Daniel Phillips came up short in his bid to qualify for the 2022 Delray Beach Open by Vitacost.com in Florida at the weekend.

The Bermudian competed among a field of 56 players at the Delray Beach Open ATP Wildcard Survivor Series contested at the Delray Beach Swim and Tennis Club.

Phillips cleared the first hurdle with a comfortable 6-1, 6-0 victory over Christophe Lirola of Florida in the opening round of the singles-only, single elimination tournament on Saturday.

He then got past Nicholas Fontecha of Rhode Island 6-3, 6-1 in the second round later on the same day to secure his place in the third round, which was held on Sunday.

The 16-year-old faced a daunting task having been pitted against No. 1 seed Liam Draxal of Canada.

Phillips put up a brave fight but it ultimately wasn’t enough, as Draxal romped to a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win to dash his Bermudian rival’s hopes.

“It was a tough match,” Phillips said.

“I felt second set I was getting some rhythm but kept overplaying.”

The tournament, which concludes today, is a pre-qualifier for the 2022 Delray Beach Open by Vitacost.com to be held from February 11 to 20.

Only the eventual winner will advance to the second and final pre-qualifying event to be held at the Pro World Tennis in Delray Beach from January 1 to 3.

Meanwhile, Phillips has made steady strides competing on the Casely Clay Court Open Championship and the Battle of Boca in Florida to earn vital UTR ranking points.

He will now shift his focus on representing Bermuda at the inaugural Junior Pan Am Games in Cali, Colombia, from November 25 to December 5.

The promising player is also scheduled to compete at the annual Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships to be held at the Frank Veltri Tennis Centre in Plantation, Florida from December 3 to 12.

Phillips has already enjoyed success competing on the international scene having won the title at the Rafa Nadal Tour Under-14 Tennis Tournament in Barcelona in 2019.