The stage has been set for the conclusion of the CBC Invitational tennis championships at the Coral Beach Tennis Club today when the week-long competition comes to a close with six finals starting at 10 a.m., writes Joe Brown.

But the big anticipation of semi-final matches leading into today's action turned out, for the most part, to be anti-climatic, because three of the powerhouse matches were won either by default, through injury, or the retirement of an opponent.

The two matches that whetted the appetite of the large gathering were snuffed out early when Michael Curry failed to recover from his agonising defeat on Thursday and pulled out of his quarter-final match against the fast improving Sammy Maybury. Then with only two games completed, Michael Way had to retire while playing Maybury in their semi-final when he pulled a hamstring with the score 1-1 in the opening set.

Maybury will thus take on the hot favourite, and the Island's lone tennis representative in the upcoming CAC Games in El Salvador, James Collieson, in today's final. Collieson brought the visiting Andy Bray back down to earth with a commanding 6-1, 6-0 victory, after earlier disposing of Eldon Daniels 6-2, 6-1.

There was talk during the early stages of the tournament that possibly young Bray just might take the singles title back to England with him. He had a solid all-round game and looked unbeatable during the first three rounds, but when he met Collieson he found more than his match.

Collieson, who sprays the ball to all corners of the court with equal power, and grace, when the occasion warrants, came out firing on all cylinders, never allowing Bray to get into the game, taking less than 90 minutes for the victory.

"He (Collieson) was just like a machine today," admitted Bray. "He did not miss anything and when I was unable to get my first serve in with any consistency, I was doomed."

Today Collieson will have to play Maybury, who can hit, and play, with the best on the Island.

While he has breezed through to the final without any real opposition, he and his game are moving into form at the right time. Whether he is peaking will be determined by Collieson.

Meanwhile, Maybury and Laverne Stowe had to dig deep in order to come from a set down to defeat Wendy Gelhay and Bill Goodman 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the mixed doubles semi-final. It was a contest that Goodman, one of the best doubles players in the tournament, only held service twice during the match. Without it he was swinging in the wind.

In the two ladies semi-finals Marnie Johnson was on the brink of retiring twice because of an aching body, but hung in to defeat a gutsy Barbara Lambert 7-6 (-7-3), 6-3 not knowing that Lambert was too playing with an aching body.

Laverne Stowe was seemingly in a battle for survival against Bostonian Beth Barrett when her opponent suddenly retired overwhelmed by the heat.

Barrett, who lead 5-0 before settling for a 6-2 victory in the first set, was up 2-0 in the second set when Stowe stormed back. She took the next eight games to tie the match at a set-all and establish a 2-0 lead in the third when Barrett threw in the towel, literally.

Lambert, however, recovered with a little medication and rest to join Eldon Daniels to defeat Janet Green and Earl Leader 6-3, 6-0 in the mixed doubles semi-final for a date in today's final against Stowe and Maybury.