Snapped strings, frayed tempers and more breaks of serve than you could shake a stick at all served to provide an absorbing three-set contest between Mardy Fish and Cecil Mamiit at the XL Bermuda Open yesterday.

Broken as early as the opening game by the tall Fish, Mamiit looked to be heading for an early exit when he lost the first set 6-2.

But the 27-year-old Californian began to put his shots together in the second and the contest was on.

Mamiit, who lost in the final at Calabasas, California to Michael Chang last week, held serve in the first and Fish served to love in the second to split the first pair of games.

The pocket-rocket then opened up a two game gap when he took the third and broke Fish to love in the fourth.

Just as he gained the momentum, Fish fought back, breaking Mamiit for 3-2 and then holding his own serve to draw the pair level at 3-3.

Mamiit, who suffered broken strings in two racquets up to this point, then lost his serve and Fish served out his own to open a two game gap.

And although Mamiit took the ninth game, the spectators must have anticipated Fish taking the match in the next with his big arm.

But one point was all he got and at the end his cry told its own story. "I could not have played a worse game," he moaned.

The next wasn't worse, but it wasn't far off, and when Mamiit took it for 6-5, Fish hurled his racquet the length of his side of the court.

This time it appeared Mamiit was in the ascendancy and when he held advantage on two occasions in the next game the set appeared to be his.

But Fish held his nerve and levelled the scores, exhaling with relief as the set went into a tie-break.

However, it was all for nothing as Mamiit tied the match when he won four points on the bounce - Fish earning a code violation in the process for hitting his ball out of the Court Eight amphitheatre and into the trees at the back.

That seemed to end Fish's desire for a fight and Mamiit took full advantage, breaking his opponent twice and coming up with shots he simply had no answer to for a 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 win.

"There were too many reasons why it was tough," Mamiit said afterwards. "One, I arrived yesterday. Two, it was a hard court last week and three just the fact of trying to get into the clay.

"Obviously, it showed in the first set. I was very sluggish. But what I think got me through this match was my mental stature. I just went in wanting to build on this match, win or lose."

Mamiit said his performance on the West Coast had given him confidence.

"I was positive after last week. I won some matches so I knew how to win points," he said. "I stayed focused and built on it, whatever it took to grind it out."

Earlier in the day, Luis Horna of Peru crashed out to Noam Okun of Israel in contentious fashion.

The Peruvian lost the first set 6-4 and after he was broken in the first game of the second he slammed his racquet into a chair, earning a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from the umpire.

Things quickly went from bad to worse, the South American mouthing to both himself and the officials as calls went against him.

Down 5-4 and with the game at advantage to Okun in the second set, Horna sent a return that was called out.

However, he was not going to accept that lightly and even when the umpire called it game, set and match to Okun, he continued to dispute the decision.

Okun had long since left the court before Horna gave up his appeal and accepted a far from graceful defeat.