Bermuda?s top squash player Nick Kyme continued to demonstrate considerable improvement in his first year on the world squash tour last week.

The Islander lost narrowly to the world number 79, Rafael AlArcon of Brazil in the first round of the main draw at the ReMax TechData Open in Albany, New York.

Leading 11-6 in the first game, Kyme let the momentum slip and he lost it 15-12.

The second was again keenly contested with AlArcon using his superior experience of high pressure situations to take the game 15-13.

The Bermudian youngster dug his heels in, however, putting pressure on the Brazilian in the third by taking the ball early on the volley and comfortably secured the game 15-8.

The fourth proved a game too far for the world No.162, however, and he succumbed 15-7.

Despite the loss, Kyme appears to have returned to the lower echelons of professional squash with renewed vigour and determination after his creditable performances for Bermuda at the World Men?s Squash Championships in Vienna, Austria last month.

He surprised many at the tournament ? perhaps even himself ? by recording two victories and taking a game off the current world number 24, Oli Touminen, a match in which he outplayed the highly-rated Finn for long periods.

Bermuda?s squash chief Ross Triffitt confirmed as much when he commented last week that he believed Kyme had made ?huge strides? since the World?s and was ?comfortably capable? of getting into the world?s top 60 or 70 players within the next two years.

And Kyme himself admitted that he has found a new lease of life since coming back from Vienna, having endured a very difficult and emotionally traumatic start to life as a professional.

This was clearly in evidence during his recent return to the world tour, where he annihilated Nigerian Lucky Oday, ranked currently only three places below him, in straight games at the Florida Open in Boca Raton ?his first tour victory.

?Playing well at the World?s made me realise that I can compete and beat people at that level,? he said. ?I now believe in myself and my game, which makes an enormous difference, and probably explains why before I was losing to people I should have been beating. But I?ve turned over a new leaf now and am looking forward to the upcoming challenges.?

Those ?upcoming challenges? are part of a busy period for Kyme, who has just arrived in Trinidad to compete in the Queens Park PSA Challenge where he is seeded two, behind the world No.14, Martin Heath of Scotland.

He will then return to the New York area for a further tournament before heading off to Mexico for the Mexico City Open at the end of the month.