Zachary McGuire came from a set down to claim his first senior title by defeating top seed Jack Keyes at the Bermuda Breeze Tennis Championships at Coral Beach on Saturday.

In a battle between local talent, which went on for almost three hours, third-seed McGuire clinched the men’s open singles crown 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The 17-year was elated to claim his maiden victory at the United States Tennis Association Level 2 and International Tennis Federation 700 Masters tournament.

“I’ve played in this tournament for the last couple of years, but this is my first time making the finals and winning, so it definitely feels nice to be the champion,” McGuire told The Royal Gazette.

“I knew going in, if I wanted to win, I was going to have to grind and be willing to stay out there all day and basically that’s what I did.

“I ended up taking the second set, which was huge for me. I just kept going with the same plan in the third set and it worked out.

“ I just stayed really consistent, kept grinding it out and tiring him out. Then coming in when the chance was there, put the short balls away and tried to limit the mistakes.

“This was my third match, I had a bye in the first round and then I played two matches to get to the final. It’s really nice playing in this tournament as there’s a great vibe here and everything’s been really smooth.”

McGuire spoke of how losing to Keyes during the Davis Cup trials inspired him to be at his best on Saturday.

“I actually played him last week in the Davis Cup trials and he beat me there,” he said.

“I was really inspired and motivated to win this one, especially since he beat me last time. Obviously, I know he’s really good.”

It has been a busy weekend for the former Bermuda Junior Davis Cup player. Shortly after securing the singles title, he headed into the doubles, where he partnered with Tobiah Goodchild and hours later he featured for Saltus Grammar School in the schools football finals. To cap off the weekend, he could be playing for St George’s Colts against Dandy Town in the Premier Division at White Hill Field on Sunday.

“I’ve been doing it for a bunch of years now, so I’m used to it,” McGuire said. “Obviously, it’s a grind, but I love it.”

Keyes conceded that his younger opponent put him under immense pressure, which he could not withstand.

“He ground me down and I didn't have much left to compete with,” the 31-year old said.

“My fitness also let me down, I was really struggling with fitness out there. I started cramping towards the end and couldn’t stay in the rallies long enough, so I need to get fitter.

“It’s been a great week playing in this tournament. It’s been fun to be out here playing and it’s about getting out here competing and staying in touch with tennis.”

According to Monika Rowat, the tournament director, save for a rain disruption on Monday, the event went smoothly.

“We’ve had a great wee and we had just one rain day on Monday,” she said.

“It was actually good that the rain came early in the week, because the majority of the matches take place during the later part of the week.

“We were lucky to have beautiful weather for the finals and the overseas players are enjoying the beauty of Bermuda right now.

“Everybody is happy with the tournament, level of play and the social events that we have off the court, with all the camaraderie.

“We hope to continue building this tournament and showcasing Bermuda to the overseas players and have the local players compete with their foreign counterparts.

“We had about 148 entries this year but unfortunately due to personal circumstances or injuries, 120 players took part in the tournament. Of these, we had about 65 per cent overseas players.

“We had a lot of American players, a couple of German guys, someone from Spain, Italy and quite a few from Canada.”

In terms of the calibre of overseas players, Rowat indicated that some of them are highly rated on the ITF Masters Tour.

“We had Michael Beautyman, who played in the 75+, and he spent many years as the world No 1 in his age category,” Rowat said.

“We have two players in the mixed doubles who won the Gold Ball, which is the national championship of the United States, so they’re the No 1 team. The guy from Germany is No 6 in the world in his age category on the ITF Masters Tour.”

Patrick Singleton, the tournament founder and director, expressed his appreciation to the people who contributed to the success of this year’s edition.

“This year’s tournament was a very successful event,” he said.

“We are truly grateful to the United States Tennis Association for granting us a national level tournament with USTA and ITF ranking points, and we are honoured to host it at Coral Beach and Tennis Club, whose fantastic facilities make this possible.

“I want to thank our sponsors, the players and the USTA officials who came from overseas. Our tournament director Monika Rowat, the Coral Beach staff, tournament committee and the many fans who supported us, their dedication and hard work are the foundation of this event’s continued success.

“I initially created the tournament to provide high-level competition here in Bermuda, to grow the game locally and to support our tourism shoulder season in line with the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s sports tourism goals.

“We were proud to welcome top international talent this year and especially proud that our own club players captured the men's open singles and mixed open double titles.”