weekend for the Bermuda Closed Championships.

And the Island's former number one-ranked player shook off the rust to advance to the final against top-seeded Nick Frost before losing in four sets at Elliott Primary School.

Just having Smith back, though, was enough to have Bermuda Table Tennis Association officials smiling as they prepare to send a team to the world championships for the first time in ten years.

Smith would certainly join Frost among the four men selected later this month for the May tournament in Manchester, England. But complicating matters is the fact that he has been selected as an alternate for the Bermuda national cricket team's trip to Malaysia for the ICC Tournament in April.

Smith said he hadn't made up his mind which way to go but one thing was for sure, he would not compete in both.

Dennis Pearman, David Waltham, Darron Trott and Myron Piper are among those battling it out for the other spots on the team.

Monique Ternier, the only woman competing in the weekend event, may also get an invitation, especially after upsetting Waltham, the third seed, 21-19, 17-21, 21-18 in the second round. Ternier went on to lose to Smith 24-22, 21-11 in the quarter-finals.

Smith, who has been concentrating on cricket since winning last year's BTTA crown, returned to upend Pearman in straight sets in the semi-finals, including a 31-29 decision in the opener.

Frost defeated Trott 21-11, 21-19, 21-14 in his semi-final to set up the showdown with Smith. After dropping the first game 17-21, Frost came back to win the next three 21-9, 22-20, 21-15.

Waltham defeated Piper 21-13, 21-17 in the consolation final.

Piper and Rawle Frederick are the new doubles champions after beating Mike Lindo and Roderick Masters 21-16, 21-12, 18-21 and 21-15. Piper and Frederick downed top seeded Frost/Waltham and number three seeds Pearman/Trott en route to the final.