Dick Mount, the `Grandfather’ of the annual two-week tennis extravaganza at the Coral Beach Club, captured two titles yesterday when he teamed up with Bob Stewart to take the Men’s 65 crown.

The duo were leading Mike Gorton and Patrick O’Kelly 7-6 (5), 5-7, 4-2 before Gorton was forced to retire through injury, and then the Mount returned to beat Allan Simmons in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2 for the Men’s 65 Singles crown.

While neither of these victories would ordinarily be a story in themselves, just six days before the tournament Mount fell while playing tennis at his home court at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts, and broke his wrist.

When informed that he would be unable to play because it could take months for the injury to heal, Mount elected to have a pin placed in his wrist so he could come to Bermuda.

Meanwhile, neither of the anticipated high-drama men’s doubles semi-finals started with great promise.

First up, Stuart Smith and Mark Cordeiro took full advantage of the inability of John Jacobson to move laterally because of a hip replacement, and defeated the top-seeded American father-son team in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

Michael and Brian Way had a more difficult match before beating Roger Marshall and Philip Vandoninck 6-3, 7-6, winning the tie-break 7-5.

During the 75-minute contest the crowd had an opportunity to see two sides of Marshall’s game. One was hot and one was cold.

In an unusual set of circumstances, especially when he and his partner were in a position to gain the upper hand, Marshall, personally lost his team four points on three separate occasions.

But in general it was vintage tennis early on, with Vandoninck, from Belgium, matching the Way brothers stroke for stroke and it was he who finished a perfect set up from Marshall to break Brian Way to level the match at 6-6 in the opening set. Marshall, glowing in the spotlight, hit a sliced backhand to Brian’s backhand side and when the latter attempted a lob it was an easy put away for Vandoninck.

In the resultant tie-break the Marshall/Vandoninck combination held a 5-2 advantage before the Way’s came back to take it 7-5 and with it the first set.

The second set was on serve until the Way brothers went up 5-4 and broke Vandoninck to love when the Belgium double faulted — hanging on to take the set and the match.

Meanwhile, one of the most highly-anticipated men’s singles finals in years will be on the agenda today when the Island’s top ranked Andy Bray will take on the high-flying American Mark Jacobson at 11:30 this morning.

It will be controlled power against controlled power as both players sailed through the draw to reach the final without losing a set.

Elsehwere, the veteran Earl Leader finds himself in three finals today — the Men’s 55 Singles final against Brian Birch and then he will team up with Janet Green to face Gill Butterfield and Sam Maybury in the Century Mixed final before ending the day with Patrick O’Kelly against Brian Birch and John Jacobson in the Men’s 55 Doubles final.

Leonie MacLoughlin and Elizabeth Hartley pulled off an upset, of sorts, when they defeated the top-seeded pair of Laverne Stowe and Ashley Brooks 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and will now face the American pair of Ann Jacobs and Carolyn McCoy in today’s final.

Janet Green and Earl Leader will defend their Century Mixed title today when they take on a familiar combination in Gill Butterfield and Sam Maybury.

Green and Leader ousted Ann Jacobs and John Moore in a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory while Maybury and Butterfield had a more easy time in beating Hartley and Jacobson 7-5, 6-1.