Regardless of whatever else she does in tennis, Sarah Summerfield will always be haunted by her first tournament in Bermuda as ?the one that got away?.

In the twinkling of a few rallies yesterday, she saw three match points evaporate and with them her chance of progressing to today?s semi-finals in the Girls 18 & Under division of the Bank of Bermuda Foundation ITF World Ranking Junior Tournament.

Battling Manijee Ashrafi of Puerto Rico at the W.E.R. Joell Tennis Stadium, Summerfield had the match for the taking, leading 5-4 in the decisive third set and with three opportunities to seal the outcome on her serve with a 40-0 advantage. However, the 16-year-old from New Jersey let slip her commanding position and with it the vital victory.

Playing like she faced a life-and-death crisis, Ashrafi reeled off a succession of powerful winners as her rival buckled and was broken, losing five points in a row. That brought the scores level 5-5 and, given a new lease on her tennis life, Ashrafi romped to a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 conquest in a marathon two hours, 55 minutes; holding serve before breaking again.

The resulting emotions could not have been more contrasting as Ashrafi punched the air and skipped off the court, clearly thrilled with her glorious resurgence, while Summerfield was absolutely and understandably inconsolable, seeking tearful refuge in an isolated section of the bleachers.

?I tried to keep fighting because she almost had me and then I had three match points but I lost them. I tried not to let that bother me but it was really hard to get my focus back,? admitted unseeded Summerfield between sobs.

?I was pretty happy with the way I played overall but it?s hard to lose like that.?

Arguably the match of the tournament so far, the Court Two epic proved a veritable gruntfest that would have made Monica Seles proud. It was gripping from the start as Summerfield fell behind 4-1 in the opening set before capturing the next five games to seize the early honours.

Rattled but not deterred, Ashrafi dominated the second set which she claimed 6-2 to even matters before the last bruising set which saw several fierce rallies with neither girl prepared to give any quarter.

?I was up in the third set and then I found myself down and I just kept telling myself it?s not over and that I have to fight and that?s what I did ? I fought ? and I was able to win the match,? declared number-three seed Ashrafi.

?I feel so good because I was so close to losing and to pull this off shows what I can do.?

Grinning uncontrollably, the 17-year-old spoke confidently about her semi-final chances versus Pamela Duran of Ecuador.

?I?ve never played her and I don?t know how she plays but I?m going there ready to play and to fight again, ready to win,? said Ashrafi, undaunted by the possible fall-out of her lengthy quarter-final.

Meanwhile, Duran ? who came here unseeded but has proven a tricky proposition ? studied the Ashrafi-Summerfield clash intently after blasting by number-two seed Jo-ann Van Aerde 6-4, 6-0.

?I thought it would be harder because she is a really good player but I pulled it out and I?m very happy about it,? said the 18-year-old.

Noting that she couldn?t hit harder than her stronger opponent, the lithe but wily player revealed she was therefore forced to play smarter.

?So I used more angles and that worked,? explained Duran, fresh from winning a junior tournament in Costa Rica.

Regarding her semi-final chances against Ashrafi, she was non-commital.

?I feel pretty good but I don?t know. It will be very tough. She is really strong and I will have to play very well ? put all the balls in and move her around a lot.?

Surinamese Van Aerde offered no excuses for her poor showing.

?I started off really good, hitting a lot of balls but then I just started missing a lot. I could have had a better score. I didn?t play my best tennis at all,? conceded the 17-year-old.

Following Duran and Van Aerde on Court One, top 18 & Under Boys? seed Alberton Richelieu of St. Lucia was taken to three sets by his Caribbean brethren Michael Clarke. However, he lifted his game and advanced to the final four 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

He was all over the Trinidadian in the first set, wresting it in a breezy 6-1. Just when spectators were beginning to think number-six seed Clarke would be blown away by his easy-stroking, tough-serving nemesis, the dynamics and momentum started shifting.

Trading service breaks three times in the second set, the players engaged in an intriguing tug-of-war for the upper hand, each unveiling an impressive and imaginative repertoire of shots that drew repeated applause from the crowd.

Ultimately, a fourth ? and this time unanswered ? break gave Clarke a lifeline, thus necessitating a third set.

Richelieu, though, was not to be thwarted and returned to his rampant form, rushing ahead 3-0. Gallantly as he tried, Clarke was unable to recover from this deficit; a stray forehand gifting his rival game, set and match.

?I was a little nervous because the guy is a good player and I didn?t expect him to play that badly in the first set. He didn?t play at his best but he started stepping it up and I never adjusted so he was the stronger player in the second set,? assessed 17-year-old Richelieu.

In the decisive set, the dreadlocked player said he changed tactics and started venturing in more ?hoping he (Clarke) would miss a few passing shots here and there?. In addition, on important points, he decided ?to close the net or go for a little more on my serve?.

Clarke?s main goal was not to be brushed aside and the 15-year-old expressed satisfaction with his performance against a more experienced combatant.

?I wanted to play well. I didn?t want to go out easily. I just wanted to play my best and give it all I?ve got and I think I did that.

?I was shaky in the first set but then I settled down and it was pretty close. My opponent played really well but there were a couple points I think I could have played better.?