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Tennis star Gavin Manders is aiming to go through the entire season unbeaten after breezing to another title this weekend.

Manders beat both Jenson Bascome and Andy Bray in straight sets to claim the Argus Open title on Saturday. The victory follows his triumph at the Coral Beach Open last month, with Bray a beaten finalist once again.

"My target now is to go through the whole season unbeaten in both local and international tennis," said Manders, who also won every game in Bermuda's successful Davis Cup campaign.

The 23-year-old, who has a 13-0 record for the season, said his first target for the season had been to prove what he had believed for some time - that he is Bermuda's number one.

After beating his closest rivals Bascome and Bray in consecutive tournaments, he feels there can no longer be any debate about that.

Now he has set his sights on a loftier goal.

"I'm hoping to win at the WER Joell tournament next month. I'm 90 per cent sure that will be my last tournament in Bermuda before I go back to school, so if I can win that one I believe I would be the first player to go through a season unbeaten."

But he believes it will be even tougher next time with 20-year-old David Thomas, who plays college tennis at Ball State University, emerging as a contender.

"He took a set off Bray in the semi-finals and I thought he was actually on top in that game until he picked up an injury. He has a lot of power and he's learning how to harness it better. He has shown he is right up there with the top three."

Manders admitted he had to use a lot of craft to beat Bray on Saturday. But he believes he has found the right way to play against the powerful Englishman, who has dominated the local tennis scene for several years.

"I would definitely say I have a game plan that seems to work very well against him. It's just a matter of focus and patience. If I stick to the game plan I believe he will always struggle to beat me," said Manders, who said he had played to Bray's backhand and resisted the urge to get involved in a power game.

"I just played to his backhand over and over and made sure I was patient. He has some big shots and its not smart to try and outhit him, you have to try and outthink him."

Manders said he was disappointed not to have had the chance to represent Bermuda in the Island Games after the BLTA opted to send a team to the Caribbean Games, which ended up being cancelled because of swine flu, instead.

"We would have liked to be there but there's nothing we can do about it now. We've got to keep training and hopefully we'll have the Caribbean Games and the Davis Cup to look forward to next year."

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