Daniel Phillips has made a strong start to the J4 Llanos de Curundu clay-court tournament in Panama after convincing straight-sets victories in first and second rounds singles action.

Phillips also secured progress in the doubles competition, booking a spot in the semi-finals after contrasting victories during what has been a busy two days for the youngster.

The No 2 seed, who is fresh off title success at the J4 Bayamón in Puerto Rico, beat Nicólas Steden, of Mexico, 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday and then yesterday had another comfortable win, beating unseeded American Jai Dutta 6-0, 6-1 in the second round of the singles competition.

He will next face Argentinian Dante Carlos Teramo in the quarter-finals today.

Teramo came into the tournament as the eighteenth-ranked player and easily disposed of Brazil’s Giacomo Moreira 6-0, 6-2 in their second round contest.

In doubles, the 17-year-old Bermudian teamed up with top-seeded singles player Sasha Rozin, of Canada, to form an imposing power couple.

The pair secured their place in the semi-finals after seeing off Dutta and fellow American, Esunge Ndumbe 4-6, 6-0, 10-6.

Earlier, the Americans came out on top in a tense, three-set affair against Mateo Garcia Flores, of Guatemala, and Miguel Ángel Sarría Mondragón, of Colombia, 5-7, 7-6, 10-2.

They will next face Ecuadorean duo Jorge Ruiz and Felipe Gallegos.

In the first round, Phillips and Rozin faced Teramo and the Mexican Steden, who would have been tired of seeing the 6ft 2in Bermudian across the other side of the net after a 6-3, 6-2 reversal.

Phillips is in the second leg of a three-tournament swing that will conclude with a return to the hard courts at the J3 Cancún, in Mexico, which is expected to be a significant step up on the J4 and J5 events that the Bermudian has encountered to date.

His exploits have been rewarded with two tournament titles, the first coming last month at the J4 Guatemala, and a world junior ranking that has surged to No 366 on the back of an overall 18-1 win-loss record in 2022.