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The ITF Grade 1 Prince George’s County International Hard Court Championships began with a unique eclipse delay and ended with Australian Jaimee Fourlis and Colombian Nicolas Mejia outshining the competition with sweeps of both the singles and doubles titles Saturday at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md.

Fourlis earned her first ITF Grade 1 title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over 13-year-old wild card Coco Gauff, while Mejia outlasted top seed Axel Geller of Argentina 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 for his first singles title at that level.

Boys Singles Champion Nicolas Mejia
© ZooTennis.com

The two-hour pause for the eclipse during the first round of singles made for a long day, but it also provided respite from the brutal heat and humidity that continued into Tuesday. Conditions improved dramatically for the remainder of the week however, a crucial development for Fourlis and Mejia, who were playing two matches a day throughout the last five days of the event.

No. 11 seed Mejia survived a tough three-setter with wild card Cannon Kingsley in his opening match, but his real test came against No. 2 seed Trent Bryde in the quarterfinals. Just two points from a loss, Mejia prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4), then posted a considerably less dramatic 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 3 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina in the semifinals.

Geller encountered his first test in the quarterfinals against No. 9 seed Alafia Ayeni, saving a match point late in the third set of his 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory. The 2017 Wimbledon boys finalist then booked his place in the final with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 7 seed Sebastian Korda.