WHEN Hyung-Taik Lee was serving for the match at 40-0 in last Saturday's enthralling semi-final of the XL Capital Bermuda Open, little could his opponent Flavio Saretta have realised that he would be lifting the big crystal trophy awarded to the tournament winner the following day.

Saretta, who had all week proved adept at digging himself out of deep holes, found the skill useful again in the final when he trailed 5-2 in the second set to Vince Spadea and then reeled off five games in a row to clinch the match.

The Brazilian was a popular winner, not just for his superb tennis, but also for his crowd-pleasing flamboyance. He wore his heart on his sleeve and, unlike many professionals who keep their feelings under wraps, he always made it obvious how he was feeling which allowed the crowd to ride the emotional roller-coaster of the match with him.

His 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 semi-final triumph against Lee will be long remembered. Just when it seemed the consistent Korean had cracked the stubborn Brazilian, Saretta showed his Houdini-like qualities again.

But it was not just the dramatic finale that made this such a captivating encounter. The quality of the tennis throughout was outstanding and many people on courtside were suggesting that this should ideally have been the final.

Spadea completely outplayed out-of-sorts Israeli Noam Okun to win 6-1, 6-4 to win his semi-final, but the going much tougher against Saretta.

The 21-year-old Brazilian, emitting grunts reminiscent to those made by his compatriot Gustavo Kuerten, ground Spadea down with his energetic hitting from the baseline.

The 27-year-old American seemed to fall apart mentally in the middle of the first set as he lost 14 points in a row. What may have bothered him was missing an easy smash after Saretta had miscued a return of serve into the stratosphere off his racket frame and the ball had remarkably dropped in.

In the second set, Spadea fought back and at 5-2, he was two breaks of serve ahead. Twice he served for the set and twice he was broken as the irrepressible Saretta cruised to a 6-3, 7-5 victory on a final, dramatic swing of momentum.

A sunny finals day was a fitting end to another stupendous tournament at Coral Beach, which once again proved itself to be the jewel in Bermuda's sporting crown. Even the weather smiled on the event all week, except for the Tuesday downpour.

It was a pity for the many fans who never got the chance to see him that Michael Chang, the biggest name in the event, made a surprise first-round exit at the hands of Eric Taino.

Chang's lethargic performance suggested that the former French Open champion was a little jet-lagged after flying from California, where he had just won another title to add to his illustrious CV.

Fans' favourites Andrew Ilie and Michael Russell also went out surprisingly early, although Russell could blame illness.

BLTA president Terry Smith was impressed by the set-up. "I would like to congratulate all the volunteers, officials and ball kids who made the tournament posible on a job well done," he said.

The hard-working ball kids and their mentor Disa Oubella deserve a special pat on the back for doing such a fine job, despite often being hampered by shorts and tee-shirts several sizes too big for them!

After nine years of the event, tournament director Alec Anderson and his team of dedicated volunteers have got the Open running like clockwork.

Long may it be a fixture on the Bermuda sporting calendar.