after taking almost six hours to defeat younger opponents during play in the 68th Bermuda Lawn Tennis Club Invitational Championships at Coral Beach Club yesterday.

Van Nostrand started the day by fighting from 2-5 down to second seed, 18-year-old Bermudian Tara Lambert, in the ladies Open division to emerge a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) winner.

Then she went one better when she battled from a set down to beat Irene Graham 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the final.

Playing someone more than 40 years her junior, Van Nostrand said her thoughts after her opponent had raced into a 3-0 lead were simply about winning "at least one game.'' "I had to do something,'' she continued, "and I had to do it quick, so I started to give her a little more `moon' and she started to get a little impatient, rushing her shots and committing unforced errors. That was my saving grace.'' At the finish, Lambert, Bermuda's top young female, said simply: "I lost my head.'' If the Dear Park native thought she had seen the last of the tough times, her next opponent, fellow American Graham, had different ideas.

Watching Van Nostrand play Lambert gave Graham some useful tips which she made the most of in the first set, racing off to a 6-3 win.

But her wily opponent then called on her vast international experience to win the next two.

An important turning point came in the tenth game of the third set when Graham served for the match, but was broken.

When the match was all over, some three hours after it started, Graham said: "She's a pretty smart cookie. When I thought I had her she started to alter her game and I didn't follow suit.'' In other top games yesterday, men's number one doubles seeds Ricky Mallory and Mark Cordeiro came from a set down to beat Eldon Daniels and David Lambert 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 while Nick Frost and Vidor Lunoe upset Earl Leader and Martin Zolnai 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Also in doubles, Stuart Smith and Alex Anderson came from the brink of defeat to oust Chris Harris and Roger Marshall 1-6, 6-1, 7-6.

Mallory and Cordeiro later made short work of Frost and Lunoe, winning 6-0, 6-1.

Full results, see Scoreboard.