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Tournament Feature
Eddie Herr Champions Keys and Di Giulio Add Junior Orange Bowl Titles
by
Colette Lewis, 27 December 2007
Madison Keys of Boca Raton, Fla. and Joe Di Giulio of Newport Beach, Calif. were the targets of every 12-and-under player competing in the Junior Orange Bowl last week. With recent Eddie Herr championships secure, the pair once again triumphed over the international elite of their age group in Coral Gables, Fla., adding the coveted silver bowl of oranges to their trophy cases.
For Keys, who trains at the
IMG/Evert Academy, it meant adjusting to the clay at Salvadore Park after taking the Eddie Herr title on hard courts. But for the 2007 USTA girls 12s
Clay Court champion, it was no problem, even with a very tough draw.
Unseeded, Keys faced her most challenging matches early in the tournament; in the first round she drew No. 1 seed Louise Kwong of Canada, whom Keys had needed a third set tiebreaker to defeat in the Eddie Herr quarterfinals. In the third round, it was unseeded Eddie Herr finalist and Florida rival Sachia Vickery who provided another stern test before falling, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2.
"I think at the beginning, since I had tougher matches, it really helped pay off toward the end," said Keys, who turns 13 in February. "I was more prepared for the last few matches. I think the hard draw really helped me in the end."
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