Gavin Manders advanced to the final of the Bank of Bermuda Foundation ITF World Ranking Junior Tournament at the Tennis Stadium yesterday, sweeping aside the challenge of Aruba's Ricardo Velasquez 6-4, 6-1.

Though the 18-year-old Bermudian lost his composure midway through the first set and squandered a 4-1 lead, his match followed a familiar pattern from the rest of the week with Manders dominating the highly-rated second seed in all facets of the game.

Neither player was helped by the presence of a persistently strong, gusty wind which buffeted court one throughout the short encounter, and it was this handicap that led to Manders' sudden lapse in concentration.

Clearly fired up from the outset, the Island Construction Open champion looked confident and more fluid of movement than his somewhat tentative opponent, fully deserving the first break of the match at 2-1.

A succession of netted groundstrokes halted his momentum, however, as he allowed Velasquez back into the match at four-all.

No doubt spurred on by his opponent's revival and his own uncharacteristic sloppiness, Manders began to pick up the pace, coming forcefully over his groundstrokes and shooting for the lines in an attempt to exert greater pressure on Velasquez from the back of the court.

This injection of aggression immediately paid dividends when he earned his second break, before closing out the set 6-4.

Bouncing energetically from foot to foot and clearly brimming with confidence, the Florida Gulf State University tennis scholar then went into overdrive in the second set, relentlessly pounding Velasquez into submission.

“I knew I had to come out and play well today,” Manders said afterwards.

“He is a pretty decent player but I knew if I came out firing he would find me hard to cope with. Once I got into a 4-1 lead, I think I slacked off a bit and I got a little frustrated with the wind. But I adjusted and got my confidence back, and by the end I was feeling right on top of my game.”

He did reveal, however, that his troublesome ankle, which he aggravated a few weeks ago during the Argus Open semi-final against Jenson Bascome, did bother him at times during a match where for the first time in the tournament he didn't have everything go his own way.

“There were a couple of times when I could definitely feel the ankle,” he said.

“I had to do a fair bit more running today than in the rest of the tournament and though the strapping helped a lot, the ankle is definitely not 100 percent. But at this stage of the tournament, going into the final, you don't worry about that sort of thing.”

In yesterday's other semi-final in the boys' 18 and under division, USA's Weston Wendt eased past Corey Huggins of St.Vincent 6-2, 6-2.

And Manders, who watched the match from the sidelines, is convinced that Wendt poses a real threat to his championship ambitions.

“He played very well today and watching him he looks a pretty similar player to me,” he said.

“He's pretty aggressive from the baseline and moves very well so I am expecting a serious test from him. But if I carry on the way I've been playing and stick to my strengths, I'm pretty sure I'll get the better of him.”

Play at the tennis stadium today starts at noon, with the Manders-Went clash scheduled to be the second match on court one.