Kenny Pearman roared from a set down to defeat Paul York 6-7 (8-6), 6-2, 6-2 in a thrilling three-setter during play in the 2001 Argus Open at the Tennis Stadium yesterday.

Having let the first set slip from his grasp when serving for the lead at 5-4 and again at 6-5, the crowd thought he was sinking further into the doldrums when he fell behind 1-0 to start the second set.

But that wasn't to be.

The game seemed to turn in Pearman's favour when York, forcing his opponent on the defensive, thus keeping him at the baseline, hit two easy forehand volleys into the net when well placed.

These unforced errors gave Pearman new life and he took full advantage, running off five consecutive games to level the match at 1-1.

While there were several long rallies in the third set, there was never any doubt as to who was going to win when Pearman raced to a 4-1 and 5-2 lead.

When Pearman forced York into the backhand corner where he was unable to run the ball down, the victor let out a loud 'yeah', pumping his fist in the air in triumph.

Jubilantly, Pearman exclaimed: "It may have looked easy to those of you in the stands because of the scoreline, but it certainly wasn't easy out there on the court.

"Paul (York) didn't give anything away. Every point I got I had to earn and there were times when I did not think I would earn enough to win."

This was only one of the highlight encounters of the night because unseeded Erwin Leader took advantage of perennial slow starter Darion Thomas, to upset the third seed 6-0, 4-6, 6-4.

Thomas said he had no excuses.

"The hill was just a bit too much for me to climb after expending so much energy in losing that first set," said.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of action in the Men's Open doubles where the veteran team of John Moore and Martin Zolnai defeated Gary Lyons and Arrigo Merlo in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, producing some classic volleys along the way.

Men's 'B' top seeds Eldon Daniels and Vernal Davis opened their account with a comfortable 6-1, 6-0 victory over Phillip Nearon and Sammy Wilson, while Eric Collins and John Johnston made short work of their younger opponents, beating Scott Quinn and Chris Smith 6-1, 6-1.

There will be more action over the weekend with a total of 36 matches over the two days. They start with what should be an interesting senior's encounter between veterans Coleridge Place and Martin Zolnai and should wind up tomorrow evening with a classic between Earl Leader and Michael Levon.