Gavin Manders, the Island?s top junior tennis player, destroyed the number one seed Jerome Ward of Trinidad and Tobago yesterday on the second day of the Bank of Bermuda International Tennis Federation World Ranking Junior Tournament at the WER Joell Tennis stadium.

Although some tournament officials were predicting a closely-fought encounter, 18-year-old Manders wiped his opponent off the court in little over an hour 6-1, 6-2.

Strangely lackadaisical in his approach, Ward turned up only minutes before the match got underway at 5.15 p.m. and was wildly inconsistent in his play throughout ? with some embarrassingly mis-hit serves landing first bounce inches away from the next door court.

Manders, on the other hand, was a model of concentration and drive, rarely giving his opponent an easy point with careless errors and scrambling hard to retrieve when forced out of position.

Once Manders broke at 2-1 in the first set, he took control reeling off four straight games with ease to take the first 6-1.

And though the match stayed on serve until two-all in the second, with Ward deciding to forego brute force for a more patient approach, it was not long before Manders was again reinforcing his obvious superiority.

?I have to admit again I was expecting a much harder match today against Jerome,? Manders said afterwards.

?I think I showed the greater determination to run down balls and I seemed to want to win the match more. My ankle was bothering me a little bit because all the strapping I had was on too tight and I could hardly feel my toes. But perhaps he came out today thinking he was going to have an easy walk through, and I think that cost him in the end.?

Manders, who has not even looked like dropping a set in his first two rounds, now has his sights firmly on the the championship.

?I?m playing well at the moment and I?m full of confidence,? he said.

?Now what I?ve got my eyes on is the final and the win. That?s all I?m interested in right now.?

Meanwhile, Bermuda?s great hope in the girls 18 and under division Ashley Brooks came from a set down to beat Ashley Finnegan of the USA 7-5 in the third.

Although somewhat tentative at the start, the youngster soon gained a foothold in the match, taking the second set 6-3 and moving into a 4-1 in the decider.

Nerves then struck however as a succession of careless errors and double faults let Finnegan back into the match when she was seemingly down and out.

However, a crucial hold at five-all, followed by an easy break earned Brooks victory and a place in the third round.

David Thomas also tasted success yesterday, easing past Ignacio Pelaez of Colombia 6-1, 6-1.

The other Bermudians in the tournament faired less well on day two.

In the 18 and Under boys category, Jamie Hamer lost 0-6, 3-6 to Kirk De Silva of St.Vincent while Na?im Azhar was defeated by American Matthew Miller 3-6, 4-6.

John Holland was destroyed by Ricardo Velasquez of Aruba 0-6, 0-6 while Andrew Paynter had similar problems coping with St.Vincent?s Corey Huggins, going down 1-6, 0-6.