The top-seeded and defending champion Americans Ann Jacobs and Carolyn McCoy, in one of the most pulsating matches of the past two weeks, twice came from the brink of what appeared to be certain defeat to beat the local combination of Dede Cooper and Jill Finnigan 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) in the Ladies Doubles Open of the CBC Invitational tennis championships at the Coral Beach Club yesterday.

Jacobs and McCoy trailed 5-2 in the deciding set before pulling level at 5-5 and later trailed 6-2 in the tiebreak before levelling that score at 6-6. In all the Longwood Cricket Club pair from Boston Massachusetts staved off no less than nine match points before claiming victory.

When leading 6-2 in the tiebreak, Cooper was wide down the forehand line taking the score to 6-3. Then Jacobs had a slicing backhand that skipped off the line, inching to 6-4, and when Cooper smashed Jacobs first serve wide the score was suddenly 6-5. Three match points saved by the defending champions. The situation on the courts was becoming more and more unbearable for the spectators, and there was unbelievable pressure on the four players.

Yet the Bermudians refused to buckle. Having given up three match points they had one left at 6-5, with Finnigan serving. The crowd was tense. The players were even more so. Finnigan hit a near perfect first serve that the audience thought was the match winner, only to see McCoy hit a running two-handed backhand down the line for a winner to level the score at 6-6. Jacobs then hit a forehand blazer across court to put her team ahead for the first time. But the end was not in sight. Not immediately, at least.

With McCoy serving for the match she wasted her team’s first match point by hitting a simple overhead into the next then stomped the court as if it made the mistake.

At 7-7 and McCoy completing her second serve, she depended upon her partner to get their second match point when Jacobs forced Finnigan to push her forehand long and when McCoy hit her favourite inside-out forehand that sliced to the right of Finnigan it was all over, two and a half hours after starting the Bostonians had rallied to win 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 and 9-7 in the tiebreak.

“We were that close,” said an exhausted Cooper holding up her hand with just enough space for the breeze to blow through, “but it wasn’t to be.”

“They played great,” she conceded, but then added, “We were up 5-2 and allowed them to come back, then we were up 6-2 in the tiebreak and we just couldn’t get one point.” Many times that is the difference between players and champion players. Jacobs and McCoy cleared one more hurdle in defending their title.

Meanwhile Sam Maybury, in a sense, collected one of his biggest ‘trophy’ victories so far when he beat a hurting, injured James Collieson 6-4, 5-5 retired. Collieson who delayed his decision to play until the last minute because of a serious tender elbow in his serving arm and lost the first set, was leading 5-0 in the second when his play, along with him, wilted and giving no quarters Maybury took every point that came his way. In the end Collieson just wasn’t able to continue and conceded.

In other matches Janet Green and Earl Leader moved into the semi-finals of the Century Mixed when they defeated V. Walker and T. McGrath 6-3, 6-3 while Jacobs teamed up with John Moore to beat J. McKnight and D. Hamlen 6-0, 6-1. While Maybury was stopping Collieson, Michael Way was easing past Wilf Gonsalves 6-0, 6-2.

Men’s top seeds, American father and son combination of John and Mark Jacobson had to come from a set down to beat Terry Smith and Eugene Simmons 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, but their overall play will have to improve if they are to take the title in this very tight division.

Big matches today will be in the Men’s Open singles where top seed Andy Bray will take on Michael Way and Maybury was go against second seed Jacobson.