Keothavong displays the will for the world stage

So how far will Britain's newly-crowned Hastings Direct National Champions, the teenagers Alex Bogdanovic and Anne Keothavong, go? The cheap, short answer is Nottingham, where both are due to compete in a £25,000 Challenger tournament this week. The rest is up to the two players and their advisers.

Bogdanovic, 18, and Keothavong, 19, undoubtedly have talent, as do dozens of other players in their age group and younger around the world. As we have seen down the years, the handful destined to prosper have an added dimension of physical or mental strength, sometimes both, and are prepared to work extremely hard, come what may.

Having graduated in competition with compatriots, or at least those who participated at Bolton Arena last week, Bogdanovic and Keothavong are now feeling their way towards the serious world of tennis. Keith Wooldridge, the Lawn Tennis Association's manager of women's national training, persuaded Tony Pickard, Stefan Edberg's former mentor, to impart words of wisdom to Keothavong, who has responded well. Her next task will be find a replacement for her coach, James Trotman, who is going to work with Tunisia's Salima Sfar.

"The main thing about Tony is that he believes in me," Keothavong said after out-playing Julie Pullin, twice a former champion, 6-1, 6-3, in Saturday's final to go through the tournament without dropping a set. Keothavong's confident display supported her claim to have become a different person compared to the down-hearted young woman who nearly quit tennis last year. "Everybody has ups and downs," she added. "I'm not going to have a permanent grin on my face." She followed that with a Pickardesque line of philosophy: "You're going to lose every week, unless you win every week."

In Bogdanovic's case the situation is slightly more complex. The Belgrade-born left-hander, has parted from his LTA coach, Tito Vasquez, and expressed a determination to work by himself in order to "mature as a player and a person." At the same time Bogdanovic realises that he needs help to make the difficult transition from junior to senior tennis. "At least Alex is asking these questions now and not waiting until he's 21 or older," said Jeremy Bates, the LTA's manager of men's national training.

Bogdanovic, the runner-up to Lee Childs at last year's Nationals, steadied his game after a nervous start to win Saturday's final against Jamie Delgado, the 1999 champion, 7-5, 6-2.

Delgado, who created a good deal of excitement as a junior by winning the Under-14 title at the Orange Bowl in Florida, but has been unable to capitalise as a senior, said of Bogdanovic: "He's a good player, and I'm sure he'll get a coach soon. But we can't get carried away with him. He's good, but loads of guys hit the ball well and play well, and there are 18 and 19-year-olds who are high in the world rankings."