Santamarta Completes Sunshine Double with Orange Bowl Title; Krejcova Averts Disastrous Finish by Winning Third Set Tiebreaker in Girls Final

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Plantation FL--

Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain and Tereza Krejcova of the Czech Republic arrived in Plantation a week ago with confidence and motivation, after competing  the finals of the J300 in Bradenton on the same green clay as the Orange Bowl's Veltri Tennis. Santamarta was aiming for the rare Sunshine double as the IMG Academy champion, while Krejcova was hoping to build on her appearance in the final. 

The strong and gusty winds that plagued the last four days of the Orange Bowl didn't allow them to showcase their highest level during the tournament's final stages, but Santamarta and Krejcova raised the champion's crystal bowl of oranges Sunday, with Santamarta defeating Moise Kouame of France 7-5, 6-2 and Krejcova securing a fraught 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Elizara Yaneva of Bulgaria.

Kouame, who was attempting to claim the title of youngest Orange Bowl boys champion from Frances Tiafoe, served for the first set at 5-4 after coming from 3-1 down, but double faulted twice in a row to spoil any chance at grabbing the lead.

Santamarta then picked up his level, which had been uneven in the first nine games, although calling any shot an unforced error in the face of the swirling 25 mph winds would be unkind. After holding easily for 5-all, Santamarta had two break points in the next game, with Kouame showing signs of frustration, tossing his racquet after losing the 30-all point. Santamarta couldn't capitalize on his first break point, but went up 6-5 when Kouame's forehand produced two errors in succession.

Kouame had his opportunities to force a tiebreaker with Santamarta serving at 6-5, and at 30-40 Kouame thought he had done so, but the chair confirmed a mark as out, on a shot Kouame had celebrated as a winner. Neither could seize the moment in the subsequet three deuces, with Santamarta missing out on his first set point and Kouame failing to convert two more break points. 

A short delay for a rain shower in the middle of the first set was duplicated at the set break, but the players did not leave the court area either time and continued play within six or seven minutes of stopping.

Kouame started poorly in the second set, losing his serve at love in the first game. After Santamarta held, Kouame chose a more aggressive style, but missed several balls early in rallies or didn't execute his volleys on net approaches. 

Soon it was 4-0 Santamarta, but Kouame held to get on the board, raising hopes that he could fight back, a scenario he never doubted.

"It's not even a question," said Kouame, who turns 16 in March. "From the first to the last point I thought I was about to win, had confidence in my game. No, I never doubt about me. I just try to continue what I am doing the best. Today, it didn't work, but I hope in my next tournament it will work through all the tournament. But I'm really happy the level I had throughout the tournament."

Santamarta confessed that his good start and 4-0 and 5-1 leads put thoughts of the championship in his mind a bit early.

"I started the second set with a lot of energy and he didn't play his best; he started missing a bit," Santamarta said. "When it's second set and you're 4-1 up, playing really good, yeah, I was thinking, I'm going to win the match. I try not to, but you can not help it."

Closing out a major title is never easy, even the second one in two weeks, and Kouame held, then saved two match points with Santamarta serving at 5-2, 40-15. But a good first serve gave Santamarta a third match point, and his backhand deep in the corner forced the error that gave him his 12th straight victory and the junior Sunshine double.

Reflecting on his Bradenton/Orange Bowl run, last accomplished by Argentina's Thiago Tirante in 2019, Santamarta admitted did not expect to leave Florida with both titles.

"I came here for these two weeks to end the year with a better ranking, so next year I could play more tournaments without playing so many juniors," said the 17-year-old, who trains with Sergio Gallego at the GTennis Academy in Valencia. "I came here with energy, motivated, but I didn't know I was going to win both of them."

With his junior ranking bolstered, Santamarta will now concentrate on the ITF men's World Tennis Tour, although he is planning to compete in the Australia Open Junior championships and in the other three 2025 junior slams. The first Spanish boys champion since Alberto Martin in 1996, Santamarta said his accomplishment could garner some attention when he returns home.

"Maybe they will notice, I think so, because of the social media," Santamarta said.

Kouame is not yet sure whether his 2025 plans will include the Australian Open Junior championships.

"For now, we're not yet set with the team; this is something we're discussing about," said Kouame, who reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, the only junior slam he has played, in June. "Juniors are our first options of course. We'll see with the pros, if I have too many tournaments I'll for sure get injured. Australia is a possibility, we're not sure yet."

If Santamarta was wary of thinking too far ahead when leading in the second set, girls champion Krejcova was Exhibit A in the perils of leading.

After coming back to force a third set against ITF J500 Merida champion and fifth seed Yaneva, Krejcova was up 4-1 and 5-2 serving in the third set and served for the match three times, at 5-2, 5-4 and 6-5.

The No. 8 seed didn't get to match point in any of those games, with deuce as close as she could get to the finish line. Nerves and the subsequent errors were a factor, as was the wind, with Krejcova catching her ball toss so many times that she felt compelled to apologize occasionally. 

The 100-odd fans gathered around Veltri's two show courts were dividing their attention between the simultaneous finals, but once Santamarta secured his title, Krejcova's struggles took center stage. When she netted a forehand to lose her third consecutive game, the crowd's murmers grew louder, but Krejcova broke again, with Yaneva contributing two double faults and Krejcova pounding two forehand winners.

That shot let her down serving at 6-5, with two unforced errors after the second of the game's deuces sending the match to the tiebreaker.

Again Krejcova took a lead, with two forehand winners putting her up 5-2, only to have another shower interrupt play. Just four minutes passed, but Yaneva won the first point after resumption, with Krejcova's forehand landing wide. On the next point, Yaneva thought she had pulled within a point on Krejcova's return, but the chair ruled it caught the line, giving the Czech her first three match points, with two serves to come.  She lost them both on forehand errors, but when Yaneva missed her first serve at 5-6, Krejcova moved halfway to the service line for the second serve. She retreated before Yaneva struck the ball, but after a short rally hit a forehand deep in the corner to force the error from Yaneva that gave her the title.

"It was a very difficult match," said Krejcova, a 16-year-old from Karlsbad, playing in her first J500 final. "She plays very good, but it was tough, mentally. I try to stay in the match, but I barely win."

After coming all the way back to reach the tiebreaker, Yaneva, who had won her semifinal over Ksenia Efremova of France in a third-set tiebreaker, was on the verge of tears after the match.

"I couldn't play well in this match," the 17-year-old said. "She played well, I mean, some points I also played well, but I made more mistakes. Of course I'm upset, 7-5 in the tiebreak, it's not like it was 6-1, 6-2. It was the final, and I couldn't play how I want in the important points."

Krejcova's loss in the Bradenton J300 final made this dramatic championship victory even sweeter. 

"I'm so proud of me, so grateful for this title," said Krejcova, who is coached by Simona Heinova and David Kunst, who did not make the trip to the United States. "It's a very special moment for me, for my team and my family."

Krejcova, the first Czech girl since Nicole Vaidisova in 2003 to claim the Orange Bowl title, is planning to compete in the Australian Open Junior championships next month, before beginning to play ITF women's World Tour events more regularly.

As for her plans to celebrate, Krejcova is contemplating a time-honored tennis tradition.

"I like champagne, so maybe that, and I will spend Christmas with my family," Krejcova said.