KRISTOFER Frick's dream is to one day win the XL Capital Bermuda Open and to play in the US Open.

And if the 12-year-old keeps on making progress at the rate he has done in his first three years of playing tennis, then who knows how close he could get to lifting the crystal at Coral Beach one day?

One of the fine crop of youngsters to have learned the game at Port Royal Tennis Club, Frick has already enjoyed remarkable success in domestic junior tennis.

In the past three years, he has been unbeaten in his age group, and when he competes in higher age groups he has often proved a tough nut to crack.

Playing for Bermuda in the Caribbean 14-and-under Development Championships for example, Frick placed 10th in singles out of 30 of the region's top young players, most of whom were a year or two older In the same tournament, he and national team-mate John Masters reached the semi-finals of the doubles.

Now he is starting to cause a stir in domestic adult competition. In the men's B singles in the BLTA Grand Prix at the Tennis Stadium last month, the youngster's run ended only in the semi-finals when he went down in a tough three-setter to eventual champion Kevin Grigsby.

But as with so many young players who dominate in Bermuda, it is only by playing overseas that Frick will get the chance to fulfil his potential. And that is something he recognises, even now.

"I would welcome the opportunity to play as often as possible in more overseas tournaments, so that I can enhance my level of play and compete at high levels of play more regularly," said Frick this week.

"I would also welcome and appreciate any future sponsorship or assistance that would enable me to participate abroad. I would like to continue playing tennis throughout my years of further education and maybe get on a tennis circuit."

Frick felt he had gained a lot from earlier tennis trips overseas, particularly the Atlanta Junior Niketown Open, which frequently attracts a good turnout from Bermuda. In 2000, he reached the quarter-finals before losing to the number two seed and last year Frick placed third overall.

"It was a very good experience for me and we travelled in a group with my coach and other players from the island and we all push each other and that makes us want to do better," said Frick.

"I also went to Palmer Tennis Academy in Florida for a two-week training camp with some very good coaches and I learned a lot there.

"And I have gone to England twice and played at the West Hants Tennis Facility in Bournemouth that once hosted the British championships. While there, I received lessons from coaches who had played at Wimbledon."

Frick said his coach at Port Royal, Steve Bean, also the current Davis Cup captain, had taken much time to improve his strokes and he cited Bean as the main reason for his achievements in tennis.

BLTA president David Lambert said the association would do all they could to help Frick get sponsorship to gain more overseas exposure.

"Kristofer is one of our most promising juniors and we are going to help him draw up a portfolio," said Lambert. "Then we can introduce him to different companies and hopefully, a company will be able to help him."

Lambert hopes to set up a charity within weeks, the Bermuda Tennis Development Foundation, with the aim of helping youngsters like Frick with the costs of coaching and competing in overseas tournaments (see more on Page 1).

Frick said he was grateful to Lambert for giving him the opportunities he had to hit with female stars of Grand Slam tennis Hana Mandlikova, Amanda Coetzer and Lori McNeil over the past two years.

Maybe one day, Frick will be a Grand Slam star himself . . .