An adrift serve morphed into Zoe Hives' secret weapon at the Warrnambool Lawn Tennis courts yesterday.
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The 14-year-old second seed smashed her way into today's Junior Grasscourt Open 16 and under decider after posting a straight-sets semi-final victory against Middle Park's Georgina Macleod Jupp.
Zoe surrendered just three games for the match, winning 6-1 6-2.
The Kingston teenager credited her powerful serve for the convincing outing.
"My serve was working," she said. "Before I came to this tournament I couldn't stop doubling.
"My elbow wasn't going out far enough and my foot wasn't stepping up.
"I've been working on it with my coach, Peter Joyce."
Under bright morning sun, the opponents both flaunted fluro pink shirts teamed with black skirt or shorts.
But the similarities stopped there.
Zoe, a former Victorian representative, said she always felt in control of yesterday's encounter.
"(Georgina) was competitive the whole way but I think my shots were too aggressive," she said.
"I got on top pretty quickly."
After the match, Zoe admitted she had a convenient advantage.
The Mount Clear College student has grown up with a tennis court on her Kingston property, north of Ballarat.
"So I've been hitting for a while," she said.
This week's junior tournament is part of Zoe's preparation for the national championships in Mildura early next year.
"It's (also) a gold tournament and there are no others on at the moment," she said.
Zoe, who's favourite tennis player is Belgium's Justine Henin, would like to play professionally in the future.
But for now, she will focus on her showdown against top seed Stephanie Barnett this morning.
Zoe said she would employ her agile forehand to assist in the final.
"It's aggressive and I can hit a lot of shots with it," she said.
The final starts at 11am. Spectators are welcome.