Lawn Tennis Club Invitational Championships, is today still an American and still unranked, but he is certainly no longer unknown.

The teaching professional, originally from Chile but now based in Westhampton, New York, swept into the men's singles final without losing a set as he breezed past second seed Mike Curry 6-2, 6-0 yesterday at Coral Beach Club.

Participating in the local tournament for the first time, having been introduced by the husband-and-wife tennis pair of King and Yvonne van Nostrand, also of New York, Dupre has raised more than a few eyebrows this week.

His talents initially came to light when he defeated another visitor Rick Morton 6-0, 6-1 earlier in the week and when he got past Bermudian Wilfred Gonzalves 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday it became clear he was one to be reckoned with.

Whispers became shouts throughout the Coral Beach complex. "Who was he? Where is he from? Why didn't someone know about him?'' ... now they do.

Following his semifinal victory over Curry, Dupre said: "He's a very good player, but I noticed he was tiring, so naturally I took advantage of that and I was lucky that my tactics paid off.'' Loser Curry, however, saw things slightly different. "He's a heck of a player,'' said Curry, who gained the semifinal through a win over Dave Collins. "I started off playing well, but he played much better from the beginning and he just never let me into the game.'' Top seed Brian Way stands as Dupre's remaining hurdle in tomorrow's final.

Way teetered on the brink of elimination before ousting Coleridge Place 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in a match lasting almost two hours.

"I had to change my strategy,'' explained Way following what was an exhausting match. "I had to start attacking the net, forcing him to play shots earlier than he would have liked, because he is such a frustrating player who slows the game down and with the slow courts I found myself playing into his hands.'' Luckily, Way realised this after the second set, altered his game and ran off the third set to maintain his course to the final.

Meanwhile, American pair Barbara Laporte and Monnie Donnelly grabbed the tournament's first piece of silverware by pulling off a mild upset in the form of straight sets -- 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 -- triumph over number one seeds Gill Butterfield and Jan Quin in the women's open doubles.

In the men's doubles, Brian Way and Stuart Smith eased into the semifinals on the tails of a 6-2, 6-1 manhandling of Hugh Barit and Graham Boyle and will face the tandem of Dupre and Abby Butler in what shapes up as an intriguing tussle.

Possibly the most exciting and surely the longest match of the tournament occurred in the women's 40 singles where Polly Henderson outlasted Evie Peck 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3 in a three-and-a-half-hour contest.

BRIAN WAY -- Dupre's next opponent.