Bermuda’s top tennis player, Tariq Simons, defeated his Davis Cup team-mate Jack Keyes to win the Bermuda Breeze Championship on Sunday.

In blustery conditions at Coral Beach & Tennis Club, after no play took place on Friday and Saturday owing to poor weather, Simons triumphed over Keyes 6-1, 6-3 in the final. This followed his 7-5, 6-2 semi-final victory against junior Zachary Maguire.

Simons entered the tournament as the top seed but insists that ranking carries little weight once the action begins, particularly in challenging weather conditions.

“The number on the draw sheet doesn’t really matter much to me,” Simons said. “It’s really just a question of how well I can play in the moment. Being a top seed doesn’t bring big pressure and it doesn’t really matter when we get on court.

“The wind was pretty tough through the beginning of yesterday, and by the time of the final it was less windy but still relevant. It affects everything as the ball moving through the air is going to change in its trajectory, so it requires a bit more preparation with the feet.

“You can’t really be stuck in an area and swing in the same way, so you have to be a little cautious, take fewer risks or be well prepared when you are going to take a bigger cut at the ball. It definitely affects the serve a lot more than the ground strokes.”

Simons, often found coaching the next generation of players with Manders Tennis Management, was pleased to claim the championship while balancing his time between playing and mentoring.

“It was a good gauge because I have been committing a lot more time to coaching with MTM,” Simons said. “I haven’t been playing as much tennis because I’ve also been doing things outside of tennis, so this is probably the least I’ve played for a while. But when I do go out on court, I’ve tried to increase the quality of my time, so it’s good to know I can still play at a high level and find success when I enter tournaments.”

Next year is shaping up to be significant for Simons, who hopes to secure a wild card into the ATP Challenger Tour event to be held in Bermuda in March. His passion for yoga will also take him further afield.

“My plans include the tennis campaigns—obviously the pro tournament in March, if I’m granted a wild card—and the Davis Cup representing Bermuda. But the biggest plan next year is to take a course in South India to become a yoga teacher,” Simons said.

“It’s a big trip, but yoga has been a part of my life for three or four years now and it’s really just been a progression in the same way that tennis has been. I started as a player and now I’m a coach. I started as a practitioner in yoga and now I’m looking to offer the things I’ve learnt over the course of four years in Bermuda along with tennis. So I’ll essentially be able to offer yoga and tennis for wellness.”

Simons believes the Challenger Tour event presents an exciting chance for Bermuda’s young players to see first-hand the level of ability required to compete internationally.

“It presents an opportunity to see with your own eyes a high level of tennis and to compare that with local talent,” Simons said. “Myself, Trey Mallory and Daniel Phillips—we have been playing at a high level for a while, but that’s not really accessible to the public eye in Bermuda. So someone may hear that we go away and do well, but to actually see on island how well we play and what it looks like in terms of international players as well is going to be a great opportunity for everyone, including juniors that are coming up. They are going to know what it looks like to play at a high level.”