weekend's matches in a Group B qualifying event for the XL Classic, which will showcase some of the world's best male players at the Coral Beach & Tennis Club from December 6-12.

While the string of bad luck obviously chagrined officials from the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association, Monty Nearon chugged towards a round-robin qualifying event on October 16-17 virtually unscathed as he defeated Mike Curry 6-4, 7-5 in the lone match at the Tennis Stadium yesterday.

Nearon was scheduled to face Blair Rance in a showdown to determine who would join Billy Way, Ricky Mallory and Michael Way in the Group A round-robin in two weeks, but Rance withdrew because of another late-afternoon rain delay and because he had to prepare for a business trip.

Three other matches were also scuttled by injuries. Jerome Bradshaw -- who had received an automatic bye into the second round of the trials -- pulled out because of a nagging knee injury he suffered during the Grotto Bay tournament last week. Sam Maybury was to have faced Rance in an opening-round match but withdrew because he felt he was too rusty from not playing enough lately.

Steve Bean, who also received a bye into the second round, was also hobbled by knee problems.

"It's unfortunate,'' said selection committee chairman Allan Simmons yesterday. "Every time we seem to have trials people who are expected to come through don't for some reason.'' Nearon, meanwhile, wore one of the few smiles at the stadium, largely due to a serve that was hopping the way couch potatoes surf through channels. He was quick, technically sound and did not get flustered as he wedged his way into a chance to play in the prestigious XL tournament in two months.

Although the scoreboard read deceivingly close, Curry's game was a scramble of inconsistency, rarely showing pop on the soggy hardcourt surface.

"I was quite surprised with my level of play,'' said Nearon after his victory. "With job committments and my young family I haven't been playing a lot lately. But it looked like Mike was off his game a little.'' A last-minute switch from the clay courts to hardcourts because of flooding also served as an advantage for Nearon.

"I was really pleased about that because playing on the hardcourt helps my game.'' Having never lost a match to Rance, 33-year-old Nearon was confident he would have beaten his scheduled opponent in the finals. Now he has the difficult task of squaring off against three of Bermuda's top tennis players.

"All of those guys obviously play quite well and any time you have guys based overseas you know you're in for some tough competition. I'll try to get into a baseline game and using ground strokes and we'll see what happens.'' The winner of the round robin will participate in the ATP qualifying event on December 4, joining Donald Evans who received an automatic bye. The runner-up may also win a spot, but that is yet to be determined.

Three more players -- David Wheaton of the United States, Jaime Yzaga of Peru and Alberto Mancini of Argentina are expected to confirm this week that they will play in the XL Classic. That will bring the number to seven players who have signed up for the tournament. Already confirmed are Patrick McEnroe, Bryan Shelton, Aaron Krickstein and Grant Connell.

MONTY NEARON -- Needed only one match to advance from what was scheduled to be a six-man pre-qualifying field.