In all the years that Mark Merklein has been coming to the Bermuda Open he has never won a match, so waiting through almost four hours, several rain delays and finally a doctor's prognosis to get his hands on a trophy was no real sweat.

It was gone 8.30 p.m. last night when the Bahamian and American doubles partner Robert Kendrick finally received their winners' trophies at the XL Capital Bermuda Open, their opponents and number one seeds Ashley Fisher and Andrew Kratzmann of Australia finally calling it a day in a match that started in the early evening.

The quartet had taken to Centre Court in front of a packed crowd and finished in front of an audience you could probably have put in the back of a taxi.

It had all started so well, Merklein and Kendrick taking the first set without much opposition, 6-3.

But Mother Nature was to play a starring role as the match wore on.

She had given notice of her intentions with a light sprinkling that caused the players to take to their seats, but with Fisher and Kraztmann leading 1-0 in the second set she vented her full fury on the court.

Play was suspended for an hour before they could resume battle.

When they did, Merklein and Kendrick were clearly the more focused, holding serve to level at 1-1, then breaking their rivals and holding again in the fourth.

They were seemingly on their way to a straight sets victory when the heavens opened again.

So everyone trotted off and then waited, and waited and waited . . .

ATP supervisor Ed Hardisty informed all and sundry that play would hopefully resume at 8 p.m. - if there was no further rain. If there was, then that would be it.

Shortly before the deadline, Merklein and Kendrick emerged and began warming up, but there was no sign of their opponents.

As time wore on and Fisher and Kratzmann still had not shown up, suggestions were being made that an abandonment would be in their favour. A set down and facing defeat, perhaps they could lay claim to half the prizemoney and, more importantly, a share of precious ATP points.

Around ten minutes passed before they finally emerged, and, wouldn't you know it, as soon as they did spots of rain began to fall.

The spots became a torrent and that was that.

But just as it appeared that the match would be scratched, Hardisty was called down to the trainer's office.

After a few minutes he reappeared to impart the information that Kratzmann was suffering from "abdominal cramping and nausea" and that he and his team-mate had retired.

There was more than one person who thought that was the most sporting conclusion to the match.

Ironically, Merklein and Kendrick had made it into the final on the back of another retirement, their semi-final opponents, Diego Ayala and Tommy Shimada calling it quits when leading 5-3 in the first set when Ayala sprained his ankle diving for a shot.

For Merklein, though, it didn't matter how he got his hands on the trophy, what really mattered was that he did.

"It's been a great week," he said. "I have been here probably five or six times and never won a match. This so is great, especially as this is the first time I have played with Rob."

Merklein said the truncated nature of the final did not make for the spectacle that it should have been, but they had remained focused throughout.

"I have been playing since I was eight-years-old and it's part of the game," he said of the rain delays. "The one thing you have to do is make sure you are ready to play once you go back out there."