Jim Mailer hopes to emulate the feat of Dan Travers, now Scottish national coach, at the Scottish Invitation Singles at Glasgow's Cockburn Centre this weekend.
The Stirling player bids for his fourth title, something only Travers has achieved in the 25-year history of the event.
Travers won his titles over an eight-year span, from 1978-85 and Mailer has won it three times in the last five years.
He will use the event as a springboard to what will be an important season for him, with the European Championships and the Thomas Cup coming up next year and the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur less than a year away.
''The Games is a definite target,'' Mailer said. ''I don't have many trips abroad planned before Christmas but, in the second half of the season, I'm hoping to go the Far East. You must play in that environment to get used to the conditions if you want to do well at the Games.''
Mailer has been troubled by calf injuries and also had a touch of flu, which has hampered his progress this season.
He also missed last season's World Championships in Glasgow, which has made him doubly keen to play in next year's Games.
''I was distraught at missing the World Championships,'' he admitted. ''It was worse watching as I kept bumping into players from other countries who were asking me why I wasn't playing.
''But I'm back to about 95 per cent fitness now and I'm looking forward to playing in the singles. It has been a good tournament for me in recent years.''
Mailer opens against Edinburgh's Alistair Gatt, but his main threat will be from Scotland's top world-ranked player, Bruce Flockhart, who starts against Richard Mitusch.
Scottish No1 Anne Gibson misses the women's event, where four-times winner Gillian Martin is top seed.
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