Argus Open champion Gavin Manders insists Bermuda's Davis Cup defeat in Honduras at the weekend has only fuelled his desire to succeed at the international level.

Manders and his team-mates Argus Open finalist Jensen Bascome, Jordan Talbot and David Thomas saw Bermuda's hopes of promotion from the America's Zone Group III dashed after they finished third.

Their group, which also included Costa Rica, Haiti, US Virgin Islands, and Trinidad, who dropped out, proved to be a close affair with only the top two sides earning promotion.

But Manders said he benefited greatly from the experience.

"The best part of the Argus Open was allowing me to improve my match fitness. The only way you can do that is by playing games," said Manders.

"We did a lot of training in preparation for the Davis Cup, but match play is the key.

"I felt confident going into the Davis Cup with key victories over Andy Bray and Jensen Bascome at the Argus.

"Playing at times under pressure helped prepare the nerves as well.

"Our main goal at the Davis Cup was to get promotion by finishing in the top two.

"I might have played well enough to win the Argus, but to see the quality of tennis at this level, we all realised we must step up our play."

The round-robin format lasted three days with Bermuda losing their first match against favourites Costa Rica before defeating the US Virgin Islands and then losing to Haiti.

Manders said although gaining the top spot was always going to be a tall order, second place was in the balance heading into the Haiti match.

"We lost to Costa Rica on day one and they were just better than us.

"I played very well by my own standards but still took a heavy loss. It could have been a bit of nerves but they played better tennis.

"We wanted to have our destiny in our own hands going into the last day and pretty much had it that way with us needing a win against Haiti to secure second place.

"Going down there and seeing what we were up against can only make us train harder. This experience will make me train and play harder for sure.

"In the end we put our best foot forward and must now look forward to what's next for the team."