Daniel Phillips impressed competing in the Under-14 Boys’ singles at the Grade 1 Tennis Europe Yellow Bowl Tennis championships in Telde, Gran Canaria, Spain.

The Bermudian, who attends the Rafa Nadal Academy in Barcelona, won his three qualifying matches to reach the main draw where he lost to Belgium’s Giles Arnaud, the No 8 seed, 6-3, 6-1 yesterday.

The defeat ended an impressive run during the qualifiers in which the 13-year-old brushed aside Spaniard Alfredo Aparicio 6-1, 6-0, German Dennis Dutine 7-5, 7-6 in a match decided on a tie-break and Britain’s Jony Harwood 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the main draw in his third appearance at the tournament.

“Dan making it the main draw is a big deal,” Sam Maybury, Phillips’s long-time Bermudian-based coach, said. “It was like Dan making it to the main draw of the Orange Bowl.

“He really had a good run which gives him points towards his European ranking, which is how he was able to get into the tournament in the first place because of how well he had done last year.”

Phillips made massive strides last summer competing at home and internationally.

He won three of the tournaments he entered during a successful tour of the Caribbean, as well as the under-16 and under-18 divisions at the Highland Springs tournament at Pomander Gate and Men’s B and Men’s A consolation titles in the Manders Tennis Management Open at the Fairmont Southampton.

“Dan was getting plenty of practice playing people older than himself and then when he went back to the academy, they put him in a higher group,” Maybury said.

“Listening to Dan’s coaches on the other side, they are totally pleased with his renewed vigour and energy since he’s been back from the summer.”

Phillips returns to action today at the Grade 1 Tennis Europe Yellow Bowl Tennis championships where he and doubles partner Ricardo Jacinto meet Romanian pair Ionut Gal and Darius Pop.