Picking up the game in his native Tonga, Semisi Fanguna says he's learned a lot just from watching his favourite player, Andy Murray.
Bystanders at the recent Counties Manukau Secondary Schools tennis champs could have been forgiven for whispering "I didn't even know Manurewa High School played tennis!" as they watched 15-year-old Semisi Fanguna clean up in the intermediate boys' singles.
The unheralded Manurewa High Year 12 student not only won all four of his matches on the day of the event in Pukekohe last month, but he dropped just one game, let alone a set, and defeated Jarrod Richards of Tuakau College 6-0 6-0 6-0 in the final.
Not bad for a natural talent with no coach who has learned all he knows about the game from his brother and uncle and watching his favourite player, Andy Murray.
Fanguna wasn't the only Manurewa High tennis success story out of that tournament - the Aso siblings were also among the champions, Kalesta taking the senior girls' singles, Utison the intermediate boys' plate singles, and Malia the junior girls' singles.
It signals a resurgence in tennis at the South Auckland school after several years with no team. Manurewa High is more noted for rugby, touch, volleyball and waka ama.
But there will be a small team competing at next week's Auckland Champ of Champs schools tennis event to see how they match up with the big guns.
Fanguna arrived from Tonga at the age of 9, having only dabbled in rugby in the Pacific Island kingdom. But tennis is relatively popular in Tonga, and the warm climate allows play all year round.
He soon found an outlet in tennis, joining the East Tamaki club and latterly Jellicoe Park, where he is now a member, and indeed, the senior open club champion.
"When I came here my uncle, Masi Taiseni, got me to play so me and my brother Junior started hitting," says Fanguna.
"It'd be good if I had a coach but I don't, so me and my brother just hit to each other every single day!"
Once he has a coach and refines his game, Fanguna would love to further his aim of playing professionally one day.
He lets his tennis do most of the talking but then that smile breaks out when asked what his strengths are in the game: "Sometimes my serve, sometimes my forehand, sometimes my volley."
Fitness is not an issue, so best-of-five setters don't faze Fanguna.
"I run everywhere. I'm not lazy like some players!"
He tries to model his game on Murray, the two-time Grand Slam champion - they share the same racquet brand (Head). However, he freely admits his two-handed backhand still needs work.
Fanguna took up serious tournament play relatively recently, and he has beaten some notable schools' talent, such as the highly rated Ben Muller of Westlake Boys' High School. His aims next week?
"I just want to get out and play hard."
His summer routine is a busy one: Friday afternoons he plays volleyball for the school, then interclub tennis on Saturdays, all interspersed with rugby training.
He's keen to make the First XV this year as a lithe first-five. He finds tennis helps his rugby and vice versa.
So while his opportunities to play tennis for the school are limited, Fanguna is keen to box on, hit with Junior (a Year 13 student) and take on any unsuspecting opponent.
That cover may now be blown.
Results
Water polo
Premier
