Ricky Mallory triumphed over excruciating heat and opponent James Collieson to take his third Colonial Open title in five years at Pomander Gate on Saturday.

After the match, which started at 12.15 p.m. in fiercely hot sunshine and chokingly high humidity, both players admitted conditions had left them unable to play up to scratch.

Mallory, who turns 34 next month, got the better of 22-year-old defending champion Collieson 6-4, 6-3, in a contest which left both players drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

On a day when experience prevailed over youth, 36-year-old Jill Finnigan won the ladies open title, defeating Danielle Paynter, a girl half her age, 7-5, 6-4.

"They really should change the starting time of this final,'' said Mallory after his victory. "It was impossible to play tennis out there.

"The conditions really leave you feeling fatigued all the time -- your legs get real heavy and the humidity makes it hard to breathe.'' And he admitted that at one stage, he wondered if he would be able to complete the match.

"When it was 5-4 in the first set, I didn't think I could play another point, never mind another set,'' said Mallory.

Collieson, still perspiring profusely 30 minutes after the match and with leg muscles starting to cramp, reiterated Mallory's views.

"That just wasn't tennis,'' he said. "It was like playing in India. They don't play the finals of tennis tournaments in those sort of conditions anywhere else in the world.

"I felt bloated because I was taking in so much fluid, but I couldn't drink as much as I was losing. That's why I thought I was likely to start cramping if it went to three sets.'' Collieson, who studies at the University of Wilmington, North Carolina, and plays competitive collegiate tennis, had been disappointed with the way he had lost his title.

"There was no rhythm to my game. It was one of those days when I woke up and got out of the wrong side of the bed,'' he said.

Mallory held serve in the first game after surviving a break point, then broke Collieson to 15 and held serve again to streak into a 3-0 lead.

The younger man battled back to level the scores at 3-3, as his aggressive play paid off with a string of glorious winners.

Collieson was on a roll and out-hitting his opponent with his spectacular repertoire of all-round groundstrokes. But at that point, the experience of seasoned Davis Cup campaigner Mallory came into play, as he stopped trying to slug it out with the big hitter and instead steadied the pace of the rallies.

His opponent had clearly been irritated by the tactic. "Ricky was just trying to poke the ball back over the net every time -- it's not in my nature to play that way,'' said Collieson.

With Collieson serving at 4-5 to stay in the set, the players fought out the game of the match.

At deuce, Collieson attacked at the net and must have thought he had won the point with a solid, deep backhand volley. But Mallory produced an astonishing half-volley get from the baseline, which left Collieson amazed as well as well as stranded.

Both players had their chances to win the pivotal game of the contest and Mallory spurned four set points before finally winning one with a cross-court forehand on the run.

Mallory held serve in the first game of the second set, but appeared shattered as he trudged off court at the changeover.

Two games then went against serve as the relentless heat continued to drain the players' energy reserves.

Collieson's frustration became evident as he shouted to himself and occasionally threw down his racket, but Mallory dug deep to give himself a 4-1 lead.

Serving at 2-5, 15-40, Collieson produced some of his best tennis of the day, saving both match points, the first with a flowing backhand pass, the second with a sizzling, cross-court forehand.

But it was all in vain as Mallory ended the protaganists' ordeal by heat by converting his third match point into victory.

Both Mallory and Collieson had to play in the men's doubles final, on opposite sides, after their 90-minute encounter, but organisers delayed the start.

Mallory came off best again, teaming up with Davis Cup team-mate Jenson Bascome to beat Collieson and Mark Cordeiro 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.

Number one seed Jill Finnigan set about her task with gusto in the ladies final, racing into a 5-0 lead against Paynter.

But 18-year-old Paynter, who attends college in the USA, fought back to 5-5 with some aggressive play.

Finnigan, the number one seed, broke Paynter's serve to 15 to capture the first set 7-5, and finally won the second set 6-4 after the determined Paynter had survived three match points.

For Finnigan, a former junior Wimbledon player, it was a first Colonial Open win, but she was keen to pay tribute to her opponent.

"That was probably the best singles game I've played since I moved to the Island three-and-a-half years ago,'' said Finnigan.

"It's always nice to win, but it was nice to play in a game with quite a few long rallies and against a junior playing so well. I'm sure that she (Paynter) will be a future Bermuda number one.'' Another teenager to impress was Zarah DeSilva, who won the ladies B title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over defending champion Shonette Wilson.

The men's B title went to Eugene Simmons who defeated veteran Wilfred Gonsalves 6-4, 6-2.

And in the mixed doubles, 18-year-old Tara Lambert teamed up with Mallory to defeat Finnigan and Mark Cordeiro 6-2, 6-4.

Finnigan bagged her second trophy by winning the ladies' doubles with Kelly Holland, beating Wendy Gelhay and Anne Jones 7-5, 6-1 in the final.

Organisers of this week's Port Royal Open tennis tournament, scheduled to begin today, have delayed the start until tomorrow.

Photos by Ras Mykkal Straining every sinew: Ricky Mallory stretches to get the most out of his serve during his 6-4, 6-3 victory over James Collieson in the Colonial Open men's singles final at Pomander Gate.

Colonial ruler: Jill Finnigan plays a controlled backhand on her way to a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Danielle Paynter in the Colonial Open ladies final at Pomander Gate.