Manders: I love the pressure

Millions of people could be watching Gavin Manders and David Thomas play their doubles match today at the Commonwealth Games.

The Bermudians will be on the centre court at 8:30am Bermuda Time (5pm Delhi) and the match will be the focal point of the TV coverage in India, but Manders doesn’t mind the spotlight.

“Dave has got a stomach bug and I’m injured but I feel confident in our chances. We play the Barbados doubles team who are quite strong but I feel Dave and I have an opportunity to take them.”

He said in spite of being in the spotlight, they’ll be okay because “I love the pressure.”

Manders be competing under less than ideal conditions as he got injured on the first day of practice.

Manders said it was the result of “a build up of this year’s wear and tear” as he injured the lateral part of his knee. He’s also dealing with a hairline fracture in his hand.

He said when he got hurt “It was hard to take in. I made it all the way to India to hurt my knee on the first day.”

The Bermuda #1 might not have made it out onto the court but he received some exceptional medical attention from the Commonwealth Games staff.

“It definitely helped me out. I’ve had an ultra sound and a laser treatment. It was a world-class tape job but I played the five seed so I really needed to be at a 100 per cent. I was running on pure heart.”

Manders said it was inspiring to “have the president of the BOA (Judy Simons) and chief de mission Stanley Douglas at my match cheering me on. It truly made me feel like there were here for me.”

He said that was an encouraging sign and is hopeful he’ll qualify for Elite Athlete status soon so he can take his game to the next level. “That would definitely be the first step in getting funds for training as at this level everyone is getting world class training. From there I can move forward.”

Manders said in spite of all the noise made about Delhi’s facilities being in poor condition, he has not found that to be the case.

“Honestly, I have found everything to be quite the contrary. Everything has been great and anything we need that hasn’t been provided Stanley and Chantelle are right on it. Stanley and Chantelle have done an amazing job in taking care of us.”

Manders said after the Games he is going to rehab his injuries, but playing at the Commonwealth Games for Bermuda has “because this experience has really given me the inspiration to take my game to the next level.

Tara Lambert lost her singles match against Heather Watson yesterday and also lost the women’s double match she played with her sister Jacky against Scotland. On Monday, she and Thomas also went down, but she was putting a positive spin on competing.

She said: “For me, it was a bit tough as we don’t get to play this level but it was awesome as we did have opportunities to get into the point.”

While she has represented Bermuda at the Fed Cup and CAC Games, this was her debut at this level.

She described it as “awesome” with high quality players such as world #65 Anastasia Rodionova and Heather Watson, #202, from Guernsey, Lambert’s singles opponent.

Lambert said: “We are playing world class players. It is tough but the only way to know where you stand is to compete.

“Playing so many world class players and it has been a great experience and it adds to our development as players.

“Other players will benefit from these high quality events.”