Their names are hardly ones to be dropped at cocktail parties, even by the most desperate social climbers.

They spend much of their time with the world's sporting stars, but their jobs are unlikely to inspire a blockbuster movie. Nor a Tom Clancy best-seller.

And, give them a tennis racquet, and they will be blown off the court by anyone who ekes out a passable living from the game.

Who are they? Well, you could say these are the guys and girls who call the shots at the XL Bermuda Open, and many other tournaments, for that matter.

Even Mats Wilander, Todd Martin, Javier Frana and John McEnroe's younger brother, Patrick, have to take notice when these ATP Tour line-judges shout their stuff. They may not be practised at the art of hitting a ball, but they sure are no court jesters.

Rant and rave at them over a call...and they will blithely turn the other cheek.

Hurl your racquet, or blast a ball in their direction...and they will discreetly duck as the umpire calls you to order.

They are without doubt the unacclaimed performers of the show -- performers who judge success by remaining on the sidelines, literally and figuratively.

But they are not to be messed with.

And, as millions of armchair tennis enthusiasts will testify, their judgment can be decisive.

Twenty-five-year-old Brian McDermott, from Sydney, Australia, has been a chair umpire with the ATP tour and a line-judge.

He knows only too well the pitfalls of the job.

"Players say things like `don't you know what you're doing?', `open your eyes', `you're blind', and that kind of stuff,'' he explains.

"As an official you are also aware of words of abuse in foreign languages.'' One of those who loosed off a few choice words in his direction was Czech-turned-American Ivan Lendl, the former number one noted for his super fitness and blistering forehand.

And just on occasions the ill-tempered outburst.

"My friends always say `how on earth can you do a job like this?''' laughs Mr. McDermott.

"I reckon you have got to have a thick skin -- and I think I do have one!'' He adds, with a chuckle: "It also helps being single. I'm not sure I could do this if I was married.'' Forty-nine-year-old Mrs. Nancy Horowitz, from Florida, has been in the firing line, too.

Hardly surprising, since she has been plying her craft since 1979, and her curriculum vitae will show she has officiated at 12 US Opens, the rowdiest of all four grand slams, and the toughest to run.

Ask her, however, to tickle our palate with some of the spiciest on-court outbursts, and her memory seems to fail her.

After a lengthy pause, she says: "One player, I can't remember who, did tell me `go back into the kitchen'. It was a real male chauvinistic statement, but that's about all I can recall.'' She adds with a wry smile: "I can also tell you that Jimmy Connors was someone who always had something to say.'' No surprises there, of course, although, annoyingly, the mother-of-two is not specific.

Mrs. Horowitz, who takes regular tests to see she is up to scratch as a line-judge, is at pains to point out her job is "against the ball'', and not the players.

And such is her concentration that she doesn't seem to get caught up in the drama of a game.

In the early '80s, for instance, she was a line-judge in a Connors-Bjorn Borg match in Florida. A tingling-down-the spine rivalry if ever there was one.

"I was relatively knew to officiating, and there were a lot of long base line rallies, but I can't remember who won. You are concentrating so hard that you shut everything else out. You are also working week after week,'' explains Mrs. Horowitz.

For Mr. McDermott and Mrs. Horowitz, however, the occasional torrent of abuse is a small price to pay for the perks of the job.

The pay may not be good -- in Bermuda they are earning somewhere in the region of $80-a-day -- but you get the chance to travel, take part in major events, and become involved in a game you love.

Mr. McDermott, a "blue badge'' chair umpire, has been on the international circuit since 1990, and is on the move nine months a year.

A sharp eye is needed in this job! He has already officiated at seven Australian Opens, three US Opens, and this year he will be at Wimbledon, the creme de la creme of tennis tournaments.

"Doing my job, you get the best seat in the house, and it's a wonderful way to see the world.

"I've been to England, Canada, the United States, Indonesia and New Zealand, although to be honest you never have time to do sight-seeing. I've also made many friends out of doing this.'' Are any of those friends, tennis stars? "No, when you become an umpire or a line-judge you don't mix with the tennis players. I don't have any close friends who are on the tour.

"It could cause difficulties if you officiate at a match in which your friends are playing.'' So, how long does he intend to keep it up? "While I'm still enjoying travelling and living out of a suitcase I will keep doing this. It's really a full-time occupation, and I don't have any other job.

"I would definitely like to do something tennis-related when I stop doing this.'' Mrs. Horowitz, an ATP and United States Tennis Association official, is tennis director for City Pembroke Pines in Florida, and she has no doubt why she was drawn to such an unfashionable line -- no pun intended -- of tennis.

"I love the game of tennis,'' she says simply.

She continues: "I also love being able to participate in the fairness of the game.

"Our job is against the ball. If a player acts up you may glance at him but continue with the job.'' Mrs. Horowitz has no qualms about naming some of the players she was impressed by: Yannick Noah, Borg, Chris Evert and Wendy Turnbull.

But looking at her, and you know, even five-times Wimbledon champion Borg -- many would argue the greatest grass court player who ever lived -- would not have influenced a line call.

To Mrs. Horowitz, a job is a job, and superstars receive no special favours.

The wide-eyed journalist may quiz her about Borg, Connors, McEnroe, and Lendl, but Mrs. Horowitz has more important names in mind.

She is anxious to thank Dr. and Mrs. Ray Smith for being her host family during her stay in Bermuda.

Among the corps of line-judges in Bermuda this week, are some local tennis enthusiasts, including Mr. Russell Dey.

The 26-year-old Bank of Butterfield Credit Department employee had always dreamed of being a star of the court, although one minor matter got in his way...he was not good enough.

Being a line-judge, is, more or less, the next best thing.

"You get to feel the tension of a match,'' he says.

Mr. Dey, of Cobbs Hill, Warwick, admitted he had been nervous during the first matches he officiated over, adding: "At the big points I became a little tense, but I have relaxed a bit since then,'' he says.

For those who are on the front line, it seems, the pressure never really lets up.