World class international play will take place this weekend at the Sussex Open Grand Prix.

Sponsors Ocean International Communications of Brighton have quadrupled the prize kitty with £1,000 going to the winner of the men's singles.

Two hundred players have been accepted, the maximum number on 18 tables at Christ's Hospital School near Horsham.

Those who cannot be accommodated include the England No.19 and eight times Sussex champion Ritchie Venner. His entry arrived one day too late to win a seeded spot.

But Venner intends to turn up on the day, in the hope that one of the 16 seeded men drop out, in which case he will be in the men's singles, an event where he often reaches the semi-finals. Andrzej Grubba (Poland) is the number five seed.

The top seed is a Chinese player who currently plays number two for Austria, Chen Weixing. He is ranked 37th in the world and is expected to meet England No.3 Gareth Herbert of Berkshire in the final.

Herbert is said to possess, even under strict new service rules, the best services in Europe, often scoring aces.

The battle for the women's top prize is expected to be won by Nicola Deaton (Derbyshire), five times the England champion. Sally Weston (Horsham), playing close to home and expected to be in top form, is the eighth seed.

Play commences at 9am on both Saturday and Sunday, with the men's and women's singles finals around 5pm on Sunday.