semifinal of the Heinz Bermuda Open provided numerous highlights for a packed house on hand at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association.

Giant-killer Paul Gregory of England, who defeated top seeded Australian Brett Martin on Sunday to earn a berth in the final four, once again stood as the instigator of the fireworks.

He will face Pakistan's Zubair Khan, a 3-0 winner of last night's other semifinal against Del Harris 15-13, 15-8, 15-12.

Just as he did against Martin, Gregory, the world's 31st seeded player and seeded sixth in the Open, again had a match go the distance before finally emerging as a 3-2 upset victor over fellow countryman Mark Cairns, the fourth seed.

Cairns had looked on course for the win and a spot in tonight's final (6.30 p.m.) after going up 2-1, but simply ran out of gas against the relentless attack of Gregory, who had the crowd riveted to their seats as they witnessed a calibre of squash rarely seen on the Island.

Long rallies punctuated the opening game won 15-11 by Gregory in 14 minutes.

It was then Cairns's turn to thrill the crowd with his noted arsenal of drop shot winners that enabled him to draw level at 1-1 after the taking second game 15-11.

Cairns duplicated the feat in the third (15-12), but expended much energy in the process, allowing his opponent to roll to a relatively easy 15-5 win in the fourth as Cairns appeared to `tank' the game in preparation for a final run in the fifth.

This strategy would backfire as Gregory showed his superior stamina. And although Cairns stayed close for a while -- at one stage the score stood at 7-4 for Gregory -- he had no answer when Gregory produced a late surge and went on for a similar 15-5 fifth game triumph.

The final score-line read 15-11, 11-15, 12-15, 15-5, 15-5, with the marathon match lasting one hour and 47 minutes.