Three of Four Orange Bowl No. 1 Seeds Ousted Thursday, Defending Champion Klugman Saves Match Point to Advance; 16s Singles Semifinals and Doubles Finals Set for Friday
©Colette Lewis 2024--
Plantation Florida--
The north wind blew into Veltri Tennis Center Thursday and swept away three of the No. 1 seeds, and both No. 2 seeds in the ITF J500. No longer in contention for an Orange Bowl title are boys No. 1 Maxim Mrva and No. 2 Charlie Robertson, girls No. 1 Wakana Sonobe and No. 2 Teodora Kostovic and 16s girls No. 1 Hanne Estrada.
Sonobe was the first to go on a cool and often cloudy day in south Florida, with 15-year-old Ksenia Efremova of France making the adjustments necessary in her 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over the 2024 US Open girls finalist. Efremova led 4-2 in the first set, but didn't let herself get discouraged after losing the final four games.
"I was up 4-2, it was 30-all and then she played some unbelievable games, and I had nothing to say," said Efremova, who won a ITF women's W15 early last month. "I did some mistakes in important moments and that set went very fast."
Efremova rededicated herself to getting off to a good start in the second set.
"If you start 3-0, it's already a big advantage, if you start 0-3, it's like s**t," Efremova said. "You still fight of course, but it's easier to start 3-0. I started very good, 3-0 up for me, step by step, and in third set, I start up 2-1 and I broke her, and I just played very solid."
Efremova did not miss, defended well when Sonobe had an opportunity to dictate with her forehand and was winning most of the long rallies, which she attributed to the training she's been doing.
"I showed her that here is a physical battle," said Efremova, who is playing her third consecutive week. "And I feel great physically. We manage that with my team very good."
Efremova will play another unseeded quarterfinalist in Diana-Iona Simionescu of Romania, who beat No. 6 seed Alena Kovackova 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
On the next court over, No. 2 seed and Bradenton ITF J300 champion Teodora Kostovic was in trouble against unseeded Nadia Lagaev of Canada, trailing 2-0 in the third set. As the wind picked up, going from 10-15 mph early to over 20 mph as the afternoon progressed, Kostovic appeared to have difficulty adjusting, while Lagaev made few errors and rallied until Kostovic missed. Lagaev served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 and had a match point at in both games, but, Kostovic saved them to force a tiebreaker.
Lagaev took a 3-1 lead, but when Kostovic lost the fourth point, on serve, she received a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, which was not for any obscenity or racquet abuse, but for an emotional outburst that the chair deemed directed at her opponent.
Kostovic had already received an unsportsmanlike conduct warning for coaching, so the point was awarded to Lagaev, but Kostovic insisted that the supervisor come to the court.
She pleaded her case for well over five minutes to various officials, and was in tears several times, saying "I didn't say anything bad," but it was ultimately to no avail, with Lagaev getting the point."
Lagaev wasn't happy with the delay, but she only joined the conversation briefly and then went back to the baseline to wait for the verdict.
"It's not ideal, especially because I was winning and kind of on a roll," said the 16-year-old from Ontario. "Going up 3-1, you kind of just want to keep the momentum. But in my head, it's out of my control, I can't control how long it's going to be and I can't control the outcome. I wasn't too sure what was happening; I just went to the corner and tried to focus on myself."
Kostovic dried her tears and resumed play, but made a forehand error on the next point to trail 5-1 at the turn. She won a long rally to win the next point, and then hit an improbable slice backhand lob volley for 5-3. A Kostovic forehand winner made it 5-4 and when Lagaev made an unforced forehand error, Kostovic was back even. She stalled her own momentum with a backhand error to give Lagaev her third match point at 6-5, but Kostovic pulled off an underhand first serve and easily put away the weak return to save it.
"She had hit a few before, but it's tough, because when you're on the line, it's a quick reaction," Lagaev said. "I reacted to it, but the decision making wasn't as good as it could have been."
That held true for Kostovic on the next point, when she missed another underhand serve badly and double faulted. And finally, after three hours and 22 minutes, Kostovic's forehand went long, giving Lagaev the 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(6) victory.
