It was mind over matter that won the matches.

The hero of Bermuda's recent Davis Cup campaign, Jenson Bascome, has attributed his stunning success in the Americas Zone Group Four tournament to mental strength.

The 22-year-old shouldered the Island's hopes of promotion to Group Three in the wake of top seed, James Collieson's repeated exhaustion during their matches at the International Tennis Centre in St. Vincent last week.

Reeling off singles victories against the US Virgin Islands, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Barbados and even top-ranked Bolivia, Bascome proved an inspiration to the entire team, his winning ways even spurring Collieson to dig deeper when fatigue set in. Bascome's sole loss in singles was to Vernon Lewis of St. Lucia.

He also combined with Collieson for doubles wins against USVI and OECS and gave a valiant effort throughout the competition.

"My mental strength is what I attribute my success to because, coming into this tournament, I had not played much competitive tennis. I was playing practice matches but it's not the same as playing when something is on the line. I just used the experience I've had in Davis Cup and my mental strength to prevail in a lot of the matches," said the Temple University undergraduate.

Had he not run out of steam in the match against Lewis, Bascome surmised that result could well have been in his favour.

"That was my fifth match and I was just tired. Maybe if I had played that match after the rest day I might have had a better result. Overall I am very pleased with my performance and what I was able to do for Bermuda," he said.

His efforts earned plaudits from captain/coach Steve Bean who repeatedly put his faith in Bermuda's number two player as the team kept up the chase for promotion until the final day of competition when they lost to Bolivia 2-1.

"Jenson was a real team leader, especially early in the week when he was winning his singles and James was losing. He (Jenson) would lead the doubles pair and come up with some unbelievable plays for long stretches and that allowed us to get into good positions," noted Bean.

Having finished this arduous examinations of his on-court skills, Bascome will now hurriedly turn his attention to examinations of an academic kind.

"I've got a lot of work to catch up on. I have exams the day after I get back," he said, indicating that tennis would be on the back burner for a short while.

Not for too long though as Bascome, who returns home next month after graduating with a BA in psychology (with a minor in French), intends to play as many locals tournaments as possible and try make next year's Davis Cup team. He will also be exploring any opportunities to further his tennis internationally though his plan is to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy next year.

"I'll be working on my game and doing some training, trying to get better. I want to see if we can get promoted next time. I'll always be looking to improve once I'm playing competitively," he added.