By Paula Bott
SPECIAL TO THE UNION-TRIBUNE
August 16, 1999
A small welt rose on the side of Megan Bradley's right thigh
yesterday. Nearly every time the teen tennis phenom scored a
point in the USTA Girls 16 National Championship, she gave
herself a pat of encouragement on the leg.
By match end, Bradley had done it so often that a raspberry
remained. But the Pinecrest, Fla., athlete felt no pain, only
pure elation.
Her power-packed performance earned her a 6-4, 6-2 victory
over Ashley Harkleroad of Flintstone, Ga., in the singles
final at the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma.
With the win, Bradley, the tournament's No. 2 seed, earned
a wild-card berth into the U.S. Open Juniors beginning Sept. 5
in New York.
"The whole year I've been waiting for this
tournament," said Bradley, pausing to wipe away tears.
"There was so much riding on this match. Everyone told me
I could win this, but I never really believed in myself that
much.
"Today was about being confident and beating my own
self-doubt."
Pavel Joromsky, Bradley's coach, said the victory has
far-reaching effects.
"She just proved she's the No. 1 girl in the
U.S.," Joromsky said. "That's the first step to the
professional level."
Bradley, 16, also took home the doubles trophy. She and
partner Danielle Schwartz of Livingston, N.J., won their
second straight tournament, upholding their No. 1 seed.
Yesterday, the pair defeated local product Jody Scheldt of
Bonsall and Luana Magnani of Pasadena 6-4, 6-4. Seventh-seeded
Scheldt-Magnani had a fine run, upsetting the second-seeded
team in the semifinals.
While this is the last tournament in 16s for Bradley,
Harkleroad, 14, can continue playing in the age division. She
came into this national tournament as the No. 1 seed after
beating Bradley 6-3, 6-1 in late July at the girls 16 USTA
National Claycourt Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
But second-seeded Bradley came out very aggressively
yesterday, hitting everything hard, harder and hardest.
"She killed me the first time," Bradley said.
"But I dictated the points today. I took the ball on the
rise and served pretty well on key points. I knew I had to
stay up and keep the pressure on."
Said Harkleroad: "I was a little tired today, and she
played 100 percent better. She hit winner after winner."
Harkleroad hadn't lost a set coming into the final. The
most games an opponent had scored off of her in a set was
four.
Bradley, on the other hand, used an escape act to avoid
elimination. In Saturday's semifinals, she was down three
match points, but came back to defeat Katie Ruckert of
Madison, Va., 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
Yesterday, Bradley came out strong, breaking Harkleroad on
her second service opportunity, taking a 2-1 lead. Bradley
broke her again on the seventh game and collected the first
set as Harkleroad failed to return Bradley's blistering serve.
Bradley finished with four aces, while Harkleroad suffered
from nine double faults.
"She served well; that was her lifesaver,"
Joromsky said. "Today her first serve just popped. She
had big power. She peaked.
"I didn't expect her to play like that. The finals are
not always pretty play because of nerves. But she dealt with
that, and she's a champion."
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