January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Manders finishes the year unbeaten
Island champ took a morning swim in the wild South Shore surf before match
Manders finishes the year unbeaten
Manders defeated Andy Bray for the third time in succession to achieve the milestone in stormy conditions just hours after Hurricane Bill had blown through Bermuda.
The 23-year-old even took a morning swim in the wild South Shore surf, braving rough conditions to complete a pre-match ritual that has served him well through his short but illustrious career.
It paid off.
In buffeting winds at the WER Joell national tennis stadium Manders battled to a 6-4, 7-6 win over Bray to take his third domestic title of the season.
Coupled with his impressive 5-0 record in the Davis Cup it means he has achieved his goal of going through an entire season without losing a match.
"I grew up watching Ricky Mallory dominate local tennis. He went through a local season undefeated and that was something I always had in my mind to try and do.
"The international bit was extra. No one has done that before. But I have to give thanks that I had someone like Ricky to look up to when I was coming up.
"So many champions have come out of Port Royal so it is an incredible honour to be the first to achieve this."
The toughest match of his winning streak came in the Davis Cup against Eugene Highfield of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
With the game locked at one set each, 4-4 in the third, Manders survived an epic 22-point game to hold serve and take the match to a tie-break, which he won by the slimmest of margins.
"That was definitely the toughest match of the year. Someone tallied up the points and they figured I had won 109 to his 107. It doesn't get much closer than that."
Jenson Bascome also gave him a scare in the semi-finals at Pomander Gate, with Manders requiring a third-set tie-break to clinch victory after a gruelling three-hour battle.
Strangely the player who has given him the least trouble is erstwhile number-one Bray. The big-hitting Englishman has had no answer to Mander's patient game plan.
"The quality went down a bit because of the wind on Saturday but it was pretty much the same pattern as the previous games. I had more patience and kept more balls in play.
"I didn't have to do any more than that."
Manders headed back to college in Florida after his win on Saturday. He plans to spend the close season rehabbing an ankle injury he picked up in the doubles final before beginning his preparation for next season.
"After having a year like this and knowing the amount of training I will be doing, I expect to be able to do it again locally."
Staying undefeated internationally will be a much tougher prospect.
Bermuda has never won a match at the Davis Cup Division Three level, where they will face the likes of Cuba and El Salvador.
"That is my aim for next year. I really want to start training early and see if I can at least win a match at the higher level."[[In-content Ad]]
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