Kuzuhara and Vallejo Advance to Orange Bowl Boys Final, Shnaider and Marcinko Meet for Girls Title; Duong and Kim Claim 16s Titles

©Colette Lewis 2021--
Plantation FL--

When a place in the Orange Bowl final comes down to a third set tiebreaker, it helps to have the crowd on your side, as No. 2 seed Bruno Kuzuhara learned in Saturday's 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) win over unseeded Kalin Ivanovski of Macedonia. 

Kuzuhara, who grew up in nearby Coconut Creek, has been a favorite all week, and when he took a 6-4 lead in the final set tiebreaker, the scores of fans gathered around the Veltri Tennis Center's Court 11 began the rhythmic slow clap that has been a staple in college tennis for many years. 

"The support, especially at the end of the tiebreaker, just knowing I'll get a lot of support win or lose, it's just amazing," Kuzuhara said. "It takes a lot of pressure off. Hearing that [clap], I was just trying to keep it in, not getting too excited after hearing that."

Kuzuhara collected himself, hit a good first serve up the T and slammed a forehand winner off Ivanovski's return, with the crowd erupting after the tension had built throughout the final set.

At 4-4 in the third set, Ivanovski found himself down 0-40, but managed to hold. Rather than succumb to disappointment, Kuzuhara held easily to make it 5-5 and came from 40-0 down to send the next game to multiple deuces, although Ivanovski again took the lead at 6-5.  Down 15-30, Kuzuhara won the next point, then hit a second serve ace.

"I don't know what went through my head to decide to go for a slice wide second serve, but I would say thank god it worked," said Kuzuhara, who won the next point on a backhand error from Ivanovski. 

Kuzuhara admitted he was nervous at the start the tiebreaker, but he led throughout, with Ivanovski, who had come up with big serves on break points throughout the match, unable to produce any at the end. After trailing 5-2, Ivanovski, who had won all four tiebreakers he had played this week, brought it back to 5-4 when Kuzuhara hit a backhand long. But the physically imposing 17-year-old could not capitalize when Kuzuhara missed his first serve on the next point, sending a forehand return long, and he did not get another chance.

Kuzuhara, who is looking to become the first American boy to win the Orange Bowl title since Stefan Kozlov in 2014, will face No. 7 seed Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay in Sunday's final. Vallejo, known to everyone on the junior circuit as Danny, prevented an all-American boys final with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over unseeded Ryan Colby.

Colby, down a set and a break, fought back, forcing a third set by take the final three games. The reigning USTA Clay Court champion, Colby rolled his ankle early in the third set, and had a brief visit from the trainer, but Vallejo didn't detect any impact on Colby's movement. 

"He was very solid anyway," said Vallejo, who reached the final of the JA in Merida Mexico last month. "He was moving very normal. He maybe was thinking about it too much."

Vallejo had beaten Colby 6-3, 6-0 in the third round in Merida, but he was not expecting a similar score line today.

"He's playing in his home country, and the semifinal of the Orange Bowl, it was supposed to be harder," Vallejo said. "It was very tough and I'm very happy to win, very happy to be in the final."

Although they were born less than a month apart in April of 2004 and have been traveling the ITF junior circuit for four years, Vallejo and Kuzuhara have never played.

"We've played a lot of tournaments together, but this will be our first time playing each other," Kuzuhara said. "I'm just going to out there and enjoy it. Whatever happens, I just know that if go out there and play my game, play free, play as free as I can, I'll be satisfied at the end."

While Vallejo and Kuzuhara have little on-court knowledge of the other, the girls finalists know exactly what to expect, with Diana Shnaider of Russia and Petra Marcinko of Croatia playing in the singles final to start off Sunday's action, and in the doubles final, as partners, to end it.

The fifth-seeded Shnaider, who has not lost more than three games in any set in her five victories, continued to roll, defeating No. 12 seed Laura Hietaranta of Finland 6-2, 6-1.

"I was really nervous about it," the 17-year-old left-hander said. "I lost in the semifinals at Eddie Herr, after winning the first set, so I was nervous, thinking about my last semifinal. But then I just started working, working and it was fine."

