some special inspiration in his return to the local scene.

He found it in the form of his parents, who died within eight months of each other two years ago. "I won it for them,'' Mallory said after his gruelling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over James Collieson in the final of the Colonial Open on Saturday.

Now 31, Mallory concedes "the hunger isn't there anymore'' for Island tournaments. And still in the doldrums following his two emotional victories before a home crowd during Davis Cup, Mallory decided to heed the advice of a young cousin, who told him that the late Richard and Evelyn Mallory wouldn't appreciate seeing their son merely going through the motions.

"I decided just to go out there and enjoy myself,'' he said.

And what better way than with a victory over the 20-year-old Collieson, who two nights earlier had knocked off top seed Michael Way in the semi-finals.

Mallory kept Collieson off balance with an aggressive serve and volley game and then gained a second wind to rally from an 0-2 deficit in the deciding set.

"It felt like an eternity out there,'' Mallory, the second seed, said of the sweltering conditions at Pomander Gate.

The game plan against Collieson, he said, was basic: Attack the net. "I knew I couldn't stand at the baseline and trade shots with James,'' Mallory said.

Now with a gap in the local scene, Mallory gets a chance to rest an ailing right rotator cuff and get ready for the start of soccer season (he'll play for PHC).

Saturday's win came after he was knocked off two weeks ago in the Heineken Open, his first action since Davis Cup. But he rebounded to win both the doubles (with Mark Cordeiro) and mixed doubles -- then on Saturday won the mixed doubles again with his sister, Allison Towlson.

"I pick good partners,'' Towlson said when asked of the two wins. Up until the Heineken, the two hadn't played together since they were juniors. "We used to argue a lot,'' Mallory laughed. "I guess we matured with age.'' While Mallory went to school in the US, Towlson gave birth to two children: Son Neal nearly four years ago and daughter Mallory just this past February.

She's only getting back into tennis but hopes to play a lot more -- especially with her brother.

"Ricky kind of dominates the match when he's on the court,'' said Towlson, who used a strong presence at the net to fend off top women's player Jill Finnigan and partner John Moore 6-4, 6-3 in Friday's final.

Also fresh off representing her country was Kelly Holland and the top-seeded Federation Cup veteran called on all her experience to beat Finnigan 6-4, 7-5 in Saturday's ladies singles final. Finnigan, an Island newcomer who won all three titles at the Heineken, earned some revenge in the doubles when she and Wendy Gelhay defeated Holland and Barbara Lambert 6-2, 6-0.