He's a character of few words - instead, he lets his tennis do the talking.
Manaia Hiha, a 12-year-old Rotorua Tennis Club representative, recently returned from the national age-group championships with a commendable second placing under his belt.
Earning his way to a tightly fought final against an Auckland opponent is likely to see his national ranking increase from his position of seventh.
The Timaru competition was Hiha's third appearance at the national championships, after competing in 2007 and 2008.
However, it seems the third time was the charm for the up-and-coming tennis player who dispatched traditional rival Lawrence Darling, of Timaru, to earn passage to the singles final.
"All the games were all pretty hard," Hiha said. "There were lots of good players there."
He trains five times a week, including a weekly session at St Peters School in Cambridge with the Waikato/Bay of Plenty tennis squad.
Hiha also won the Noumea National Tournament late last year. For his mother, Wendy Hiha, it was at that point she noticed a big change in her son's attitude to tennis.
"When he came back, he was just playing with such intensity," she said.
Rotorua Tennis Club secretary Lara Wild said Hiha was a "special breed of kid" who fought for every inch he gained.
"He doesn't have the same coaching opportunities as the other kids from around the country," Wild said.
"He has to travel a lot to get coaching."
The former Rotorua Intermediate School pupil's on-court manner has earned him praise and accolades from the club he represents.
"He's a great ambassador for other kids here. In fact, he won the Rotorua junior boys' championship and won the club's fair play award at the same time," Wild said. "It's a really big deal for a top player to win it, because it doesn't happen very often."
When not on court, working on his signature drop shot and serve, Hiha has been in front on the box lately, watching the Australian Open in which his favourite player, Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro, was playing. Unfortunately, the 2009 Heineken Open winner was bundled out of the Melbourne tournament by Roger Federer this week.
"I like Del Potro because he hits the ball hard," Hiha said. "He's got a big serve."
REP PLAYERS Rotorua Tennis Club national championship representatives:
* Manaia Hiha, under-12 boys (runner-up)
* Dana Gray, under-16 girls (runner-up), under-18 girls (5th)
* Campbell Brake, under-14 boys
* Toni Katipa, under-14 girls
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