Every tennis player dreams of being the best in the world in their age group and for Palisadian Roscoe Bellamy fantasy is fast becoming reality.
Bellamy just captured his second doubles title at the Eddie Herr International Championships, played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
The Palisades Tennis Center trainee won the 14s division with regular practice partner Keenan Mayo of Northern California after winning the 12s division with Sangeet Sridhar in 2012.
Seeded No. 2, Bellamy and Mayo did not drop a set en route to the title, beating Kang Wanseok and Hoonki Jung of Korea 6-0, 6-4 in the first round; Chris Herrera and Mu Tao Turkmenistan of Puerto Rico 6-0, 7-5 in the round of 16; Sebastian Korda and William Woodall from the United States 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, Thomasz Dudek and Paluch Karol of Poland 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals; and Andrew Fenty and Bryan Shi from the United States 7-6, 6-2 in the final.
Working with tennis fitness guru Pat Etcheberry, who has trained such champions as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles and Justine Henin, the California kids staked their claim to the No. 1 ranking.
In addition to his doubles triumph, the eighth-seeded Bellamy reached the semifinals in singles, losing 6-4, 7-6 eventual champion Nicolas Mejia. Bellamy beat Ryuya Inoue 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, Arslan Orashev 6-2, 6-3 in the second round, ninth-seeded Mayo 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 16 and Jaycer Calleros 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
In May, Bellamy won the 14s singles at the USTA National Sweet Sixteen and paired with Mayo to win the doubles title.
In October, Bellamy won the 16s singles and doubles titles at the USTA National Selection Tournament in Stockton and the 16s singles crown at the Orange County/J.P. Yamasaki Junior Tournament, where he defeated fellow Palisadian Ben Goldberg 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
Riviera resident Blake Griffin made a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Los Angeles Clippers to a 121-120 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night at Staples Center.
Griffin made 15 of his 17 free throw attempts and finished with a season-best 45 points — two shy of his career high — to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and a steal in leading the Clippers to their eighth win in a row.
The 25-year-old All-Star power forward is fourth in the NBA in scoring, averaging 24.0 points per game.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.