RADFORD -- As he hunted for recruits, Radford University men's tennis coach Mike Anderson decided to e-mail a coach in Hong Kong.

"I thought if I could find a Chinese player ... that was good, it might enhance everything," said Anderson, whose wife was born in Hong Kong.

The coach recommended Martin Sayer -- a blond kid with a British accent, but a native of Hong Kong nevertheless.

It was a good suggestion. Sayer was a standout there, and not just because blond kids tend to stand out among a population that is 95 percent Chinese.

He is also one of the top tennis players in the Chinese territory. Not that he puts much stock in that.

"Hong Kong is not the biggest country in the world, so there's only about 10 players who can play tennis at a decent level," Sayer said with a smile. "There are a lot of tennis courts, but nobody's very good. I'm maybe the best."

He's definitely the best in the Big South -- he has been named the conference player of the year four times.

Sayer will conclude his college career this week by competing in the NCAA singles and doubles championships at Texas A&M.

He will hardly be one of the favorites in the 64-player singles field, but Sayer hopes that will work in his favor.

"They're feeling pressure because they're playing this guy from Radford and they're supposed to beat him. So there's no pressure on me," Sayer said. "I know how they're feeling because [in Big South play] ... I was the big gun."

Sayer is used to playing on important stages.

He has competed in the junior tournaments of all four Grand Slam events. He twice got to share a locker room with one of his idols, Roger Federer.

"That was kind of a cool feeling," he said.

He has played for Hong Kong's Davis Cup team since 2005. He last returned to Hong Kong in March to play the Philippines, and will be back in July to face Oman.

"It's a great honor," he said. "You get some good patriotism going."

Sayer's parents are natives of England. They moved to Hong Kong a few years before Sayer was born -- back when Hong Kong was still a British territory -- because Sayer's father got an engineering job there.

Hong Kong is only about six times the size of Washington, D.C. It has a population of about 7 million.

Sayer, who has a patch that says, "Hong Kong," on his RU team jacket, loved growing up there.

"The city is just so vibrant," said Sayer, who is a dual citizen of both England and Hong Kong. "Hong Kong's a very international city. Everyone speaks English there."

Sayer did learn some Cantonese, though, so he could speak the territory's other official language to cab drivers and waiters.

Not that he loved going to restaurants there. He preferred Mom's fish and chips.

"They actually have the hard-core Asian -- cow tendons, chicken's feet," he said. "Some of it's very good. Some of it, I never knew what it would be."

He attended an international school with a British curriculum until his senior year of high school, when he took online courses so he could spend his days playing tennis.

Sayer left Hong Kong for a full scholarship to Radford, where he is one of five foreign players on the team's seven-man roster. His family now lives back in England.

Last month, he helped RU win the Big South championship for the third straight year. The Highlanders recently fell in the first round of the NCAA team tournament for the third straight year, though.

Sayer lost in the second round of the NCAA singles tournament in 2006 and 2007, and in the first round last year.

"He's as mentally tough as any player playing the game," Anderson said.

Sayer considers his knack for anticipation a strong suit.

"I can slightly see where they're going to hit the ball, and it gives me a little bit more time to prepare and get into the position to play that shot," he said.

The NCAA singles tournament will begin Wednesday, with the 32-team doubles championships beginning Thursday.

Sayer and partner Zack Watson are 19-2 this season. This is the first year an RU tandem has made the NCAA doubles field.

Although Sayer graduated from Radford this month, he will be an assistant coach for RU while he pursues an M.B.A.

Anderson expects Sayer will make a pretty good coach.

"He knows the game so well. He knows it better than I do," Anderson said.