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DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — With the heat index approaching 95 degrees, Atlanta’s Garrett Johns was just as hot in stunning Jacob Bullard (Calabasas, Calif.), 6-2, 6-2 in the USTA Boys' 16 National Clay Court Championships at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.

Johns, the 14th seed, broke Bullard, the tournament’s No. 8 seed, seven times for his first singles gold ball of his career.

Boys 16 Champion Garrett Johns
© Gary Curreri

“This is pretty big,” said Johns, 16, a rising junior at Holy Innocents Episcopal School. “This is very big. I hadn’t ever gotten to the finals of a Super Nationals before. This is really good. It was my biggest win ever.”

Johns, a blue chip who is Georgia’s top-ranked player, should continue to climb the rankings. He is ranked No. 16 nationally and No. 6 in the Southeast. He won a bronze ball in singles and won three gold balls in doubles at the 12s hardcourts, 14s clay courts and 16 hardcourt winter nationals.

“It was tough to win this one because you had to win seven matches in a row,” Johns said. “Clay is a really good surface for me so this one was a good one for me to win. I think I like (playing on) clay the most.