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After a year which saw him take the Bermuda number one spot, assert his dominance on the local scene and compete in the Davis Cup for Bermuda, Gavin Manders has been crowned Bermuda Sun Sports Personality of the Year.

Manders won our poll ahead of Olympic swimmer Roy Allen Burch and long jumper Tyrone Smith, who also attracted a lot of support.

The popular 22-year-old took time out to talk to the Bermuda Sun about his fantastic 2008, his life in tennis and how returning home to coach kids had helped him rediscover his love for the sport.

How does it feel to cap such a good year by winning this award, voted by the public?

A: When I came back to Bermuda I was not playing too much tennis so it was good to come back and have such a great year.

It's great that the public chose me for this. I guess it was just from people coming out there, watching the matches and seeing that changing of the guard in local tennis.

I'd given Andy (previous number one Andy Bray) some good games in previous years and in other years I was overseas. But I take nothing away from him, he's a great player and nobody has really held it (number one spot) like that since Ricky Mallory.

It was great to be back and play a full year locally and show that we Bermudians still have it.

You'd been out of the game for a while, what inspired you to come back?

A: I actually gave up tennis for about a year-and-a-half. The pressures of playing tennis all your life, going to tennis academy, playing at college, I had some problems at school - I felt I'd given everything to the sport and wasn't getting anything back.

I was pretty much tired of it. Coming back to Bermuda, getting back to my roots, coaching the kids at Elbow and Port Royal, I rediscovered the love for it. Once I found that love again everything else came naturally. That's why it was such a good year.

Do you still harbour aspirations to play professional tennis?

A: In tennis you've got to break out into that part early. You need to play full time from when you're 16 or 17. I never really got the chance to go for it full-time at that age.

I would still love to play pro but I'm definitely into finishing my college degrees and having other opportunities.

I was number two in the State when I was at Hilton Head in South Carolina. I left the school and came back here to work, but I'm back at community college in Florida right now and I'm hoping to transfer and play college tennis again for my final year, next year.

What were the highlights of 2008 for you?

A: One of the highlights would have to be the first tournament I won, which was the Argus Open.

That tournament right there was the statement for the year, beating Andy Bray in the semis and Jenson (Bascome) in the final. It was a pretty good performance. I never dropped more than five games in any match and it felt good to do that.

I'd been injured and not playing and I was just coming back to tennis so that was the point I knew I could really do something this year. Another highlight was winning the singles, doubles (with Jenson Bascome) and the mixed (with Jackie Lambert) at the WER Joell tournament.

In between those two I went to the Davis Cup and played as number-one for the first time. I won one lost two, but I was pretty pleased to come out with a victory as number-one player.

The beach tennis was another thing that was really fun. We'd only played the sport for a couple of months and we got the chance to play against the best in the world.

What are your aspirations for 2009?

A: We have Davis Cup in April, so I'm hoping to make the team for that, then there's the Caribbean Games in Trinidad in July.

Hopefully this year we'll do well on the international front.

I'd like to come back to at least some of the local tournaments and defend my number one spot.

I had a lot of injuries at the start of this year and it was great to stay injury free for the second half of the season, so that's another aim for next year.

You've been doing some coaching over the last year. How was that experience?

A: I was coaching at Elbow but also at Port Royal, just to give back to that community.

I learned everything I know at Port Royal and Sam Maybury has been a big influence both on my career and on the year that I have had.

Coaching helps you break down your own game and I think it was really beneficial to me.

I was working with kids, mainly aged from 3-9, and it really helped me to see these kids with the same type of love for the sport that I had at that age.

It was a really good experience for me and it helped me reconnect with the sport.

What kind of influence has tennis had on your life in general?

A: Tennis has been a positive influence for me throughout my whole life. It's something I love and it has kept me out of trouble.

If you don't have a positive outlet you can get into mischief and I always had that in tennis and in all sports really.

I had to take a big decision at 15 to give up cricket and focus on my tennis, going overseas to an academy.

I'm from a cricket family (Dad Arnold Manders is a former national team captain and current Bermuda director of cricket) and that was a tough decision for me, but there weren't the same opportunities in cricket as there are now.

I was an opening batsman and cricket was probably my number one sport but I decided that tennis was the sport that would take me farthest.

Has your dad been a big influence on your career?

A: My dad has been a great role model for me. Not many people can say their father is their role model and I give thanks for that.

He's someone in the sporting world that I always looked up to and he has been a major influence on me in tennis and in my life in general.

He's more of a cricketer than a tennis player, but he can play. We used to play a lot when I was younger but when I started beating him, he didn't want to play no more.

When will we see you competing in Bermuda again?

A: I don't know. I'm overseas in college and it's expensive to come back. I'm hoping the fact that I did so well last year will mean I get some assistance to come back. I definitely want to defend the Argus title that I won. I don't want to have done all this work to get to number one and then just let it slip.

A lot of people have a lot of goals internationally but the first goal should be to be number one in your own country. It's something I've always wanted to accomplish and having done that I'd like to stay there.[[In-content Ad]]

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