Solomon Islands tennis player Michael Leong is gearing up for a big year in 2011 with Davis Cup commitments and the small matter of defending his singles crown at the South Pacific Games.
Leong is back home over summer after a year in which he took part in his first Commonwealth Games in Delhi, something he rates as his biggest achievement.
"They said that it was the first direct entry from the Solomon Islands side - without any like wildcard or qualifying so that was pretty cool. Just being in the same field of like pretty high class players and the whole environment of the Commonwealth Games. I mean it was my first time so it was good."
Leong is currently ranked at just over 1000 in the world and says it can be a hard slog picking up rankings points at smaller events but he plans to play return to the futures circuit later next month to prepare for Pacific Oceania's Davis Cup tie against Thailand in March.
He says then he will switch his focus to the South Pacific Games in New Caledonia and defending his title.
