Larcher de Brito, 13, making another statement -- this time in 18s competition
BY BRIAN NEWBERRY CORRESPONDENT
BRADENTON -- Michelle Larcher de Brito did not have anything left to accomplish in the girls 16.After winning the singles title in the 16s at the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Tournament a year ago, the 13-year-old is taking on the 18s and doing damage there as well.Larcher de Brito moved into the Round of 16 with a hard-fought 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Jade Curtis.
She will now face Jasmina Tinjic of Croatia today at 9:30 a.m. Should Larcher de Brito win, a meeting with No. 2-seeded Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea could be held in Friday's quarterfinals.The semifinals of the boys and girls 12s will be played this morning at the IMG Academies. Those finals are set for Friday. Title matches in the 14s, 16s and 18s will be held on Sunday.In the boys 18s Wednesday, Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy student Philip Bester upended No. 2 seeded Kellen Damico 6-3, 6-3. Bester will now meet Fernando Romboli in his next match at 10:30 a.m. Top-seeded Nicolas Santos did not drop a game Wednesday on his way to the Round of 16. Santos will meet Harri Heliovaara, the No. 15 seed, today at 10 a.m.The top four seeds remain alive on the girls 18s side of the draw, including No. 1 Julia Cohen. Cohen plays unseeded Monica Gorny at 9:30 a.m.Larcher de Brito had to fight off a tiebreaker loss in the opening set to advance.
The Bollettieri Academy student got the best of Curtis over the final two sets, including winning the final three games of the nearly three-hour match."I just stayed positive after the first set," Larcher de Brito said. "I worked hard to get my shots and gave it all I got."Michelle arrived at the Academy from Portugal at the age of 9. She received a tennis scholarship to make the trip and took of advantage of the opportunity to improve her game.The victory at the Herr Tournament helped escalate her into the 18s. Larcher de Brito upset the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals and never dropped a set on her way to the 16s title as a 12-year-old."I was winning last year and decided to move up (to 18s). I
t really helps my ITF (International Tennis Federation) ranking by playing in the 18s," Larcher de Brito said.Winning those events in the 18s does not hurt her ranking, either. Michelle won the USTA International Grass Court title in Philadelphia in June and took a singles title in South Carolina last month. Both events were in 18s and she is currently No. 94 in the ITF rankings for that age group.All the success at a young age has not satisfied Larcher de Brito. Since taking up the game when she was five, she has set her goals high.
"I want to be No. 1 in the world," she said.
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