Premier Boys Pool A: AGS 1 13 St Peter's 9; King's 8 MAGS 4, Sacred Heart Sharks 14 St Kentigern 3
Premier Boys Pool B: Rangitoto 6 Westlake Boys 4 (Bennett-Buck Shield)
Premier Girls Pool A: Rangitoto 10 Carmel 2; EGGS 4 St Mary's 3; Westlake Girls 17 St Kentigern 1
Premier Girls Pool B: Diocesan 8 Baradene 4; Kristin 19 MAGS 4
Senior
Senior B Boys Division 1 Pool A: Sacred Heart Red 5 Macleans 3; King's 7 St Kentigern 5; Western Springs 9 MAGS 5; AGS 9 Howick 3; AGS 6 St Kentigern 6; MAGS 8 King's 5; Sacred Heart Red 15 Howick 1; Macleans 3 Western Springs 2
Senior B Boys Division 1 Pool B: Westlake Boys 8 MRGS composite 7; Green Bay 6 Takapuna Grammar 5; Avondale 5 Birkenhead 0; Long Bay 6 Rosmini 3
MRGS composite 4 Takapuna Grammar 4; Long Bay 6 Avondale 2; Green Bay 21 Birkenhead 3
Senior B Boys Division 2 Pool E: Glendowie 10 King's 0; Parnell 8 Sacred Heart Gullies 3; AGS 13 St Peter's C 1; St Peter's B 5 Sacred Heart Blue 1; King's 4 St Peter's B 2; Glendowie 12 Sacred Heart Gullies 6; Parnell 12 Sacred Heart White 3; AGS 11 Sacred Heart Blue 8
Senior B Boys Division 2 Pool G: Liston 17 Glenfield 1; Northcote 14 Waitakere 3; Rangitoto 10 Lynfield 4; Rutherford 7 Massey 4; Glenfield default to Lynfield; Rangitoto 13 Waitakere 3
Senior B Girls Division 1 Pool H: Long Bay 11 Takapuna 1; Diocesan 22 Macleans 2
Diocesan 19 AGGS 3; Western Springs 4 Marist 1; Long Bay 17 Macleans 0
Senior B Girls Division 2 Pool L: EGGS 10 King's 1; Avondale 15 Selwyn 1; Glendowie 15 Rutherford 4; Westlake Girls 5 Northcote 0; Glendowie 17 Northcote 0; Rutherford 6 Selwyn 6
Softball
Senior one day tournament
Division 1: February 18, Rosedale Park
Finals: February 25, Ramblers club
Final placings division 1 boys:
Mt Albert Grammar School 1, Auckland Grammar School 2, Massey High School 3, Avondale College 4, Papakura High School 5
Division 1 girls:
Aorere College 1, Green Bay High School 2, Mt Albert Grammar School 3, Auckland Girls' Grammar School 4, Avondale College 5, Papakura High School 6
Cricket
Premier boys A: RH Marryatt Cup
Pool A
Westlake Boys' High 125 (Adam Baard 37*; Katene Clarke 4-22) lost to MAGS 127/2 (Aniket Parikh 83*) by 8 wickets
Rangitoto 212/6 (Nathan Banks 44*, Cole Briggs 37, Reid Haste 33) defeated Avondale 82 (Nathan Banks 5-11, Todd Wannan 4-22) by 130 runs
St Kentigern 346/6 (Daniel Young 118*, Finn Allen 88, Sandeep Patel 49) defeated Liston 81 (Sandeep Patel 5-33) by 265 runs
Final points table: St Kentigern 10, MAGS, Westlake Boys' 6, Avondale 4, Rangitoto 3, Liston 1
Pool B
Rosmini 162 (Ryan Harrison 33; H King 4-18, Luke Guildford 3-33) defeated Auckland Grammar 132 (Will Hay 40; Josh Hilton-Jones 3-28) by 30 runs
Kelston 60 (Hamish McLean 4-6; Will St John 3-8) lost to King's 61/1 (Tristan Payle 30*) by 9 wickets
Sacred Heart 231/9 (Glenn Phillips 64, Nick Mat?asevich 34; Liam Winn 3-68) defeated Macleans 72 (Hugo Fletcher 4-14) by 159 runs
Final points table: King's 10, Sacred Heart 8, Auckland Grammar, Macleans 4, Kelston, Rosmini 2
Premier girls
White pool
Avondale College 191/0 (Natasha van Tilburg 123*) beat St Cuthbert's College 102/5 by 89 runs
Blue pool
MAGS 24 lost to Westlake Girls' High School 26/4 by six wickets
Baradene 111/1 lost to EGGS 112/2 by eight wickets
Volleyball
