as at home when she triumphed in a junior event in Houston, Texas last weekend.

The 13-year-old, the top player in her age group in Bermuda who has been tipped by experts as a Federation Cup player of the future, was crowned "superchamp'' in the 14-and-under singles bracket at the Clear Lake Junior Open.

Brooks won her way through to the final with a typically gritty fightback, as she saw off Houston's Lingyang Xue 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

And in the final, she cruised to a much more comfortable triumph, 6-2, 6-2 against another Houston player, Katy Gooden.

Last week, Brooks won the 14-and-under division in the Craig Bean Memorial Junior Open.

The youngster has experienced overseas success before. Last year she won the 16-and-under division at the Southern Region Championships in Elmwood, New Jersey and reached the final in her category at the Georgia State Open in Atlanta.

CLAUDE FIFTH IN CYCLING CLASSIC CYC Claude fifth in cycling classic National team cyclists Melanie Claude and Julia Hawley added to their fine performances on the bike this season with top 20 finishes in the Cloudsplitter Classic at Lake Placid in the US.

The three-day event over the weekend featured a 7.5 mile time trial, 73 mile road race and then a 16 lap criterium.

Claude had a fantastic outing, finishing fifth overall in a time of 4:54.21, while Hawley, who had a mechanical problem on the second day, clocked 5:08.13 for 13th.

Full story tomorrow