Earlier in the day, it was the end of an `ear-a' for chair umpire Antonio Choo.

But all eyes in the crowd at the XL Tennis Classic were drawn yesterday towards Evans and Way for their doubles match against Tom Mercer and Doug Eisenman of the US. And from the moment the locals stepped onto Centre Court, they appeared to be seduced by a glow that had been the province up to then of some of the biggest names on the ATP Tour.

And despite losing 6-2, 6-2 to Eisenman and Mercer, who are ranked 129th and 172nd respectively, the match left an indelible impression of elation on the Bermudians and spectators alike.

The doubles match grabbed the spotlight on the tournament's third day, which saw four players leap into the quarter-finals and David Wheaton and Paul Annacone -- seeded second in doubles -- ousted from further play. The doubles loss makes it a clean sweep for both players since they were also losers in singles competition.

Becoming the first players to advance into the quarter-final round -- which begins tomorrow -- were Grant Stafford (South Africa), who defeated Alex O'Brien (US) 6-4, 6-2; Franco Davin (Argentina), a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Nicolas Pereira (Venezuela); Ctislav Dosedel (Czech Republic) who eliminated Brian Devening (US) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5; and Lars Jonsson (Sweden) who edged Daniel Orsanic (Argentina) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1.

The other four quarter-finalists will be determined today.

Way and Evans jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the first set of their match, igniting a tumultuous roar from the grandstands and box seats. When they came within a whisker of the tying the score after five games, the duo had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats.

Evans, the sparkplug of the team with his monstrous serve, put the pair in front in the second set, too, but eventually Mercer and Eisenman proved too difficult.

Later, as Way spoke in the austere surroundings of the tennis courts, there was a reverence in his voice for getting the opportunity to be a part of the ATP tournament.

"I was very tight at first,'' said Way. "But after the first couple of games I felt pretty good, loosened up. They hit the balls so deep and that made it really difficult.

"Donald served very well and he made it easy for me. He helped us win some games.'' Evans helped the Bermudians creep up to the windows of opportunity several times.

Just the way he stands, squats and digs in at the clay, demands that you watch him.

"I felt good,'' he said. "I have been preparing very hard for this.

"But once again the level of play demands more than good serving to do the trick. The guys (Eisenman and Mercer) played solid doubles. They were consistent with not too many errors on their part. We played good but it takes consistency to defeat consistency.'' Mercer, who also defeated Michael Way in qualifying on Saturday, is not likely to be on the Way family's party list for the holiday season.

The first match of the day saw Stafford pulling the plug on O'Brien's further play and like a geyser at Yellowstone Park, the South African blew up at regular intervals.

The object of his scorn was chair umpire Choo, with the two constantly at odds over whether the ball was in or out of bounds.

Clearly, the South African is not a morning person.

But the player, who was taught to play the game by his mother when he was only four -- the kind of A-B-Cs Big Bird could not begin to explain -- sprung to life after dropping the first set and then winning the second one by taking four of the last five games of the set.

O'Brien jumped to a 2-0 lead in the final set before Stafford came back again taking six in a row.

"You know, sometimes bad calls can give you negative vibes and negative energy, but when I got a little upset I turned it into positive energy and it worked well for me today,'' said Stafford, who reached his first Tour final this year and also beat Pete Sampras once.

"I just decided I was going to keep plugging away. I had a couple of bad calls and a couple of good bounces, so things kind of evened out.'' Stafford, who drank his Gatorade yesterday from the plastic container the ATP tennis balls come in, lost his doubles match last night, teaming up with Daniel Orsanic (Argentina). They lost to the tournament's top doubles seeds, Mark Knowles (Bahamas) and Jared Palmer (US) 7-6 (7-6), 6-2.

Stafford will play Davin in the singles quarter-finals beginning tomorrow, after the Argentinian defeated giant-killer Pereira.

Pereira upset the tournament's second seed Aaron Krickstein on Tuesday night, saying at the time that even he was surprised because he had slept late that morning and then went on an afternoon cruise.

Davin, however, never allowed Pereira to throw his match into cruise control.

"In my first match (on Monday) I played very well and today I played very well, too,'' said Davin, who was at first reluctant to talk about his match.

"I know him (Pereira) very well. I played with him in juniors five or six times. I guess I know the best way to beat him.'' The day's other big singles winners, Dosedel and Jonsson, will face each other in the quarter-finals.

Devening and O'Brien pulled off the big doubles upset when they toppled Annacone and Wheaton 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. The match was switched from Court Five to Centre Court because of darkness.

"No, things didn't go my way at all, what can you do?'' asked Wheaton last night.

On Tuesday, Wheaton lost his singles match to the plucky Frenchman Gerard Solves.

"I tried my hardest in both matches but I wasn't playing as well as I probably should be at this time of year.

"It's going to take a lot of work for me obviously to keep improving my game.'' In other doubles play yesterday, Americans Francisco Montana and Bryan Shelton were soundly beaten by Mike Bauer (US) and David Rikl (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-4 and Pereira and fellow Venezuelan Maurice Ruah stopped Vince Spadea and Chris Woodruff of the US 6-3, 6-4.

Another pair of Americans, Don Johnson and John Sullivan, were knocked off by T.J. Middleton (US) and Tobias Svantesson (Sweden) 7-6, 4-6, 6-2.

Results, Schedule, Page 28.

FRANCO DAVIN -- Going for a backhand shot during yesterday's 6-3 6-4 win over upset-minded Nicolas Pereira.

COHESIVE UNIT -- American Tom Mercer stretches for a forehand shot while partner Doug Eisenman looks on. The pair defeated Bermuda's Donald Evans and Billy Way 6-2, 6-2 yesterday.