Senior Premier Girls: Westlake Girls' beat Otahuhu 3-1: 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21; Sir Edmund Hillary beat Westlake Girls' 3-2: 18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11; Sir Edmund Hillary beat Otahuhu 3-0: 25-13, 25-12, 25-15; Orewa beat Manurewa 3-1: 25-18, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22; Orewa beat McAuley 3-0: 25-17, 28-25, 25-14; Manurewa beat McAuley 3-1: 25-16, 25-19, 12-25, 25-23; Mangere beat Aorere 3-0: 25-17, 25-19, 25-20; Mangere beat Alfriston 3-0: 25-15, 25-20, 25-12; Aorere beat Alfriston 3-1: 25-15, 25-13, 22-25, 25-15
Senior Premier Boys: Manurewa beat AGS 3-0; Manurewa beat Aorere 3-0; AGS beat Aorere 3-0; Otahuhu beat Rangitoto 3-2; Otahuhu beat Westlake Boys' 3-1; One Tree Hill beat Sir Edmund Hillary 3-2; Orewa beat Sir Edmund Hillary 3-0; Orewa beat One Tree Hill 3-0
Waka ama
Senior regatta final placings
Novice girls championship: AGGS 1, Tangaroa 2, McAuley 3
Novice boys championship: Tangaroa 1, Dilworth 2, Dilworth 3
Girls W1 under 16 championship: AGGS 1, Waitakere 2, Mangere 3
Boys W1 under championship: Tangaroa 1, Waiorea 2, Rutherford 3
Girls W1 under 19 championship: McAuley 1, McAuley 2
Boys W1 under 19 plate: AGS 1, De La Salle 2, Waiheke 3
Boys W1 under 19 championship: Waitakere 1, Tangaroa 2, Waiorea 3
Girls under 16 500m plate: EGGS 1, Tuakau 2, Kaipara 3
Girls under 16 500m championship: AGGS 1, Kaipara 2, James Cook 3
Boys under 16 500m plate: St Peter's 1, De La Salle 2, Tuakau
Boys under 16 500m championship: Kelston 1, James Cook 2, Kaipara 3
Girls under 19 500m plate: AGGS 1, Manurewa 2, Waiorea 3
Girls under 19 500m championship: AGGS 1, Kaipara 2, Baradene 3
Boys under 19 500m plate: De La Salle 1, Kaipara 2, Waiorea 3
Boys under 19 500m championship: De La Salle 1, Waiorea 2, James Cook 3
Girls under 16 250m plate: EGGS 1, Manurewa 2, Kaipara 3
Girls under 16 250 championship: AGGS 1, James Cook 2, Kaipara 3
Boys under 16 250m plate: Manurewa 1, Rutherford 2, De La Salle 3
Boys under 16 250m championship: Kelston 1, Kaipara 2, Manurewa 3
Girls under 19 250m plate: EGGS 1, McAuley 2, Kaipara 3
Girls under 19 250m championship: AGGS 1, AGGS 2, Waiorea 3
Boys under 19 250m plate: Manurewa 1, Kaipara 2, Tuakau 3
Boys under 19 250m championship: De La Salle 1, Waiorea 2, James Cook 3
Mixed under 16 W12 championship: Kaipara 1, Nga Tapuwae 2, De La Salle/AGGS 3
Mixed under 19 W12 plate: Manurewa 1, Kelston GHS/Kelston BHS 2, EGGS/Dilworth 3
Mixed under 19 W12 championship: De La Salle/AGGS 1, James Cook 2, Kaipara 3
Best overall new school: Tuakau College
Tennis
Senior boys A1: AGS 1 beat Westlake Boys' 8-1, Sacred Heart beat MAGS 9-0, King's beat Rosmini 7-2
Senior girls A1: Westlake Girls' beat St Cuthbert's 8-1
Touch
Senior
Counties Zone Boys: Alfriston 1 6 Alfriston 2 2; Papakura 4 Manurewa 1; James Cook Puutake 4 Wesley 4; James Cook 3 Tangaroa 1; Alfriston 1 5 Tangaroa 5; James Cook 4 Manurewa 0; Wesley 5 Alfriston 2 1; Papakura 6 James Cook Puutake 3
Counties Zone Girls: Tangaroa 2 Alfriston 2; James Cook Puutake 5 Papakura 1 2
James Cook Puutake 7 Alfriston 1; James Cook default to Tangaroa
Counties Zone Mixed: Rosehill default to Pukekohe Red; Manurewa Mixed 10 Tuakau 2; Alfriston Mixed 10 Pukekohe Red 1; Rosehill default to Tuakau
