Trey Mallory pulled off a stunning upset to capture the singles title at the Bulldog Invitational at the University of Georgia yesterday.

The unranked University of North Carolina Wilmington freshman came from behind to beat second seed Juan Martin Jalif, of the University of Miami, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a gruelling and evenly fought final at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

“The whole match was close and very intense; it was tough to break his serve,” Mallory told The Royal Gazette. “The games where I did break his serve, I had to dig down and return deep every time to start the point.

“I feel I served really good, which enabled me to attack his return off the first ball.”

The Bermudian reeled off four singles victories on the way to earning a maiden singles title at collegiate level.

He won his opening match against Vanderbilt’s Connor Robb-Wilcox, who retired hurt with the match even at one set apiece and Mallory leading 2-1 in the third set.

“I noticed he was moving a little differently and then stopped playing and retired injured,” Mallory said.

The 19-year-old then beat Furman’s James Roelofse 6-4, 6-4 and Georgia’s Mathia Debru 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the final where he also proved equal to the task.

“I’m really happy with this week’s performance,” he said. “This is my second Intercollegiate Tennis Association event since joining the UNCW Seahawks. The last event I made it to the semis; this event I won.”

Mallory is reaping the benefits from the hard work he has been putting into practice.

“I can really see my game getting better thanks to the work that I have put in at SVB Tennis Centre prior to coming to UNCW and the recent training I’ve been doing here at UNCW with coach Dubois and Taylor,” he said. “It’s great having a team of players and coaches behind you pushing you at every aspect of your game.

“At UNCW, we have great facilities to practise, where I have been getting a lot fitter, which has helped me from getting so fatigued in matches, especially playing more than two matches a day.”