Johnny White gave tournament organisers a dream opening as he went right down to the wire in a nailbiting, stomach-churning tussle with Welshman Alex Gough.

The Scottish number 12 seed saved a match point before overcoming the gritty Gough in the first round and first match of the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters.

White, an Aussie turned Scot whose sublime squash is often tainted by inconsistency, was the more imaginative of the two but was made to run all the way by the doggedly determined Gough.

The former world number one took this match in a fifth-game tie-break, winning 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10 in a memorable, if error-strewn, encounter.

Gough seemed keen to prolong every rally despite doing all the hard running while White, clearly the more relaxed of the two, loped around imperiously in almost complete control.

The taller man possesses officially the hardest shot in squash, but by putting it into the tin a little too often, he allowed Gough to claim the opening game.

The giant awoke in the second, however, sweeping the next two 11-5, 11-6. But White, as he has so often in the past, took his foot off the pedal, allowing Gough, now executing a killer drop volley with unerring regularity, back into the match ? the Welshman taking the fourth 11-8.

The two players remained neck and neck deep into the decider, with White finally pulling away from seven each to 9-7.

But Gough, feeling he was getting short shrift from the referee, battled on and sneaked ahead to take a 10-9 lead and a match point. However, White clung on to make the save before going on to take the game 12-10 and earn a spot in the next round.

?A lot of this is about mental toughness,? said White after catching his breath. ?And that can often be the difference ? if you don?t have the mental strength you might as well go home now.

?Alex and I often have tough games, he never stops running and is tough to break down.

?This was another long, hard game against him but I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next round.?

After this gruelling encounter, White faces an incredibly tough second round match-up tomorrow against number four seed David Palmer, who barely used any energy in beating fellow Aussie Paul Price.

Bermuda resident Palmer destroyed the former world number four in just 16 minutes ? three minutes quicker than the deciding game of White?s encounter.

Price, who hasn?t played competitively in months, is also a talented musician and it seems recording his CD has taken precedence over squash in recent times.

And it was all bum notes and a lack of rhythm as Price was humbled 11-6, 11-2, 11-1. Although a lack of match sharpness is excusable, not chasing down shots in the last two games was not, with his performance leaving the watching audience slightly embarrassed on his behalf.

In other matches played at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association headquarters in Devonshire, Mohammed Abbas became the only seed to fall in the opening day session.

The 16th seed was beaten by Malaysian Ong Beng Hee ? the winner here of the 2003 Logic Open ? 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-2.

In other matches, Englishman Nick Matthew, who beat both the world champion and world number one here last year, waltzed past Shahid Zaman of Pakistan 11-8, 11-4, 11-4.

Young French star, and number nine seed, Gregory Gaultier out-played Englishman Simon Parke 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 while Canadian favourite Jonathon Power comfortably beat Brit Mark Chaloner 11-2, 11-2, 11-7.

In today?s first round action, Masters defending champion Peter Nicol and Bermuda Open winner Lee Beachill take to the courts for the first time.