Roy, Larcher de Brito Win Grass Court Championships

©Colette Lewis 2006
Philadelphia PA--

There was something old and something new in Saturday's US International Grass Court finals at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Top seed Rupesh Roy, 17, successfully defended his championship with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Austin Krajicek, while unseeded 13-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito won her first ITF title, in only her second attempt, defeating Gail Brodsky 6-7(7), 6-0, 6-1.

The first set of the girls final clocked in at just over an hour and the hot midday sun and the humidity saturated the drama-filled tiebreak that ended it. It was difficult to tell who had the advantage regardless of the score, because the server won only three of the 16 points played in the tiebreak. But when Larcher de Brito let a 4-2 lead slip away and committed two devastating double faults that gave Brodsky set points, the second of which Brodsky converted, it looked as if the righthander from Portugal's nerves might be part of the story. But as she explained after the match, she put aside any tentativeness that she felt once the first set was gone.

"The first set I lost, I got very frustrated and annoyed," said Larcher de Brito, who trains at the IMG/Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton. "But sometimes when I'm frustrated, I actually play my best. When I'm mad, I just go for my shots."

Brodsky took a bathroom break after the long and tense first set, saying afterward that she felt a bit "woozy" and wanted splash some cold water on her face. But when the fourth seed returned to the court, it was if all her energy had drained away, and in less than 30 minutes she had lost nine straight games.

Larcher de Brito went for the lines and hit them, while Brodsky began to serve with less authority, and audibly expressed her dissatisfaction with the vagaries of grass court tennis on several occasions.

"This is not my type of game," said Brodsky, who immediately after the awards ceremony was back on a practice court, working on her game with her father, a coach at the Weil Academy. "I'm not really good with low balls. She was much better at it than me."

Larcher de Brito, who had no experience on grass prior to the tournament, agreed that the surface worked well for her.

"At first I hated it," she said. "But as I got used to grass, I felt better. It suits my game I guess, because I'm a hard-hitter and my ball's kind of flat and stays low."

Brodsky managed to hold her serve when down 3-0 in the third, but there would be no comeback. Larcher de Brito had too much momentum and motivation to allow it.
Having lost to Brodsky three times, and as recently as last December's Junior Orange Bowl, Larcher de Brito was determined to stop that streak.

"I wanted to make sure it was my time to win," she said. "I've lost to her and I wanted to beat her this time."

With her parents, brother and dog accompanying her, Larcher de Brito was planning to celebrate by doing some sightseeing in Philadelphia and New York before returning to Bradenton to resume her training. Due to her age, there are restrictions on the number of ITF tournaments she can play, and her next tournament will be the International Hard Courts in New Jersey in late August. But her success on grass this week has given her dreams for the future.

"I'm definitely looking forward to Wimbledon."

While Larcher de Brito won't be there this year, the boys' champion will be heading to London with some familiar hardware in his suitcase. Roy, the defending champion in both singles and doubles at the Grass Courts, retained both titles, although a balky ankle limited his movement.

"For the past two weeks, I had pain in my shoulder, but I got medicine here, pain-killers or something, and it was fine," said the 17-year-old from India. "Today, when I was getting from my bed, I can't even walk, so I have to wear an ankle brace."

Roy wasn't moving with his usual fluidity, but some of that was due to Krajicek's lefty serve, which the champion admitted gave him trouble at times.

Krajicek coaxed an early break from Roy in the third game of the first set, but began to have serving problems, with several double faults sealing his fate in his final two serving games of the set. But he immediately broke Roy in the opening game of the second set and this time did not give it back, becoming the first player to win a set from Roy in either of the past two years.

"Rupesh is a great player," said Krajicek, who turned 16 on Friday. "There's not much you can do when he's playing well. But I had my chances. I took a set off him and I had a break in the first, so I could have held a little bit better there. But you've got to give credit to him, he played well."

In the third set, Roy eliminated the double faults that were plaguing him in the first two sets and used his slices and his touch to keep Krajicek off balance. Krajicek, who is from the Tampa area and has been training at Bollettier's since the beginning of this year, explained how Roy stretched a 3-2 lead in the third to a quick succession of breaks for the victory.

"He made a lot of returns, especially at the end of the third," Krajicek said. "He made me play every ball, made a lot of low returns, made me play half-volleys. Congratulations to him, he deserves it. He played better today."

Roy now turns his attention to the grass courts of Great Britain, where he'll play the Grade 1 in Roehampton and, as of now, the qualifying for the Wimbledon Junior Championships. He's hoping for courts a bit quicker than those of the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

"If the grass court is faster, it's good for me," Roy said. "I like to slide, come to the net, serve and volley. I don't mind all-court, but on grass, fast is good for me."

The Sportsmanship awards were announced by tournament director Ian Crookenden during the championship ceremonies with Michelle Larcher de Brito and Houston Barrick named the 2006 recipients.

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