AVON'S Nick Gould proved he is the man for not only all surfaces but also all conditions as he coped better with the spongy Ilkley courts to claim his sixth Girobank Tour title of the year this weekend.

The former Davis Cup player has competed in Ilkley before but never won a final.

But in 2000. success has become a habit and despite being forced to compete on three different surfaces in one of the summer's wettest weeks, he was able to adapt his game to the difficult conditions for what proved the only grass court day of this year's Girobank.

"It was very difficult, thyebounces were unpredictable but after a few games you expect it to bounce short," said Gould after defeating the stockily-built South African Vaughan Snyman 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

"It was a case of adapting and we probably played more drop shots than normal on grass. It was the first time on grass but if you're playing on hard then you're in the groove anyway."

Twenty-six-year-old Snyman, a previous Ilkley doubles finalist whose biography includes a singles win over Wimbleton quarter finalist Jan-Michael Gambill, only signed up for this week's tournament on Monday having returned from a trip to Spain.

He was broken just once, on his first service game of the match at 1-0 and lost the tie break by a close margin 7-5.

"I've been to Ilkley before and I like it, so I was really pleased when I heard I was in the draw," he said.

"The court played better than I expected, but a little low, and there were some bad bounces and when you hit a volley sometimes it sticks and sometimes it shoots, and when you're serving it takes more spin than normal."

Gould's victory redressed the balance of the earlier women's final in which South African Ilkley regular Mareze Joubert defeated National Junior Champion Anne Keothavong from Middlesex 6-3, 6-3.

Once again improvision was the order of the day and the ten year age advantage for the 26-year-old former Ilkley winner paid dividends.

Joubert, who claimed during the post match awards ceremony that she felt like a 'grandmother' compared to the young Brit, collected the £450 winners cheque and announced she would be retiring from the full-time circuit on April 1.

But she didn't dismiss the possiblity of returning to defend her title next year.

"Why not, the club house is so nice, the people are friendly and the Carlsbert Export is yummy, it takes different in Ilkley and it makes you win," she said.

"I love the grass, you can just walk on it and know if it's wet or dry and know straight away what you've got to do.

"There was no bounce, which means you've got to keep the racket low and bend the knees, go for it in every shot," she added.