Special from
Zoo Tennis
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After a full week of outstanding weather, the 31st Eddie Herr International Championships came to a close with five American Champions. Whitney Osuigwe won the ITF title, Katrina Scott and Ron Hohmann earned 16s championships, with Vivian Ovrootsky and Juncheng “Jerry” Shang taking the titles in the 14s and 12s, respectively.
Osuigwe’s win was not unexpected, with the ITF World No. 1 the top seed on her home courts at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The 15-year-old didn’t drop a set through the first five rounds, while her opponent in the final, unseeded Clara Burel of France, needed three sets to advance through three matches, including her 1-6, 7-6, 7-6(6) win over No. 2 seed and defending champion Maria Carle of Argentina.
Osuigwe looked to be headed for another straight-sets victory in the Sunday morning final, leading 6-4, 3-1, but Burel fought back to force a third set, only to fade in the final set. Osuigwe, supported by a large crowd of local fans and IMG coaches and players, used her advantage over her fatigued opponent, taking the final five games of the 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory.
"I'm pretty good in third sets to be honest," said Osuigwe, who was playing in her first Eddie Herr final in eight appearances at the tournament. "She's been playing a lot more games than me, and I could tell that she was tired, so I just moved her around."
“I was too tired," agreed Burel, a 16-year-old from Paris, who had reached the semifinals of the Grade 1 Yucatan Cup the previous week. "I played a lot matches in three sets this week, so I was tired, and she played better in the third set."