No. 6 seed Marcinko was able to maintain her focus in today's 6-1, 6-4 semifinal win over unseeded Kristyna Tomajkova of the Czech Republic, following her emotional 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over No. 3 seed Linda Fruhvirtova, who had beaten her at Wimbledon this year and last month in Merida.

"It was a really good win yesterday, but I had to not think of it too much, not be too hyped about it, because I also had a really tough opponent today," said the 16-year-old. "Today I also played well, continued playing well, so it was fine."

Marcinko said it will be difficult playing Shnaider, not because they are doubles partners, but rather due to Shnaider's skills, which she faced this summer in the Russia vs. Croatia final of the European Summer Cup Team event.

"She's a really good player. I also lost against her this summer, pretty easy, so it's going to be a tough match for sure," Marcinko said.

Shnaider knows what to expect, both from that match, their recent doubles partnership and from her scouting yesterday.

"I was watching her game against Linda Fruhvirtova and I have some things in my mind what I mean to do," Shnaider said. "I also have my coach with me, so he will tell me what I need to do to win."

Marcinko and Shnaider, the Eddie Herr champions and No. 2 seeds here this week, will face top seeds Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova in the girls doubles final. Marcinko and Shnaider came from 8-6 down in the match tiebreaker to defeat No. 5 seeds Clervie Ngounoue and Croatia's Lucija Ciric Bagaric 6-1, 2-6, 10-8. The Fruhvirtova sisters defeated unseeded Qavia Lopez and Switzerland's Chelsea Fontenel 6-2, 7-5. In the Eddie Herr final, Marcinko and Shnaider defeated the Fruhvirtovas 6-3, 5-7, 11-9.

Unseeded Ethan Quinn and Nicholas Godsick will play for their second consecutive Orange Bowl title Sunday after defeating unseeded Cooper Williams and Bolivia's Juan Carlos Prado Angelo 3-6 7-5, 11-9.  Quinn and Godsick won the 16s doubles title last year.

Their opponents will be No. 7 seeds Edas Butvilas of Lithuania and University of Florida freshman Abedallah Shelbayh of Jordan, who avenged their Eddie Herr quarterfinal loss to No. 6 seeds Aleksander Orlikowski and Olaf Pieczkowski of Poland in today's semifinal 6-7(9), 6-2, 10-3.

All four champions in the 16s were crowned on Saturday, and all hail from the United States.  Kate Kim added an Orange Bowl title to the championship she earned a week ago at the Eddie Herr, defeating Stephanie Yakoff 6-4, 3-0 retired, injury. No. 4 seed Quang Duong withstood an opening set blitz by No. 2 seed Alex Frusina to post a 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in the boys 16s final.

Kim, the first player to win consecutive Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl titles since Katie Volynets accomplished that in 2014, got off to a fast start, taking a 4-0 lead, as Yakoff struggled with her serve. Whether that was related to the hard fall that Yakoff took in the first game of the match, which resulted in a bloody knee that required medical attention, is difficult to determine, but she did manage to regroup and win four of the next five games.

"She did hit the ground pretty hard and was bleeding quite a bit," said Kim, who acknowledged Yakoff's determination to make a match of it despite the slow start. "I knew I was going to have to work for it. I knew I wouldn't get that many more free points; she's pretty good at problem solving. She has a bunch of experience, so I knew she would figure it out."

Having broken Yakoff three times in the first set, Kim believed the set was still there for the taking.

"When it got to 5-4, I knew I had to close it out," said the 16-year-old from Lake Worth Florida. "I played my base game, trusted it and it paid off in that moment. I use my forehand whenever I can, opening up the court."

Kim's service game opening the second set saw her save three break points, but her confidence grew when she held.

"That kind of set the tone for the next couple of games and I kind of stepped it up," Kim said. "And I think she was definitely hurting a little more."

Yakoff said a second fall affected her other knee, making it impossible to continue.

"I fell on my right one, and hyperextended my left one, and I started having problems later in the match," said Yakoff, a 16-year-old from New Jersey. "I fell a few games later on my left knee and that didn't help either."

