January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Kiefer's on comeback trail
The highly rated German is the star name in the line-up for this year's tournament and will be one of the top players ever to play at the Bermuda event, while still in his prime.
Kiefer, who can count Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Tim Henman, among his high profile scalps, has been out of action since last year's French Open, where he suffered a wrist injury.
During his nine-month absence from the circuit his world ranking has sunk to 149 and the XL is viewed as a stepping-stone on his road to recovery.
If Kiefer returns in the kind of form that saw him trouble the world's best in '05 and '06 he should be a cast iron favourite for this tournament and is likely to be back in the majors by the time the U.S. Open comes around in August.
He won't have an easy time, though, with a host of journeyman pros an dup and coming youngsters vying for the title.
Last year's winner - Spaniard Fernando Vicente - won't be back to defend his crown. But there will be two former champions in the field in Peruvian Luis Horna and Brazilian Flavio Saretta.
The player to watch, though, appears to be 19-year-old rising star Sam Querrey.
The six-foot, six-inch serve and volley merchant is tipped as the next big thing in U.S. tennis and is unsurprisingly being likened by event organizers to Andy Roddick - the American star who featured at the 2001 tournament as an 18-year-old during his rapid ascent to the pinnacle of the world game.
More considered voices have referred to Querrey as 'the new Todd Martin' - a slightly less flattering, but perhaps more accurate, comparison.
Whether he's the 'new whoever' or the first Sam Querry, the teenager arrives in Bermuda with a red hot reputation and as number one seeding after winning three challenger titles, reaching the third round of the Australian Open and cracking the top 100 in his first year on the pro circuit in '06.[[In-content Ad]]
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