielle Downey, and 17-year-olds Danielle Paynter and Tara Lambert, had huge potential to improve on the Island's results in women's tennis in years to come.

Hoffman said: "I'm happy to see we have an extremely young team this time -- I think the right choice has been made.

"The team has potential to do well, but it depends on how lucky we are with the draw. But we have many years to develop and build up this team to improve results in the Federation Cup.'' The girls will travel to Costa Rica on February 20 to compete in the Americas Group II 16-nation qualifying event.

Hoffman's brief from the BLTA is not only to coach the top players, but also to orchestrate the long-term future of the game on the Island. And he pulled no punches about his aim.

"My goal is to make tennis the number one sport in Bermuda. In terms of numbers, it will always struggle to compete with soccer, but it is growing and it will definitely get stronger,'' he said.

Hoffman was encouraged by the recent BLTA Schools Doubles Championships which had produced unprecedented interest and felt sure tournaments in the upcoming junior season would attract record numbers of entrants.