Trey Mallory produced some of the best tennis of his fledgling career at the tenth annual “Little Mo” Internationals in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Mallory was a member of the victorious under-14 boys’ doubles team and finished runner-up in the singles competition, which finished yesterday.

Mallory reached the singles final where he put up a good fight before losing 6-2, 7-5 to Oskar Hakonen of Estonia.

En route to the final the son of former top player Ricky Mallory upset the No 1 seed Nikolas Tvedt, of Norway, and No 3 seed Quintan J Van Wijk, of Curaçao.

Mallory said his victory over the top seed did his confidence the world of good.

“That was the turning point for me in the tournament,” he said. “Going into this tournament knowing the high level of competition in the past, I wanted to definitely make it through the first round.

“After winning my first-round match I faced the No 1 seed from Norway who trains at Sanchez Casal Tennis Academy. I knew he was a quality player but my dad told me to ignore the fact that he was seeded No 1 and go out there and focus; block everything out around me and play with limited errors.

“The first set was a tough set with both of us holding serve until I managed to break him at 5-4 to win the set 6-4. After winning the first set my confidence grew and I believe I played one of the best sets I’ve ever played, winning 6-1.”

It the first time that Mallory has reached the singles final in three appearances at “Little Mo” events. “I played in 2012 in Palm Beach Gardens, losing in the second round,” he said. “Then again the following year at Forest Hill, New York, losing in the first round to a seeded player.”

Mallory compensated for his defeat in the singles final by teaming up with No 1 seed Tvedt to beat Jakub Ostajewski, of Poland, and Juan Sebastian Dominguez Collada, of Guatemala, 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 in the doubles final.

“I was happy to win the doubles after feeling a little disappointed after coming so far in the singles and losing in the final,” he said. “Doubles was a hard-fought battle after going down in the first set 6-4 then winning the second 6-2 and the super tie-break 10-5.”

The tournament was held at the PGA National Resort & Spa and BallenIsles Country Club and featured 375 players from 37 different countries.

Mallory competed in the “Big Mo” division for ages 13 and 14.

The “Little Mo” Internationals is one of the premier international tournaments for boys and girls aged eight to 12.

They are named in honour of Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly, who was the first woman to win the Grand Slam when she was only 18 years old in 1953 and remains the youngest and only American woman to have accomplished the feat.