Winning titles back-to-back, especially on two different surfaces, is an accomplishment that also requires some good fortune.

A delay in her first round match due to rain on Monday gave her some extra rest time, which Kim appreciated.

"After I finished Eddie Herr I was a bit beat up," said Kim, who trains with Team Anderson in Lake Worth. "I definitely spent a bunch of time in recovery, I've been doing ice baths every day and I felt a little bit better as I went through the tournament."

Although the US girls title streak in the 18s ended at four this year, Kim is the fourth straight American to win the girls 16 title.

Both Kim and Yakoff, if her knee injury allows, are planning to play the USTA Winter Nationals in Lake Nona, in the 18s division, later this month.

Duong was mostly a spectator in the first set of the boys final, with Frusina dictating play and making very few errors. Duong, who had lost to Frusina in their last encounter this summer, knew that he had to elevate his own game to avoid another loss.

"I just didn't believe in myself that much in the first few games," said the 15-year-old from Manhattan Beach California. "I wasn't nervous, but a little tired. I told myself you've got to do better, raise my own level up more. In the second set, I started to hit a couple shots, get my edge up, to believe in myself more, and I came back."

As well as he played in the opening set, Frusina felt something was amiss mentally that kept him from sustaining that level of play.

"To be honest, I was battling a lot of internal feelings, and I would say the first set performance was kind of lucky," said Frusina, who trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. "I was making some really good shots, I was coming up with things, but it was just very short-lived because of what I was trying to control inside. It got a little of the best of me today at some points, but I can't take any credit away from Quang. He played a really good match, a really good entire week. But I'm really happy with making the final, and I hope I'll be back here next year too."

Up a break in the third set, Duong lost it, but broke right back. Although he was not nervous to start the match, he admitted that changed when he was serving for the Orange Bowl title.

"It was really difficult," said Duong, who credits his father Duc, who serves as his coach, with providing the mental training that he needs to handle those pressure-filled moments.

 "I gave it all my energy in that one game. I was a little nervous there as well, but I kept my focus and composure up."

Duong will be playing the Winter Nationals later this month, in the 18s division, while Frusina will be taking some time off for his birthday next week and Christmas, before resuming his training at IMG.

Both of the 16s doubles champions were playing together for the first time this week at the Orange Bowl. Piper Charney and Anya Murthy, who defeated Eddie Herr champions and No. 5 seeds Noemi Basiletti and Vittoria Paganetti of Italy 6-2, 6-3, got together only a few days before the event, when they both were notified that they had received wild cards.

Despite their lack of preparation, they dropped only one set in the tournament, improving with each match.

"We played well, really well; we were aggressive, I think we played smart," said Murthy, a 15-year-old from California. "It was one of our best matches," added Charney, a 16-year-old from South Carolina.  

"On the bigger points we played better, " said Murthy. "We made sure to keep more balls in."

In spite of the short notice, the unseeded pair did envision this kind of run.

"There was definitely a chance," Murthy said. "It's crazy, because you never know," said Charney. "It feels good, it's pretty awesome."

No. 7 seeds Andrew Delgado and Tanner Povey defeated unseeded Nikita Filin and Chase Fralick 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 in the boys final, bouncing back from a lull in the second set that saw them go from leading 4-2 to dropping the set.

"After the second set, I started thinking, it's my last ten points of the year," said Delgado, a 16-year-old from North Carolina. "That kept me going. We kind of switched it up after a few loose points by them, we played a few good points."

"It's not easy," said Povey, a 16-year-old from Florida. "You have to go through a mental reset, start over basically. Forget about the past and start out strong."

The two left-handers did just that, taking 5-1 and 8-3 leads in the match tiebreaker before Povey served out the title.

Povey and Delgado are not playing Winter Nationals, but with this result, they will look to reunite in 2022.

"I'll definitely be contacting him next year," Delgado promised.

The girls singles final is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, followed by the boys singles final. The boys doubles final will begin at noon. The girls doubles championship match will close out the final day of the 2021 Orange Bowl.