Mark Gatt reached the quarter-finals in singles and doubles at the Grade One British Indoor Championships in Dudley, UK, recently, to further improve his position in the senior world rankings.

In the singles last 16, Gatt played James Thomas of Great Britain.

He enjoyed the better start, taking the first set 6-4, but Thomas hit back to force a decider and led 3-1 in the final set.

Gatt, however, regrouped and won four straight games before serving out for a 6-4 4-6 6-4 win.

Gatt was then eliminated by Briton Anthony Perkings 6-3 6-2 in the last-eight stage.

In doubles, Gatt and Paul Livesi won their first match 7-5 6-2 but were then paired with top seeds Timur Shadiev and Mark Hadley in the quarter-finals.

The favourites lived up to their billing as they advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-1 6-2 win.

The performance and results in Dudley mean Gatt has now ad-vanced 15 places in the ITF singles rankings to no.45. He climbed six positions in doubles and is now ranked 16th in the world.

Thanks also to a good week in La Magna, Spain, Gatt is seeded 16th in the senior mixed doubles category.

This season, Gatt is backed by the Living Well sponsorship.