Venerable Hong Kong Davis Cup stalwarts, Melvin Tong & John Hui, renewed their big-game doubles partnership, this time at the third and final local major of the year - the CRC Open 2003 - to capture the Men's Doubles title in front of a boisterous home crowd as they defeated the Aussie duo of Andrew Town and Mark Kratzmann, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, in scintillating fashion yesterday.

Tong and Hui, who hadn't teamed up for doubles duty since the April 2002 Davis Cup win against Malaysia, bagged the winner's cheque of HK$15,000 plus a packaged trip to Guam, courtesy of the Guam Visitors Bureau.

Born and bred in the territory, the Hong Kong duo that won a bronze medal at the 2001 All-China Games in addition to a runners-up finish at the Asian Championships that year, showed glimpses of their past brilliance with Tong conjuring his trademark sledgehammer forehands, and Hui with his usual lightning intercepts at the net, often leaving their opponents bedazzled and flatfooted at times.

In the opposing court, Town is a former men's singles and doubles winner at the CRC Open and the reigning SCAA Open men's champion. His partner, 37-year-old Kratzmann, is a former world junior champion, winning the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open junior titles in 1984, and a former top-50 singles and top-5 doubles player on the ATP Tour, winning no less than 18 career doubles titles, including reaching the Australian Open final in 1989 with regular partner, and current coach to Andre Agassi, Darren Cahill. That year, Kratzmann and Cahill defeated John McEnroe and Mark Woodforde in the semis before going down to Rick Leach and Jim Pugh in the final.

In a battle between a pair of twenty somethings in Tong and Hui, and the thirty something pair of Town and Kratzmann, in fact, it was Hui who was the first to yield a service break in the opening set at 2-2 after leading 30-15. Tong and Hui's long-time alliance proved to be a key advantage as they were able to regain their momentum immediately to break the left-handed Kratzmann serve straight away, at 15, to level proceedings at 3-3.

On the following Tong service game, Town and Kratzmann had two break back points at 15-40, but the local pair saved them both to force deuce. Although Tong proceeded to double fault on the first point, they won the next three points to go up 4-3. From there, Tong and Hui broke Town in the eighth game to lead 5-3 before Hui held his serve convincingly to wrap up the opening set, 6-3.

The second set went with serves until the fourth game when, even though Tong managed to save a break point at 30-40 to force deuce, he was broken to trail Town and Kratzmann, 1-3. This was the crucial break the Aussie pair needed to turn things around, as servers dominated the rest of the way that saw them take the second set, 6-3.

The final set was somewhat of a one-way traffic as the Tong-Hui partnership put foot to pedal and secured two breaks on the Kratzmann serve, in the second and sixth games, to race away. As a matter of fact, the HK duo was all over the Town serve in the fourth game when leading 3-0, but were unable to capitalise on two break point chances, one of them an ace by Town, as the Aussie held to trail 1-3.

After Hui held at 15 with a thunderous ace to take the scores to 4-1, Tong and Hui, who plays League tennis for tournament host CRC, had the crowd roaring in unison as they wasted three break point opportunities against Kratzmann in the ensuing game before finally breaking the Aussie for the second time in the set after the experienced campaigner double faulted on his only game point.

Holding a double break and a momentous 5-1 lead, Tong was serving for the match at 40-30, but was pegged back to deuce by the Aussie pair who was looking for some last second miracle. However, it was a case of too little, too late, as the dynamic duo from Hong Kong won the next two points in succession to lay claim to this year's CRC Open Men's Doubles title.

Meanwhile, No. 1 seed Lam Po Kuen (far right) successfully defended her Ladies' Singles title when she dominated Mainland Chinese teenager, Lau Yi Kai, 6-1, 6-3, in a little over an hour to claim her third CRC Open crown in four years.

Polly also won in 2000 and 2002.

The final day at the CRC Open 2003 features the Men's Singles showdown between two-time defending champion and No. 1 seed, Yu Hiu Tung, against former Chinese national representative, Hu Bing; and the Ladies' Doubles final between top seeds Jackie Fu and Tong Ka Po and second-seeded teenage pairing of Venise Chan and Kathy Lo.

At the CRC Open this year, teen prodigy Venise Chan has already won the School Girls' singles title, finished runners-up in the Mixed Doubles with Melvin Tong, and reached the Ladies' Singles semifinals.