Trey Mallory’s decision to play in the pre-qualifying round of the M15 Kayseri in Turkey paid off after the Bermudian earned a wild card intothe ITF Futures tournament’s main draw, which starts on Tuesday.

Mallory, who is in Turkey with his father Ricky, received a bye in the first round of the short-format matches when they started on Thursday. He then defeated Joe Misrahi, from France, 4-2, 4-2 in the second round.

In the quarter-finals, the Bermuda Davis Cup player bested Enzo Laughton Pina, of Brazil, 4-2, 4-1 before coming up against Russian Ivan Gretskiy in the semi-finals, with the Bermudian triumphant 4-2, 4-1.

Mallory’s opponent in the final was Sebastian Dominguez, from Guatemala. He won the match 4-2, 4-2, to escape playing in the qualifying rounds.

“The first few days here in Turkey, it took some adjusting to get used to the altitude,” Mallory said.

“With the thin air, the ball flies through the air and on top of that the court surface plays fast.

“My dad and I agreed that playing the pre-qualifying event would be beneficial to me as I can use it for match play and getting used to the elements.

“As I progressed further through the draw, I felt stronger and stronger with each match. I’m glad I decided to play the event as it paid off with me winning a wild card to the main draw starting on Tuesday.”

The 23-year-old is pursuing his professional tennis career after graduating from University of North Carolina Wilmington in May.

Ricky Mallory, the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association national tennis director who is also in charge of the Davis Cup team, is appealing for sponsorship to enable the island’s top players to feature in more tournaments.

“These matches also benefit Bermuda tennis and Davis Cup because our players need to be playing at this level constantly in the lead up to World Group II,” he said.

“It’s too bad they have to do this out of pocket. With the help of sponsors, they can become much better.

“I’ve had an opportunity to speak to players from other countries and they either receive funding from their respective countries, or from sponsorship. Travelling on an ITF World Tennis Tour is a hell lot of an expense.”