BERMUDA'S teenage Davis Cup player Jovan Whitter has won a scholarship to attend a top American tennis school for the coming academic year.

And he hopes the experience of being put through his paces at the Van der Meer Tennis Academy will toughen him up mentally and physically to prepare him to take the kind of big-match opportunities that he feels he has all too often missed.

The 17-year-old will fly out to North Carolina next week to prepare for his stint at the academy on Hilton Head Island, where he will start on September 2.

It is the latest development in a big year for Whitter, who made his Davis Cup debut at the age of 16 in St. Vincent in April.

And having expressed his delight at receiving the scholarship, he said he hoped it would be a stepping stone to even greater things.

"I'm very excited and this means a lot of the hard work has paid off," said Whitter. "But the ambition is to get a tennis scholarship to a college - this is just the beginning.

"Van der Meer has been in the top 10 tennis schools in the US for the past five years, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot there.

"I hope to improve my strength and all-round fitness and I'll work hard on my game. I also think I could be mentally stronger - I often seem to fall just short in big matches."

One occasion when that problem manifested itself came at the last senior domestic tournament he played, the Argus Open. Whitter enjoyed a run to the semi-finals where he clashed with top seed Jenson Bascome.

After racing into a 4-1 first-set lead, the youngster eventually went down 7-6, 7-6 in desperately tight battle. After the match, Whitter said: "I just can't seem to win the big points for some reason."

Whitter has his sights set on following in Bascome's footsteps by attending Temple University in Philadelphia.

"I can't wait to get started at Van der Meer," said Whitter. "I want to go up there and try and earn a scholarship for Temple. Jenson has told me it's a great school. I'll be ready for anything.

"If I did really well in college tennis and if I could compete at the highest level, then maybe I might go back to tennis school after that and try to go pro.

"It's a slight chance, but if that opportunity arises, I will definitely take it."

Whitter played just one doubles rubber in St. Vincent, partnering his fellow 16-year-old rookie Ryan Swan. And although they lost against the pair from American Zone Group IV tournament winners Bolivia, the Bermudian youngsters performed admirably and now Whitter is hungry for more.

"Playing more Davis Cup is definitely something I want to do," said Whitter. "I want to play number two, at least, one day."

For the past month, Whitter has taken a break from intensive tennis training, resting himself in preparation for the next few months at Van der Meer.

"You can get jaded when you play too much tennis, I believe," said Whitter. "I have taken a rest before and it's done me good. I leave next Thursday and I'll probably have a hit before then because my friend Rashad Elder-Bush is here from Boston and he's a better tennis player than I am."

Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association president Terry Smith was delighted that Whitter had earned a scholarship and hoped other promising juniors could follow suite.

"We hope that other juniors will see what's happened for Jovan and they will be encouraged," said Smith. "The association can do certain things to help, but in the end youngsters and their parents also have to go out there and seek avenues like this. It is a way promising juniors can go forward."

Whitter is coached by Davis Cup captain Steve Bean, but as the youngster's former coach, Smith also knows him well.

"Jovan has a lot of great potential," said Smith. "When he is serious he can achieve great things. He has great finesse and good tennis skills. I think he needs some psychological fine-tuning."