morning, Niclas Kroon of Sweden snuck -- at courtside -- a quick nibble from a banana for breakfast.

By the halfway point of the second set of the qualifying final Kroon, who won the first set 6-0, was also chewing up his American opponent, leading comfortably three games to one.

Suddenly, however, it looked as if Kroon had slipped on his banana peel.

Bezecny roared back to win the second set 7-5 in an exciting tie-breaker before Kroon clawed his way back in the third set to win 6-2.

Kroon thus became one of four players this weekend to qualify for singles play when the XL Tennis Classic gets going for real this morning (10.30 a.m.) at the Coral Beach and Tennis Club.

Also qualifying were Lou Gloria and Brian Devening of the United States and Carsten Arriens (Germany), while US college sensation Chris Woodruff and team-mate Vince Spadea, also of the US, became the only doubles qualifiers when they shut down Xavier Daufresne (Belgium) and Gerard Solves (France) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 last night.

Bermudians, however, failed to make the leap into the main draw.

Michael Way lost his match to Tom Mercer of the US 6-0, 6-3, Ricky Mallory was eliminated by Woodruff 6-0, 6-0 and Donald Evans was ousted by Devening 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.

Yesterday, Steve Bean and Mallory lost their first-round doubles qualifier to Daufresne and Solves 6-3, 6-2.

Kroon, known as something of a qualifying whiz on the ATP Tour, had been struggling this year, catapulting into the main draw only once at Copenhagen in March. In 1992, however, eight of his Tour appearances came via the qualifying route, with only Andrei Olhovskiy of Russia having more with nine.

The 27-year-old faced just two minor roadblocks on the way to the qualifying round final, beating Scott Gessner (4-6, 6-1, 6-1) and Spadea (7-5, 6-3).

It was clearly his qualifying experience that provided him with the boost he needed this weekend.

In workmanlike fashion, he quickly had Bezecny on the ropes before his own game began to unravel in the second set.

After the match, Kroon ran the whole nasty business of that set in the personal VCR in his head, watching the replay often enough that it became his own Zapruder film.

"I was winning so easily,'' he said following the two-hour nail-biter. "As I was getting tired I began to think too much. Plus, I was cramping all over. I just kept thinking to myself, `I hope he's as tired as I am.''' Not even a timely break with the set tied 3-3 could get him out of his mid-morning funk. With the score tied 30-30, Kroon lobbed the ball to Bezecny, which clearly went over the line, but the umpire awarded the point to Kroon anyway and Bezecny went ballistic.

"Show me the mark! Where is the mark,'' the native of Boca Raton, Florida, shouted at the referee as he pointed to the clay surface.

"I kept plugging away, I tried to keep it close but it just slipped away,'' said a tight-lipped and obviously disappointed Bezecny, who had defeated the weekend's number one qualifying seed -- Hendrik Dreekman of Germany -- to advance to the final round.

Kroon now faces Alex O'Brien (US) in the main singles draw, but will play his fourth match in three days this morning when he teams up with compatriot Mikael Pernfors, the tournament's top singles seed, against Libor Pimek (Belgium) and David Witt (US) in doubles play.

"It's really important that you're fired up, otherwise you're out right away,'' Kroon said. "It's really tough to qualify. You've really got to fight.'' Bermudian Evans, who faced Devening in the first round, played well despite the straight-sets loss. Evans and Billy Way are now the only locals remaining in the tournament, earning a wild-card berth in doubles play.

Evans, whose serve was clocked at 104 miles per hour before the radar gun self-destructed, said: "I can't really fault my serve today. He (Devening) commanded the backcourt extremely well and he was able to handle whatever pressure I put on him.

"Today is just an example of playing really well and still not winning. But at this level it takes more than serving well.'' Woodruff, 1992-93 NCAA champion, lost his second-round match to Gloria 6-2, 7-5 after beating Mallory, but finally got his chance to shine in doubles qualifying.

Rising in the updraft of celebrity, Woodruff has been whisked higher and higher into the dizzying altitude of worldwide recognition after wins this summer over Chris Wilkinson, Andrew Sznajder and Michael Joyce and near-wins against Marc Rosset, Chuck Adams and Stefano Pescosolido.

Playing in their first match together, Spadea and Woodruff clicked instantly with Daufresne and Solves seemingly giving up after the second set.

The third set featured one of the ballgirls, Robin Skinner, being slammed in the head by a Woodruff missile, probably adding to a headache from listening to Daufresne's ear-splitting cries every time he missed the ball.

Spadea, loser in the second round against Kroon, credited the victory to "persistence and staying positive the whole way through. We deserved it.'' Woodruff, who resembles ice hockey star Eric Lindros, added: "It's a good feeling. Hopefully, it'll carry over into the main draw.'' The duo now face Venezuelans Nicolas Pereira and Maurice Ruah in doubles play this week.

In other final-round qualifiers yesterday, Arriens defeated fellow countryman Oliver Gross 6-4, 6-3, Gloria stopped Lars Koslowski (Germany) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and Devening ended Argentine Miguel Pastura's Bermudian odyssey 6-1, 6-4.

Results, Schedule -- Page 28.

MICHAEL WAY -- During 6-0, 6-3 loss to Tom Mercer.

FALLEN HERO -- Bermuda's Donald Evans, left, heads off the court after losing 6-3, 6-2 to American Brian Devening on Saturday.