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By Hannah Guillaume (AXcess News) Washington - Vania King is casting shadows across the courts of American women's pro tennis. The spotlight on the 17-year-old baseliner's game came when she swept the Sony Ericsson Women's Tennis Association singles and doubles titles Oct. 9 at the Bangkok Open. She went pro in July. "For a couple of days after the win, I was still shocked and in disbelief that I did it," King said. "It was a dream come true for me. Obviously, it does wonders for my confidence." King laughed as she descirbed the scene, where fans wore traditional Thai cotsumes that looked like boats and danced around the courts in celebration. She swept the open by defeating seeded players Lucie Safarova, Jelena Kostanic and others leading up to the final set against Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn, who is ranked 74th in the world. She defeated Tanasugarn 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. King then took the doubles title with Kostanic by defeating 127th-ranked Mariana Diaz-Olivia and 76th-ranked Natalie Grandin 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. "I think the crowd was very pro-Tamarine," King said. She added that she feels honored to have pulled a sweep in Bangkok, "and I felt very welcome there." The most intense moment in her 13 years of tennis did not come on the courts, King said. It came just beofer she played in the U.S. Open when she sang the National Anthem. King, who put an acceptance to Stanford aside to go pro, has been singing since she started tennis at age 4. "It was very, very nerve racking," she said. King of Long Beach, Calif., is the third player to sweep both singles and doubles titles during a single Tour open this year. She is coached by her father, David, who also encouraged her three siblings to play tennis. King's brother, Phillip, turned pro in 2004 in the Association of Tennis Professionals and is ranked 386th in singles. This year King has earned $179,132. She won her two doubles titles with Kostanic, who holds a 33-25 doubles record and ranks 60th. King is the ninth teenager to take a WTA singles titel this season. The eight others include 11th-ranked Nicole Vaidisova, 17, of Prague, Czech Republic, and third-ranked Maria Sharapova, 19, of Bradenton, Fla. King said she turned pro slightly earlier than she had originally planned - at the end of 2006. But she didn't ptu pressure on herself to be ranked in the top 100. King ranked 54th after the Bangkok Open. In the next couple of years, she said she will aim for a place in the top 20. "I thnik that I need to work probably on my fitness, still," King said. She added that this is because she's a developing teenager. King is only 5-foot-5. She said her shorter-than-average stature means her strategy is putting pressure on opponents instead of trying to blow them off the court. Her shadow-casting spotlight came quickly. As a junior player in 2004, she ranked 825th. In 2005 she moved up to 164th. She said the career improvements reinforce her belief about the bets prat of her game: aggressiveness, serves and being an all-court player. After she's done cooling down from the Bangkok Open, King said she plans to take a week to prepare for the Challenge Bell tournament Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 in Quebec City. The torunament features a $170,000 prize. The WTA season championship starts Nov. 6 in Madrid, Spain. Kign is not ranked high enough to qualify for the Tour's singles or doubles championships. Source: Scripps Howard Foundaiton Wire
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