ABBOTS LANGLEY's Amanda Elliott enjoyed a near-perfect start to a four-week tour of South America by coming within a point of winning the Condor de Plata junior event in La Paz, Bolivia.
The 17-year-old, who is based at the Queen's Club, lost a nail-biting final to Japan's Kurumi Nara 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 at the clay court ITF Grade Two event on Sunday.
Elliott played an astute first set, picking exactly the right ball to attack in difficult, windy conditions. But the Briton's first serve percentage fell away in the second, which allowed Nara to work her way back into the contest.
The Japanese third seed carried her momentum into the decider, quickly opening up a 5-2 lead. Elliott dug deep, though, and saved five match points on her way to forcing a tie-break.
She performed another escape act in the breaker, turning a 4-1 deficit into a 6-4 lead, only to see two match points slip away and her opponent clinch the tie-break 9-7.
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