Manders: 'Loss was a wakeup call'

Gavin Manders is in the “best shape” of his life.

And last week the 25-year-old tennis star demonstrated this by retaining his Deloitte Open men’s singles crown in emphatic fashion at Pomander Gate.

Manders breezed past training partner Na’im Azhar 6-2, 6-0 in the final to rebound from last month’s shock loss to Jensen Bascome at the WER Joell Tennis Tournament – his first taste of defeat in three-years.

The past Male Athlete of the Year Award recipient said his disappointing showing against Bascome proved to be a wake up call.

“That loss really put something in my heart, it was extremely shocking. It let me know that I have to keep working and I actually thank Jensen for beating me because it definitely gave me a refocus that I brought to Pomander.

“I wanted to prove that I am still the number one player on the island and I was refocused to come back a little stronger.”

Pressure

The number two seed took just over an hour to dispose of Azhar, who managed to break the defending champion’s serve twice in the opening set.

Manders did not lose a single game in the second set and was able to hammer home the initiative after his rival lost focus following a disputed baseline call.

“That threw him off a bit, but that just comes down to being a rookie in a final,” he added. “You can’t allow one call to affect your game, especially when there’s enough pressure on you already.

“He definitely allowed it to get him mentally out of it, and I was able to take full advantage.”