missed the matches after a six-hour rain delay, will not receive refunds.

Sunday's singles final was due to start at 2.00 p.m. with the doubles to follow, but two downpours drenched the clay court at Coral Beach and caused the start time to be put back to 8.00 p.m.

Organisers tried to inform ticket-holders who had gone home that the matches would still go ahead, via bulletins on television and radio, but still many failed to make it.

Those that did turn up had to stay until midnight to see the conclusion of play.

One of the tournament organisers, Maribeth Anderson, said: "Our official policy for every year has been no refund for rain stops and people know that we can't control the weather when they buy the tickets.

"But people who miss out on a rained-off session we have always tried to accommodate at the next session.'' No decision had yet been made on whether unused final tickets would be valid for any session of play in next year's Open, she added.

With every fresh shower on Sunday the situation changed, as players, officials and fans prepared first for a 6.00 p.m. start, but then more rain caused a further two-hour delay.

"We did our best to let everybody know what was going on and we had six people answering the phones here and I think we did a pretty good job,'' added Anderson.

Some of the die-hards who waited through the rain for play to start wondered why covers had not been used to keep the court dry.

But Derek Singleton, tennis professional at Coral Beach, explained that because the drains for the court were all at the northern end, a tarpaulin would only have made the situation worse.

"You need to have drainage at all four corners of the court to be able to allow water off the cover to drain away,'' said Singleton.

After Sunday's delay and poor drying conditions, the court played well when the action started and there was no sign of players sliding around on the surface more than usual.

But Singleton admitted that digging up the court before next year's Open to improve the surface and its drainage was an option for Coral Beach's owners.

"There has been talk of doing this, but I would like to stress that it is just talk at the moment,'' he said.

The resurfacing would involve laying aggregate underneath the clay top to a depth of around nine inches.

Overall, Anderson felt the seventh Bermuda Open had been a success, boosted by the appearances of world number six Pat Rafter in the doubles and in a singles exhibition.

"We are very appreciative of his appearance. I think this was something he sincerely wanted to do and it was important to him,'' she said.

And she added that it was too early to say whether the Aussie Island resident would return next year. "I guess it depends on his goals for the year and his schedule, but it would obviously be great if he could do it again.''