Bermudian James Collieson, playing with a painful handicap and a gritty determination, pulled off the improbable on Saturday when he upset the Island?s number one player, tournament top seed and heavily favoured Andy Bray of England 6-3, 6-4 to win the Heineken?s Open men?s singles final at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium.

Bray, who wins or loses playing his hard hitting game with blistering serves and who normally feeds off his opponents pace, was thwarted on all three segments during the final, and two of those were of his own making. First, Bray couldn?t seem to `buy? a first serve. This put more pressure not only on his second serve, but his ground strokes because throughout the match Collieson had very little pace.

This came about as a result of a fluke accident that left a piece of wood embedded under the nail of the ring finger of Collieson?s right hand thus limiting his grip and taking away his ability to play his usual power-stroke game. This, in itself, proved to be a bigger setback for Bray than for Collieson because the top seed had no force to feed off and the erratic location of his strokes as a result were obvious.

Bray started the final indifferently, opening with a double fault, the first of eight he had for the afternoon. Then he lost his first serve at 15 when he was long with an unforced forehand, one of 32 unforced (18 in the first set alone) errors in the match that lasted for an hour and 28 minutes. ?Your timing must be spot on if you are not hitting the ball properly,? said the vanquished top seed. ?I just couldn?t get a first serve in and that is the strength of my game.

?You need a first serve if you are playing against James.?

The match really turned from the opening game when Bray lost his serve, but that was to be the pattern for most of the match with neither player able to hold serve with any regularity. Bray was broken three times in the first set while Collieson was broken twice with the tide turning in the sixth game. Collieson was up 40-15 but Bray came back with three straight points for advantage, only to have Collieson come back to hold serve and with it a 4-2 lead instead of 3-3.

?That was a crucial game for me, and for Andy as well,? remembered Collieson. ?If I had lost that game I probably would have lost the match.?

Collieson, who actually plays number one on Bermuda?s Davis Cup team, admitted that his accident, and excruciatingly painful finger, actually played to his advantage.

?I was unable to grip the racquet firmly and was unable to hit the ball with any power thus forcing me to undercut and slice my returns and this threw Andy?s game off.?

The men?s final was somewhat of an anti-climax following the Ladies A title game where 16-year-old Morgan Lightbourne came from a set down to capture her first senior title with an enthralling 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 13-year-old Caitlin Gordon. It was easily one of the best finals of the day with neither of the teenagers asking any favours, nor giving any. Every point they got, they earned.

?It is just unbelievable, the feeling of victory. I?ve just won my first senior title,? beamed Lightbourne, who will now be the talk of her campus at Warwick Academy. ?She was so consistent that I started to hit my ball deep and from side to side.

?This started to tire her out and I gained the upper hand and didn?t let up.?

In other action, Gill Butterfield, possibly for the first time in her career, lost in three finals. She and Kelly Holland were beaten 6-2, 6-4 in the Ladies final by DeDe Cooper and Laverne Stowe; losing 7-5, 6-4 with Mike Curry to Lucy Windsor and David Jenkins in the Mixed final.

Windsor captured her first title on local soil and it was made all the more special because her mother, playing in England, won her match to reach the final of her local tournament.

Butterfield then lost with Wendy Gelhay to Laverne Stowe and Barbara Lambert 7-5, 6-3 in the Senior Ladies doubles.

In the two other finals, Earl Leader came from the brink of defeat to upend Eldon Daniels 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in the Senior Men?s title game, while young David Thomas handed Vaughn (Retriever) Burrows a 6-2, 6-1 defeat.

Saving two match points was the highlight for top seed Earl Leader in his final against Eldon Daniels. ?It is not about tennis at that stage,? stated the veteran player, ? it is all about heart.?