the challenge of Zubair Jahan Khan to lift the Heinz Bermuda Open title last night.

Gregory, the sixth seed, suffered one minor hiccup on his way to a 3-1 victory over the 11th ranked Pakistani, that coming in the third game, but it was clear who the better man was on the night.

Possessing a single minded determination and will to win, the super-fit Englishman was in vintage form as he scurried to return everything Khan threw at him.

It was a match-up pitting the finesse of Khan, the stroke-player, against the patient, retrieval game of Gregory.

Fitness was an obvious question mark hanging over the head of Gregory entering the night, as he had been pushed to five games in each of his three previous matches, including a thrilling upset of defending champion and top seed Brett Martin on Sunday followed by a marathon victory over Mark Cairns on Monday.

These queries were put on hold as Gregory took the first two games 15-11, 15-12 to grab the early advantage and looked like sweeping to a straight game triumph.

However, fatigue would play a factor in the third game when Gregory tired, while Khan seemed to rediscover his touch in surging to an emphatic 15-5 win to pull within a single game.

"It was as much mental as anything,'' said Gregory of his sudden demise in the third game. "When you have been playing a lot of 3-2 matches it's in the back of your mind and you start to feel tired just thinking about it.'' Tension filled the fourth game. Gregory showed a sudden rejuvenation, while Khan reverted to his penchant of committing unforced errors and the former took full advantage.

Gregory prevailed 15-11 and fittingly assumed the mantle of champion after what was pronounced by many as the best squash tournament ever held in Bermuda. He also pocketed $3,000 for his efforts, while Khan received $2,000.

The champion was humble in victory, describing how he beat someone who was perhaps better in terms of ability.

"Zubair at times is a different player,'' said Gregory, who proclaimed this to be his biggest triumph ever -- his other most notable tournament win came at the British Closed Championships in 1991.

"He likes to go for his shots and when he's going good he really just outplays you and there's nothing you can do, but he also goes through bad patches where he makes a lot of errors and hits into the tin.

"My game plan was to force him to have more bad patches and to try and keep him at the back of the court.

"I knew I was fitter than him and felt that the longer it went the more errors he would make.'' Meanwhile, tournament spokesman Roger Sherratt said that all feedback from the players had been positive, with many, including Gregory, expressing desire to return next year.

"It's been a very successful tournament,'' said Sherratt. "The calibre of players taking part was the highest ever seen in Bermuda. And one certainly saw here that there is comparatively little difference between the top players.

"It was strange to see the top four players all go out, but the two seen here tonight who are both in the top 30 clearly gave fans their money's worth.''