04-16-2008
Vickery upsets No. 1 McPhillips to take girls' 14s title at Easter Bowl
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| Sachia Vickery |
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Twelve-year-old Sachia Vickery took the gold ball at the 12s Spring Nationals in her home state of Florida last year. This year she moved west to California and stepped up to the 14s, but again took top honors, with a 6-3, 6-4 win over top seed Kyle McPhillips on a hot, cloudless Coachella Valley day.
Vickery, a No. 17 seed, took a 4-1 first-set lead over McPhillips, whose unforced error count in the first set might have exceeded the total in her previous six straight-set wins. McPhillips, from Willoughby, Ohio, saw her first serve desert her, and it wasn't until she was down 4-1 in the second set that she held for the second time.
"Sometimes I didn't get my first serve in even once in a game," said McPhillips. "It was really off. My second serve held up, but my first serve was bad."
Vickery, who is from Miramar, Florida and now trains at IMG/Bollettieri's, took advantage, and moved out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. But McPhillips fought back to even the second set, and Vickery admitted that her lack of concentration may have contributed to that.
"I was thinking, am I going to win Easter Bowl, or just be a finalist, or am I going to frame the next ball?" she joked. "I just took a minute, recuperated, and started playing like I did in the first set. I don't think I was taking enough time during the breaks, I was kind of rushing."
After slowing herself down, Vickery played a strong service game that gave her a 5-4 lead. McPhillips was serving to stay in the match, but at 15-30 she missed an overhead to give Vickery her first championship point. The final rally ended with McPhillips hitting a forehand long, and Vickery had a gold ball to go with her gold Maria Sharapova Prince racquet bag.
"She played good," said McPhillips, who will be representing the United States in World Junior Competition qualifying in Canada next month. "She didn't make many errors and she's a good player."
Vickery was pleased with her performance and with the Easter Bowl title.
"I'm really happy right now, and I know my mom is really happy--she was screaming on the phone," Vickery said. "I feel great being the youngest person in the tournament and being able to win."
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