Smith stands tall... Bermuda look strong in doubles

Tyler Smith is the sole singles medal hope for Bermuda after quarter-final day at the Island Games.

Men’s No2 seed Gavin Manders made a disappointing exit at the quarter-final stage, losing on a championshjp tie-break to Guernsey’s Dominic McLuskey. Manders won the first set 6-1 but his opponent came back strongly to win the second and force the decider.

David Thomas and Neal Towlson were also defeated in the last eight, as was Jacklyn Lambert, who lost 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (4) to Sandra Moll-Andreu in the women’s draw.

But in-form Tyler Smith, 16, set herself up for a medal assault with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win over Isle of Man’s Katie Tinkler. She plays for a place in the final at 9am at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium.

There was better news for the hosts in the doubles, with both men and women having two pairings in the semi-finals on Thursday morning.

Thomas and Towlson overcame Menorca’s Aitor Catchot and Carlos Previ 6-4, 6-1 to set up a semi-final showdown with Dominic McLuskey and Patrick Ogier, who won gold in 2009.

Bermuda top seeds and defending champions Gavin Manders and Jensen Bascome saw off Nick and Pieter Robinson 6-3, 6-2 and will play third seeds Scott Clayton and James Connelly for a place in the gold medal match.

For Bascome it’s case of a revenge mission after losing to the opponents in the team event.

He told the Bermuda Sun: “Gavin and I have a little bit of added incentive ahead of this one. We’re feeling good, feeling confident and ready to go.

“Throughout the tournament, I’ve started to get better and better with every match which is a good thing , you always want to do that – I just have to bring it on tomorrow (Thursday). These guys beat us already so we have a bit of a chip on our shoulder!”

In the women’s draw, Jacklyn and Tara Lambert beat Gibraltar’s Danielle and Lee Whitwell — the top seeds — in a fine 6-1, 6-4 upset, while Erica Bove and Tyler Smith defeated Menorca’s Sandra Moll and Laura Moreno 6-1, 6-2 to reach the semis.

Bove told the Bermuda Sun: “Tyler and I had a good win – the score wasn’t a fair reflection as to how the match was. We’re looking forward to the semi-final.

“Tyler is playing awesome, she’s hitting some great shots. She’s got a great game and we look to use my net game more – her style complements my style.”