Trey Mallory secured his first International Tennis Federation professional points after defeating higher-ranked opponents in the qualifying round at the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour M15 in Kingston, Jamaica.

Mallory carried his match-winning exploits for the University of North Carolina Wilmington to storm into the main draw in Jamaica, where he faces a tough battle against Corey Craig, of the United States, today.

The 22-year-old withstood the Kingston heat to overcome No 6 seed Fabio Nestola, of Britain, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday and followed that by beating tenth-seed Lucca Pinto, of Brazil, 6-0, 6-2 in the second qualifying round.

“I’m glad to finally get the opportunity to play in an ITF Men’s World Tennis Tour event, as they are so hard to get into,’’ Mallory said.

“This weekend was gruelling in the heat but I managed to get my first ITF professional points by winning my matches in the qualifying rounds.

“This has given me more incentive to work even harder to try and win more matches and obtain ATP points.

“Because these are my first few professional events, I’m not expecting much, but I’ll definitely give it my best and see how it goes.”

Ricky Mallory, the player’s father, who is also in Jamaica, was delighted to witness his son take giant strides in his professional career.

“As Trey's father, I’m thrilled to see his dream come true,’’ the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association’s national tennis director said.

“Trey has worked incredibly hard to reach this milestone. Watching him grow from a youngster in the Temple of Tennis grassroots programme and progressing through various ITF/Cotecc junior team competitions from 12 and under, to 14s, 16s, and now becoming a professional athlete fills me with pride.

“In my role as the national tennis director, it’s always gratifying to see our players improving and performing well on the world stage.

“Our young Davis Cup team has many years ahead of them to compete. The BLTA is working to secure a sponsor for hosting an ITF professional event here in Bermuda, which will provide our Davis Cup players with the opportunity to compete at a higher-level and potentially earn professional points.”