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Delighted Gavin Manders came through some of the toughest moments of his tennis career to become the first Bermudian player in history to complete a clean sweep of Davis Cup victories.

Manders won all four of his singles matches to propel Bermuda to promotion in their Americas Division Four group in the furnace-like heat of El Salvador.

Both he and Jenson Bascome came through some classic encounters on capricious red clay courts in a tense tournament that saw the majority of ties go right down to the wire.

The Bermudian team - Manders, Bascome, Jacob Trott and Nicholas Thuell - ultimately finished second in the group to Aruba, achieving promotion to Division Three for the first time since 2001, despite starting the tournament as the bottom seed.

Now they face the daunting prospect of trying to become the first Bermudian team to win a match at the higher level where they will compete against the likes of Cuba and this year's hosts El Salvador.

"It was an amazing week," said Manders, who believes his epic encounter with the U.S. Virgin Islands' Terrance Highfield was up there with the most grueling encounters of his tennis career.

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.

He triumphed by the slimmest of margins before getting straight back on court to help Jenson Bascome claim victory in the decisive doubles match and give Bermuda a 2-1 win over their closest rivals.

Manders' mental resolve proved to be decisive.

"I had to pull it out to take it to the doubles.

"If I hadn't have won that game we wouldn't have got promoted.

"Physically I felt fine but mentally it was draining.

"That was the most pressure I've ever felt on a tennis court," said the 23-year-old of his 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win.

But the nervy encounter was just one of a series of knife-edge thrillers.

Manders and Bascome were on the receiving end of a similarly close result when they lost their doubles match in a tie-break to go down 2-1 in the opening match against Aruba.

That tie-break was the difference between first and second place for Bermuda, but they rebounded from that opening day defeat to triumph in a tournament where guts and character counted every bit as much as ability.

"The victories were even sweeter because nothing was given to us," said team captain Steve Bean.

"We were willing to fight for everything. Mentally Gavin was so strong. That's the true Davis Cup experience and spirit.

"It can't always be pretty. Sometimes you have to gut it out."

Bascome, playing in this tournament as number one, was, more often than not matched up against the opposition's top player. He finished with a 1-3 record in singles but made a telling contribution in the doubles, helping to spur a tired Manders on to a final effort in a series of decisive encounters.

"I wouldn't say I was the sacrificial lamb," said Bascome, of his number one position.

"But we always felt that Gavin playing at two would have a strong chance in his matches and it might come down to the doubles and that's the way it worked out."

Bean said Bascome's contribution in the doubles had been immense.

"Gavin was coming into the doubles, at times, tired from three set matches and Jenson helped him through. I think they might have thought that having beaten him in singles they could beat him in doubles but he stepped up big time."

Trott and Thuell didn't play a part until the final Sunday of the tournament. With Bascome and Manders both claiming singles victories the pair took their chance and won their one and only doubles match to bring Bermuda home.

Bean said the success had been unexpected, with Bermuda, given no chance coming into the tournament.

Came to compete

"We came to compete but we knew we were against tough teams. Panama and Aruba were up in Division Three last year, USVI is always competitive and Trinidad have been as high as Division Two.

"The seedings were based on past results and we had no complaints about being seeded fifth but at the same time we wanted to go down there and show these guys we could play.

Manders admits his own heroics were equally surprising.

"I didn't expect to go undefeated I can promise you that. There's been a lot of good players play in this tournament.

"Ricky Mallory is someone I looked up to all my life, so it was amazing to be the first Bermudian to achieve that.

"It was just another thing to feel good about outside of promotions."

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