Lagaev, who reached the final of a W15 in Turkey two weeks ago and did not play Bradenton, will face the other Bradenton finalist on Friday, No. 8 seed Tereza Krejcova of the Czech Republic. Krejcova came back from a break down in the third to defeat No. 10 seed Thea Frodin 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4.
Defending champion and No. 4 seed Hannah Klugman of Great Britain has struggled to find her form this week, but she again managed to advance, beating unseeded Krisha Mahendran 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(7).
Mahendran, a USC recruit who lives in California but represents India in ITF events, had a 5-3 lead serving in the tiebreaker, but made an unforced error that put Klugman back on serve. At 5-all, Klugman double faulted to give Mahendran a match point, but she couldn't take advantage, double faulting herself. With the wind getting progressively worse, it's hard to say whether those back-to-back doubles faults were mostly conditions or nerves, but Klugman was the one who stepped up in the next two points, hitting a forehand winner and another big forehand that forced an error to advance. She will play 14-year-old Jana Kovackova, the No. 7 seed, who defeated No. 11 seed Luna Cinalli of Argentina 6-2, 6-2.
The sole US girl in the quarterfinals is Kristina Penickova, who beat compatriot Monika Ekstrand 6-1, 6-3. Penickova will try to derail the freight train that is No. 5 seed Elizara Yaneva of Bulgaria, who beat American wild card Zaire Clarke 6-1, 6-1. When she went up 5-0 in the first set, Yaneva, the J500 Merida champion, had won 29 straight games this week having won her first two matches 6-0, 6-0. Penickova defeated Yaneva in the first round of this year's US Open Junior Championships 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The boys third round matches produced much less drama, with all eight decided in straight sets, including the upsets of Mrva and Robertson.
Robertson's loss was hardly a shocker, with Bradenton champion Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain continuing his form on the green clay with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Santamarta faces No. 10 seed Petr Brunclik of the Czech Republic, who beat unseeded Niels McDonald of Germany 6-3, 6-2.
No. 13 seed Jack Kennedy let his second set lead over Mrva slip away, but the 16-year-old New Yorker kept his head in the final stages of the second set for a 6-1, 7-6(4) victory.
"I started out really hot, got the early break," Kennedy said. "I was playing really well, managed the conditions really well. I think he was slower to manage it. I had a double break to start the second set, serving at 3-0, but got broken, then broken again at 4-3. But he was playing really well, credit to him. I relaxed a little bit but I finally stepped up my game and my energy level."
Mrva was up 4-3, with two serves coming in the tiebreaker, but he double faulted, and on the next point Kennedy's deep return was too much for Mrva to handle.
"I think that was a huge momentum break," Kennedy said. "He was gaining confidence all the way in the second, getting his energy, saying come on, which he didn't do much in the first. But after the double I just saw him look defeated. His shoulders dropped and he looked sad, and that's when I took my opportunity and pushed through."
After Mrva shanked a forehand to give Kennedy a 6-4 advantage, Kennedy managed to close out the win on his first opportunity, hitting a tough, backpedaling overhead winner to seal the victory.
After Kennedy hit that overhead, the small crowd watching on court 13 erupted with with loud cheers, including a Go Hoos for the future Virginia Cavalier.
"Obviously my dad and coach are here, and I've got my grandparents, they live in Tampa, so they made the drive," Kennedy said. "I have another uncle, who lives in West Palm, my (assistant) Virginia coach, my Solinco rep and another UVA player. So great support and they were able to push me through the finish line."
On Friday, Kennedy will play No. 6 seed Thomas Faurel of France, who continued his stroll through the J500s on this swing, beating unseeded Nicolas Arseneault of Canada 6-3, 6-0.
Unseeded 15-year-old Moise Kouame of France defeated No. 16 seed Maxwell Exsted 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting with No. 12 seed Henry Bernet of Switzerland. Bernet ended the run of US wild card Jack Satterfield 6-1, 6-2.
The doubles semifinals are set, with Exsted the lone American still in contention for the title. Exsted and Miguel Tobon of Colombia defeated No. 7 seeds Brunclik and Gustavo De Almeida of Brazil 7-6(2), 6-4 to advance against No. 5 seeds Timofei Derepasko of Russia and Amir Omarkhanov of Kazakhstan. Derepasko and Omarkhanov defeated Mrva and Vojtech Vales of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2.
