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Bjorn Fratangelo became the first American boy since John McEnroe in 1977 to win the junior title at the French Open by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria 3-6, 6-3, 8-6 Sunday.
The unseeded Fratangelo broke serve at 6-all when Thiem's backhand sailed wide. He clinched the victory and fell flat on the red dirt after the 14th-seeded Thiem hit a backhand return long on match point.
"I did well to hold my nerve at the end to close it out," the 17-year-old Fratangelo said.
Fratangelo, of Pittsburgh, began playing tennis as a 4-year-old and hopes to win major titles like McEnroe, who went on to win Wimbledon three times and the U.S. Open four times.
"It's amazing to follow in his footsteps," Fratangelo said. "Hopefully I'll be competing like him in the men's some day and win Grand Slams like he did."
Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/french11/news/story?id=6627905
