Calling the Shots:

It seemed like a simple question posed to a 10-year-old. But Austin Di Giulio didn’t give me a typical answer.

Austin is the younger brother of a tennis star in the making, Joseph Di Giulio.

And so I asked, “Is there any pressure, being Joseph’s younger brother?”

“I want to be better,” said Austin, who lives in Newport Beach. “I feel like I can play better because he can teach me how to do things and I can hit with him.”

Austin is showing he has just as much talent and potential as his older brother had at such a young age. Austin, the second of three Di Giulio brothers, won the Little Mo International Tournament Dec. 19 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The tournament is named after Maureen Connolly, the tennis star from San Diego in the 1950s. The tournament is known for having Andy Roddick as a champion when he was a little one.

Austin won the championship in the 9-year-old division. He just turned 10 Jan. 18.

The big victory is rather impressive. Austin entered the tournament in the qualifying rounds. He had to win four matches just to reach the main draw. It appeared to be an overwhelming feat for the kid from Newport Beach, going up against other tennis prodigies from other countries.

In the end, it was Austin who was posing with the championship trophy. He beat Courage Crawford 6-0, 6-2, in the final.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” said Mahmoud Karim, a coach who works with Austin at Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine. “He has a fighting spirit more than anyone. He’s a kid who’s not afraid to be aggressive and win. He’s just in love with getting points and winning matches. It’s not easy to see that in a 10-year-old.”

Karim says he doesn’t see Austin crumbling to any pressure as he follows in his older brother’s footsteps. Joseph continues to achieve greatness in tennis.

He is ranked No. 7 in the nation in the boys’ 14s. He is traveling and training with a special national team, learning from Patrick McEnroe and Ivan Lendl among others. Next month he’ll be training with Jose Higueras in Palm Springs.

Joseph even had a documentary made about him and three of his friends that was televised on ESPN. It’s called, “50,000 Balls.”

Austin knows plenty about the movie.

“I’ve seen it too many times,” he says.

He tries to use all of his older brother’s success as motivation. He’s been known to give his older brother a good match when they hit against each other.

“He’s pretty quick on the court,” Karim says of Austin. “He’s very persistent and stays on the long points. He has both of those qualities, that he can hang in there and be patient and he also knows how to go after points. He’s showing more aggressiveness on top of that.”

Austin has been playing in the 12-year-old division this month. He reached the Round of 16 in the Gene Jung Whittier Tournament earlier this month. He won one match Saturday in the Fullerton Junior Tournament.

He is ranked No. 7 in Southern California in the boys’ 10-year-old division.