The other boys doubles semifinal will feature the unseeded team of Bernet and Denis Petak of the Czech Republic, who beat Santamarta and Viktor Frydrych of Great Britain 7-6(8), 6-1, against No. 6 seeds Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland. Paldanius and Wazny defeated No. 2 seeds Oliver Bonding of Great Britain and USA's Jagger Leach 6-3, 1-6, 10-7.
The girls doubles semifinals have the second, third and fourth seeds competing Saturday, but top seeds Klugman and Kostovic lost to the unseeded team of Deniz Dilek of Turkey and Beatrise Zeltina of Latvia 2-6, 6-4, 10-3 Thursday evening. Dilek and Zeltina will face No. 3 seeds Krejcova and Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic, who beat No. 7 seeds Yaneva and Simionescu 6-4, 6-1.
No. 4 seeds Sonobe and Laima Vladson of Lithuania advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-0 win over No. 8 seeds Yoana Konstantinova of Bulgaria and Nellie Taraba Wallberg of Sweden. They will play No. 2 seeds Alena and Jana Kovackova, who won the battle of the sister pairs over Annika and Kristina Penickova 6-4, 0-6, 10-4.
The second Bradenton champion still alive for the Orange Bowl title is in the boys 16s: No. 2 seed Jordan Lee of the United States. Lee defeated No. 7 seed Samim Filiz of Turkey 6-2, 6-4 to guarantee a US champion with the semifinals yet to be played. Lee will face No. 9 seed William Zhang who advanced when unseeded David Wu retired after losing the first set 6-3.
Boys 16s top seed Zavier Augustin reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over compatriot Matthew Shapiro and will play No. 5 seed Ford McCollum, who beat No. 3 seed Agassi Rusher 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4.
While all four boys in the 16s semifinals are Americans, two of the four girls semifinalists are internationals: No. 4 seed Xiaotong Wang of China and No. 9 seed Sophie Triquart of Germany, who will play each other Friday.
Wang defeated unseeded Jensen Diianni of the United States 6-1, 6-0, while Triquart advanced when No. 2 seed Welles Newman retired trailing 6-4, 1-0.
Top seed and Bradenton champion Hanne Estrada of Mexico had her run ended by unseeded Kaia Giribalan of the United States 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
Giribalan, who made the round of 16 in the USTA San Diego 18s this year, had circled the Orange Bowl on her calendar this year.
"It's really exciting for me, because I'm 16 and it was a goal for me to get to the higher rounds of the Orange Bowl tournament and it's a great accomplishment," said Giribalan, who trains at the Evert Center in Boca Raton.
Giribalan, who beat No. 12 seed Olivia Traynor 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 in the third round Wednesday, said her mental game helps her in those tense situations.
"Those were two back-to-back three-set matches, and for me it was very intense, but I know I had to keep my mind really solid," said Giribalan, who moved from Northern California to Florida over a year ago. "Mentally, I feel like I was stronger in both those matches and because of that I was able to come through. Also my fitness has gotten a lot better, so being able to last in both was really good for me."
Giribalan will play unseeded Sarah Ye, who defeated unseeded Catherine Rennard 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in an all-US quarterfinal.
Giribalan beat two IMG Academy champions Thursday, with she and Isabelle DeLuccia, the No. 3 seeds beating unseeded Ciara Harding and Lyla Messler 6-3, 6-3 to reach the girls 16s doubles final. They will play No. 4 seeds Montserrat Marron Baruqui of Mexico and Nicole Okhtenberg of the United States, who defeated Newman and Emery Martin 3-6, 6-4, 10-3.
The boys doubles final will be decided between the top two seeds, with No. 1 seeds Augustin and McCollum facing No. 2 seeds Filiz and Jerrid Gaines Jr. Augustin and McCollum defeated Bradenton finalists Lee and Mason Vaughn, who were unseeded, 6-2, 4-6, 10-5. Filiz and Gaines defeated unseeded Ivan Rybak and Alexander Suhanitski of the United States 6-4, 6-4.
Draws and Friday's order of play: https://www.ustaorangebowl.com/draws
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