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Londoner Andy Bray continued his stranglehold over Bermuda's domestic tennis scene on Sunday as he powered to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over James Collieson, to win the Vitamin Water Open. The 31-year-old, a VP and financial controller at XL Insurance, has won practically every tournament he has entered since arriving in Bermuda five years ago.

Over the last three years he has won 10 out of 12 in the 'majors' - the island's four annual ranking tournaments. The last time he lost a final was against Collieson at the Fairmont Southampton in 2005.

James Whittaker caught up with Bray to find out how he stays motivated, his rivalry with Collieson and why he never went pro.

You've been winning tournaments pretty regularly since you got to Bermuda. Have you lost count of the number of 'majors' you've won?

Yeah, I don't know. I missed the Argus last year because I was off the island but I won them all the year before, the year before that I won them all except the Princess - the last one of the year - which I lost to James Collieson.

He's definitely been the biggest rival I've had over the years. There's a few good young guys but he still hits the ball harder than anyone else.

What level were you playing at in England?

When I was at home I was playing National Club League travelling around the whole of the South East.

I was still playing a pretty high level back home. I was not winning that much but I was pushing myself to a level that was perhaps above my ability.

Did you prefer the challenge or is it better to dominate out here?

Well, it's always nice to win things isn't it?

I'm not going to complain about winning stuff. I'm not eligible for the Davis Cup so playing for Bermuda in the Island Games is great because it's a chance to play different people and it's a decent standard.

That kept me going quite a bit - training as a team and winning a gold in the doubles and a couple of silver medals as well.

What was it like as an Englishman representing Bermuda?

It was great. Even though I'm the only non-Bermudian on the team I never felt I was looked at differently.

I've been here five years, people know who I am and we all get on.

I'd love to play Davis Cup but I don't think that is going to happen, unless they want to give me a Bermudian passport.

Do you find it tough to find people to play competitive matches against?

I still love playing whatever. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I wasn't playing tennis. I grew up playing tennis and football in London. Basically I wasted my childhood on a tennis court.

I enjoy playing, even if it's just hitting with friends.

In the tournaments the early rounds are obviously very different from the later rounds but you have to just go out and enjoy it and not take it too seriously. I always want to win, though, no matter who I'm playing.

Did you ever think about going pro?

Although England is always getting blasted for being crap at tennis, the standard at junior level is pretty high. I was just about top 50 in the country for my age group as a junior. I pretty much knew the top guys weren't even going to make it, so I didn't take it further. Sometimes I think I should have given it a go, but I don't really regret it. I know people that I played with on the junior circuit and they don't play at all any more. They went for it full time and just got sick of it.

I treated it more as a hobby and I still get enjoyment out of it now.

Who was your favourite player when you were coming up?

Agassi was my favourite player when I was a kid. He wouldn't have been the first player that I saw but when he came through with his long hair and telling people to piss off at tournaments he was something different.

Growing up in London I got to go to Wimbledon quite a bit and the fact that he didn't play there for quite a few years and then came and won it, made him popular.

What sort of training do you do now? Do you have your own coach?

The main thing for an old fat b**tard like myself is to keep fit.

I try to run and go to the gym but I don't have a coach. That's one of the reasons why I enjoyed the Island Games so much - it was great to work with Steve Bean and Ricky Mallory and get some advice from guys who really know what they're talking about.

Outside of that it's just hitting with friends - Usually a few times a week in the summer and once a week in the winter.

I mentioned to Mr. (David) Lambert that we need an indoor court but he laughed. I don't think that's something that will ever happen.

What are some of the highlights of playing in Bermuda for you?

The big one is the XL. For the island to have a tournament like that here is huge. To have guys like (Kei) Nishikori and (Viktor) Troiciki is great. Those guys are going to be top 20 players in the next few years.

I've played in it four times and I actually managed to win once. I beat a guy from Barbados in the opening qualifying round three years ago.

The guys I used to play with in England can't believe it when I tell them I played in the qualifying event of a 100k challenger.

They think I'm a jammy b**tard. They laughed even more when I said I won a round.

It's a great tournament to have and I hope it continues.

What's the standard like here?

There's quite a few decent guys coming through. When we go to the Island Games we work together as a team and there are some good players.

It's the same problem as in England in a way. Everything else comes behind football and cricket. That's what all the young kids want to play.

There's still some pretty talented juniors coming through and hopefully next time we'll have a younger team.

Who do you think will be your main rival in the rest of the ranking tournaments - Collieson?

Obviously James. He got to 900 in the world and he hits the ball as strong as any of the guys in the XL. He's never been blown off the court in that tournament.

He's been injured the last couple of years and he hasn't entered that many of the tournaments. If he's coming back, then that's great.

I've also been a bit lucky the last couple of tournaments. I'll obviously keep trying to win them all, but it's not easy.

Jenson Bascome is back from college, Jacob Trott is playing more than ever and is very tough to beat.

Samitha Ranaweera can knock anyone off the court on his day.

Gavin Manders is tough to beat, Niem Azar is another young guy coming back from tennis school. We had a draw of 32 for the Vitamin Water Open - the first time we've had that for a while - so it's getting competitive.[[In-content Ad]]

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