Southern Zone Boys: King's 11 Aorere 1; De La Salle 7 Auck 7th Day Adv. 1; Mangere 5 Southern Cross 2; Otahuhu 6 Papatoetoe 4; Aorere 5 Auck 7th Day Adv. 4; Mangere 4 Papatoetoe 1; King's 3 Otahuhu 3; De La Salle 5 Southern Cross 3
Southern Zone Girls: Otahuhu 7 Papatoetoe 1; Auck 7th Day Adv. 6 Aorere 5; McAuley 4 Southern Cross A 3
Southern Zone Mixed: Mangere 9 Otahuhu 2
Eastern Zone Boys A Grade Pool A: Sacred Heart A 5 Pakuranga Mixed 1; Sacred Heart A 13 Botany Downs 11; Edgewater default to One Tree Hill Blue
Eastern Zone Boys A Grade Pool B: Sacred Heart B 7 Pakuranga 1; St Kentigern 6 Tamaki 0; Macleans Mixed default to Sacred Heart B
Eastern Zone Boys B Grade Pool A: Glendowie 7 St Kentigern 3; Howick Red 11 Selwyn 3
Eastern Zone Boys B Grade Pool B: St Kentigern 3 Sacred Heart 2; St Kentigern Snr A 3 One Tree Hill White 2; Howick Blue 6 Sacred Heart C 1
Eastern Zone Girls A Grade Pool A: Sancta Maria 3 Macleans 0; Botany Downs 2 2 Pakuranga 1
Eastern Zone Girls A Grade Pool B: One Tree Hill 3 St Kentigern 2; St Kentigern 8 Botany Downs 11
Eastern Zone Girls B Grade: Edgewater default to Glendowie; Selwyn 1 St Kentigern 0; St Kentigern Snr C default to Botany Downs 3
Central Zone Girls A Grade Pool A: MAGS 4 AGGS A 1; Marist A 2 Baradene A 1
Central Zone Girls A Grade Pool B: Diocesan A 4 EGGS 2; St Cuthbert's A 4 Onehunga 2
Central Zone Girls B Grade: St Mary's Red 14 Marist Gold 1; Baradene B 11 St Cuthbert's B 1; Baradene C 2 Lynfield 1; St Mary's Red 5 AGGS B 0
Central Zone Boys A Grade: MAGS 4 Dilworth A 3; AGS 11 Onehunga A 1; St Peter's A 7 MAGS 2; AGS 8 Dilworth A 3; St Paul's 9 St Peter's B 1
Central Zone Boys B Grade: Dilworth B 4 Dilworth C 0; Lynfield 10 St Peter's C 6
Central Zone Mixed: MRGS 8 Marcellin B 3; MAGS 10 Marcellin A 1; Western Springs 12 Marcellin B 1
Western Zone Boys: Kelston Boys' 1 4 Rutherford Mixed (Western Zone Mixed) 3; Liston 10 Avondale A 1; Massey 2 5 Henderson 1; Massey 1 2 Rutherford 1; Kelston Boys 2 6 Waitakere 2; Kelston Boys' 2 6 Avondale A 0; Massey 1 3 Waitakere 2; Kelston Boys' 1 4 Rutherford 3; Liston 5 Henderson 1.
Western Zone Girls Grade Pool A: Avondale A 14 Green Bay 1; St Dominic's 1 6 Kelston Girls 2; Massey 2 default to Henderson
Western Zone Girls Grade Pool B: Massey 1 3 Avondale B 1; Waitakere 3 Rutherford 1
Western Zone Mixed: Massey Mixed 6 Waitakere Mixed 1
North Harbour Boys A Grade: Westlake Boys' A 12 Mahurangi 0; Rosmini 8 Orewa 3; Westlake Boys' A 4 Rosmini 3; Westlake Boys B 4 Orewa 1
North Harbour Boys B Grade: Takapuna 8 Birkenhead 3; Northcote 6 Birkenhead 1
North Harbour Girls A Grade: Westlake Girls' A 11 Pinehurst 1; Rangitoto A 10 Whangaparaoa 1
North Harbour Girls B Grade Pool A: Carmel Cruisers 10 Hato Petera 0
North Harbour Girls B Grade Pool B: Westlake Girls' Red 4 Westlake Girls' Gold 0
North Harbour Mixed Grade Pool A: Birkenhead White (North Harbour Mixed Grade Pool B) default to Long Bay B; Northcote 8 Birkenhead Blue 1; Kaipara 1 8 TKKM O Te Raki Paewhenua A 3
North Harbour Mixed Grade Pool B: Mahurangi A 8 Long Bay A 4; Orewa 4 Kaipara B 1; Birkenhead White default to Long Bay B (North Harbour Mixed Grade Pool A)
First XV rugby
(Super Rugby curtainraiser): St Peter's College beat Westlake Boys' High School 48-7
The abuse extends to her loved ones, with threats to her family.