Young singer gets ovation at U.S. Open performance BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer HAZLET - Each year at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens, N.Y., 256 of the best men's and women's singles players compete for a championship, a big payday, and the recognition of the hundreds of thousands of spectators in attendance each year. On Sunday, one young lady took her turn on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. She wasn't looking to raise the winner's trophy and she wasn't in it for the money, but Emma Moran did receive a standing ovation from the capacity crowd of 23,000, and she didn't have to pick up a ball or a racket. The 12-year-old West Keansburg resident was one of 14 people chosen to sing at the tournament after auditioning at Radio City Music Hall earlier in the summer. "There were a few hundred people auditioning so we knew there'd be a lot of competition to be one of the lucky ones," said AnnMarie Moran, Emma's mother. "We were notified that she won and then they told us she'd be singing 'America the Beautiful.' " As for Emma, she prepared for her oncourt debut for a few weeks before actually heading over to New York. "I just tried as best as I could to prepare for everything that was coming my way," Emma said. "I know that my friends were really excited when I told them what was going on." Also, to prepare for the tournament, Emma decided to scout out who she may have wanted to meet on the grounds of the U.S. Tennis Center by watching some of the on-court action. "I wanted to meet some famous people like [No. 1-ranked women's player] Maria Sharapova. She's the best," Emma said. Unfortunately, Sharapova's bid for a title fell short before Emma showed up. As for her own performance, it sounds like she held up just fine against the pressure. "It was wonderful. She got a standing ovation and there were flashbulbs going off all over the place," AnnMarie Moran said. "We couldn't wait to get there, and when we finally did it was wonderful. I figured that tears would come down from my eyes at some point, but I had no idea that she would get such a huge round of applause afterward." As for her future aspirations, Emma wants to be a singer and an actress and knows that her big moment on Sunday was a step in the right direction. "The biggest crowd I ever performed in front of was maybe 200 people. This time the crowd was much bigger and I had a good time," Emma said. "Everybody that came up to me after I sang said that they really enjoyed it and that felt great."