Boris Pashanski missed out on the gold medal yesterday in the men's singles as a strong Benjamin Balleret of Monaco emerged triumphant 7-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In a final which attracted just a few spectators to the indoor centre court at Aldosa, Pashanski played well below expectations showing that he was in great difficulty when facing Balleret's supreme serve which earned him quite a number of points.

The first set was close as Pashanski lost in the tie-break. He recovered to win the second set and equalise, but Balleret quickly took command in the final deciding set and broke Pashanski twice before our boy came back to win his first match. But the Monaco player remained determined and in complete control, never giving Pashanski a real chance to get back into contention.

At the end of the match, a disappointed Pashanski said he did not play to his best abilities. "I cannot complain of the refereeing as mistakes were committed on both sides, but I must say that I have not played indoors for a long time, in fact since the Australian Open six months ago, and this was not my favourite surface. This is fast, very fast, compared to a clay surface which is more to my liking," he said.

He added that he would like to be back to play for Malta in two years' time. "The Small Nations Games will still be my target for a gold medal which I feel I can win in future. In Monaco there are clay courts which should favour my style of play."

He admitted that Balleret was very strong in his serve, but he did not attribute his defeat to this factor.

Coach Dusan Janycijevic said he did not want to blame anyone for the defeat. He said: "I am sure Boris gave his all, but it is a fact that he is not accustomed to playing on such a fast surface. Of course, our expectations were dealt a blow as we were looking forward to win the gold medal, but the silver medal is not bad either, considering that this is the best result ever for Malta in men's singles."

The general secretary of the Malta Tennis Federation, David Farrugia Sacco, said it would not be fair to say they were happy. "I must admit we were all expecting a gold medal. But we cannot say that we are disappointed. The silver medal is also a good result for us. In fact, I believe this is the first silver medal we have won in tennis singles (men) since the discipline was introduced to the Games way back in 1987," he said.