The Iron Man of the XL Capital Bermuda Open finally succumbed yesterday.

After a gruelling weekend of playing catch-up on the tennis courts - because of repeated rain delays and interruptions - Tomas Zib called it quits minutes before he and partner Michal Tabara were to compete in the doubles finals.

In a rescheduled final, the Czech mates were to battle Australia's Jordan Kerr and Sebastian Prieto of Argentina for the title at 9.30 a.m. However, early-morning showers again thwarted the revised plans and, while they were again reworking the logistics to commence an hour later, Zib announced his back spasms had flared up once more and he was therefore withdrawing.

Thus, shortly after 10 a.m., Prieto and Kerr were officially declared doubles champions following the walkover result. For the latter - who triumphed here with Belgium's Tom Vanhoudt last year - it was an albeit-unorthodox defence of his title.

Zib's decision was not totally surprising given his marathon heroics in recent days. The 29-year-old - who opened his fifth Open campaign with singles and doubles matches last Tuesday - was then forced to play three times on Saturday as organisers scrambled to keep the tournament's Sunday crescendo on track amid rain, rain and more rain.

Bravely, he negotiated the singles' quarter-finals and semi-finals and the doubles' quarter-finals with a semi-final bye then giving him the enticing yet challenging prospect of becoming the first player in tournament history to have a crack at both titles in the same year. In fact, the Open's number two seed set a landmark as the first player to advance to both finals simultaneously.

In a final twist to his rollercoaster week in Bermuda, Zib was made to wait more than seven hours to celebrate a hard-fought 6-7 (8), 7-6 (6), 6-1 singles triumph over Kristof Vliegen of Belgium - the match suspended for four-and-a-half hours because of torrential downpours with the world number 77 just one game from victory.

The doubles final, originally scheduled for Saturday, was at first rescheduled for an hour after the singles on Sunday - thus allowing Zib a short break - but the inclement weather caused a further setback to yesterday morning.

“After three matches on Saturday I had some problems with my back and yesterday (Sunday) I was waiting for a long time to finish the final so I decided to pull out from today's doubles finals because tomorrow I have to play again in Houston,” explained the new Open title holder stretching his back. “It's best not to risk it and to have a day off instead.”

Though somewhat disappointed not to carry home both titles, he candidly stressed that doubles is not his priority and he was pleasantly surprised to have a chance to win it.

Still smiling brightly at his three-set singles thriller achieved against the odds - and after saving a match point - he said: “It's always a nice feeling to be the champion and be unbeatable for the whole week. It gives me a lot of confidence for next week.”

Tournament supervisor Ed Hardesty lamented the tournament's topsy turvy conclusion but acknowledged it was unavoidable.

“It's been very frustrating from Thursday evening. Saturday we were blessed with lovely weather but it was unfortunate that we had to play one (singles) semi-final on an outside court whereas normally both semi-finals are played on Centre Court. Because of the bad weather and the Champions Challenge being washed out Friday night, they (Challenge competitors) needed to play on Saturday afternoon.

“I sympathise with the tournament organisers, the club and the people who have worked so hard to make this event function. It's sad that the singles final was delayed. We had a great atmosphere out there at 5-0 (in the third set) when the rain started but the conditions became very difficult and the majority of people left.

“The satisfaction is that we do have a singles champion and we gave it our best shot for the doubles by coming here this morning,” he noted.

Hardesty confirmed Kerr and Prieto would be crowned 2005 champions and receive the winners' cheque but, in keeping with walkover regulations, Zib and Tabara “would only get semi-final points and semi-final prize money” though recognised as the runners-up.

Kerr, ranked 45 in the world in doubles, was disappointed with the outcome but happy to retain his title.

“We'll definitely be left wondering what could have been if we had played but what can you do. Hopefully, we would have won it,” said the 25-year-old.

“We are satisfied that we will get the winners' points and prize money but you still prefer to win it the right way.”

On a personal note, the doubles specialist said the 80 ranking points he gained from this tournament will not “jump me up the rankings” because he won here last year and had to defend those points. However, they will help towards solidifying his year-end ranking.

Prieto, 29, concurred, calling the default win a “small consolation”.

The two - a relatively new pairing - are seeking to become a regular combination on Tour.

“That's the idea - that we will play together from now on. Next week we will play separately because we are going to different tournaments but after that we we are going to play together until we go to the French Open,” explained Prieto.

“Hopefully it works out for us.”