Sun and Liutova Meet Again for ITF J500 Orange Bowl Title; Kennedy and Boogaart Reach Boys Final; Sirichantho and Reyniak Claim 16s Titles; Thirty-Point Tiebreaker Decides G16s Doubles Title

©Colette Lewis 2025--

Fort Lauderdale FL--

Kristina Liutova had let one match point slip by, hitting a backhand wide at 5-3, 40-15 in the third set in her Orange Bowl semifinal match Saturday with No. 6 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia. The second match point ended with a long rally and a mark check on the far sideline by the chair umpire with Cvetkovic pleading that Liutova's ball was wide. After staying out of the conversation for a minute, with the umpire not convinced the ball was out, Liutova told him the ball was out, conceding the point to Cvetkovic. Cvetkovic thanked her, the crowd around court 10 applauded Liutova applause, and the game continued.

At deuce, Cvetkovic missed a drop shot attempt, but saved a third match point with a volley winner. But a blistering backhand gave Liutova a fourth match point, with Cvetkovic sailing a backhand long to give Liutova a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Asked why she conceded such a crucial point in such a hard-fought battle, Liutova said she saw the ball out and did not want the match to end with that knowledge.

"Tennis is fair play," said the 15-year-old Seattle-area resident, who was born in Russia. "I'd rather lose the game or whatever, but play fair; that shouldn't be a problem. I was stuck in the moment, just watching, but if I knew it was out and I take it, it's not fair."

Liutova had been pushed by Cvetkovic into an unfamiliar position after beating the 17-year-old Serbian 6-3, 6-0 in the ITF J300 Bradenton final six days ago.

"She stepped in in the first set, was very aggressive," said Liutova, who did not drop a set in Bradenton or this week until today. "I was a little nervous, but she played a very great level and I just had to accept it, continue the work, not thinking about what's been already."

Liutova will face No. 12 seed Xinran Sun of China for the third time in the past four months, after Sun defeated top seed Victoria Barros of Brazil 6-2, 6-3.

"She's a great player, and I just want to enjoy the competition in the final," said Liutova, who defeated Sun in the semifinals of the J300 in College Park in August and last week in the Bradenton J300 quarterfinals.  "Of course I will have some patterns and strategy with my team, but the most important thing is to just let myself play, be myself and go for my shots."

Sun, also 15, said she will "of course" make some changes in her third attempt to beat Liutova.

"Last two times she played really good," said Sun, who has not dropped a set this week. "I just hope I can play my tennis. My movement is good and my backhand is too."

Sun said she had practiced with Barros and was familiar with her game, although they had not played until today.

"I know she is so good player, has so good experience," said Sun, who trains in Belgrade Serbia. "Today I gave 100 percent and played my tennis."

The boys semifinals were both completed in straight sets, with No. 2 seed Jack Kennedy beating unseeded Tanishk Konduri 6-4, 6-3 and No. 11 seed Thijs Boogaard defeating top seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France 7-5, 6-1.

Boogaard, who reached the semifinals of the J300 in Bradenton, is beginning to feel more comfortable now on green clay.

"It's one of the first times I've played on green clay and it's definitely a bit different to the red clay we're used to in Europe,
 said the 17-year-old from the Netherlands. "Last week before the Eddie Herr Bradenton tournament, I took a bit of time to adjust to it, and I think I managed it well. I'm playing better and better on these clay courts and I'm starting to understand it more. The bounces are less high, which I'm a fan of, and the movement, everything is a bit more slippery."

Boogaard was out for many months with mononucleosis and has found the road back to top physical condition a rough one.

"After Wimbledon, we decided to take some time off to really build on my body," said Boogaard, who lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. "I felt I was not able to push myself every time, which was very frustrating for the last, what was it, one and a-half, two years. After Wimbledon I decided, together with my team, that I don't want to do this anymore and we've building ever since. We feel like we're back on the right path again. Just getting some match rhythm again, keep building, because it's still going to take a while until I'm back to 100 percent."

Boogaard has taken confidence from all the matches he's won these two weeks, with his win over Alexandrescou especially encouraging.

"He's an unbelievable player, he has great strokes," Boogaard said. "I knew I had to push myself every point, to go for it and attack. Otherwise he would grind me out. So I tried to push myself, go to the net, play aggressive, which is also my game style, and at the end, it worked perfectly."

Kennedy had to make an adjustment or two after falling behind against Konduri in their first meeting.

"I went down an early break 4-1," said the 17-year-old from New York, who was a semifinalist at this tournament last year. "He was playing really well, serving really well, but I was having chances to break back. I knew if I kept mentally solid and stayed present in the moment, I'd get my chance. I did, at 4-3, and I won the set."

The second set remained on serve until Kennedy broke for 4-3, and Konduri's game began to fade at that stage.

"After the break I think he lost a little bit of belief, and I countered that and took control of the metch," Kennedy.

Boogaard and Kennedy played in the second round at Roland Garros this year, with Kennedy posting a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory.

"It was a tight match," Boogaard recalled. "He's a great player, one of best guys right now on the junior circuit. It's going to be a good test and we'll see what's going to happen tomorrow."

Two of the semifinalists who lost today managed to rebound in the doubles, with Konduri and partner Marcel Latak advancing to the boys final, and Cvetkovic and partner Rajeshwaran Revathi of India reaching the girls doubles final.

The unseeded Konduri and Latak defeated No. 8 seeds Emanuel Ivanisevic of Croatia and Johan Oscar Lien of Norway 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 and will face No. 6 seeds Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia. Alvarez and Sesko defeated No. 7 seeds Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode 3-6, 6-4, 10-2.

Cvetkovic and Rajeshwaran, seeded No. 3, beat No. 5 seeds Thea Frodin and Welles Newman 3-6, 6-2, 10-5. They will face No. 8 seeds Alyssa James of Jamaica and Annika Penickova, who defeated the unseeded team of Giselle Guillen of Australia and Alisa Terentyeva 6-4, 6-3.

Due to the possibility of rain Sunday, all six finals, which include both ITF World Junior Wheelchair Championships singles finals, are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

The 16s champions were crowned today in all-USA finals, with No. 2 seed Matias Reyniak defeating No. 7 seed Daniel Malacek 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Priscilla Sirichantho beating Daniela Del Mastro 6-4, 6-1.

Reyniak appeared tentative at the start of the match, with both players struggling with nerves and a bit more wind than had been the norm during the week. Reyniak briefly took the lead, with a break at 3-all, but two breaks later, Malacek had secured the set.

Reyniak found his form in the middle of the second set and was able to concentrate of the task at hand, rather than begin a premature celebration, when he took a 3-0 lead in the third set.

"That's the number one thing you're fighting," said the 16-year-old from New York, who trains in Spain with coach Gilad Bloom, a four-time participant in the Orange Bowl. "When you're on the court, the number one person that you're playing is yourself. If I can keep my level, I'm confident I can finish this out. Being down 0-3 in the third, they're just going to start going for it, and that's what he did, started ripping shots and started making them. So you just have to keep the pressure on, keep doing what you're doing; never change a winning strategy."

 

Malacek said Reyniak was able to take advantage of his opportunities in the second and third sets.

"He was able to capitalize on easy-ish balls more than Colter (Amey) was yesterday," said the 16-year-old from Seattle. "I had to go for more, take more risk to be gritty and I started missing a little bit, especially when I got a little tired."

Malacek counts the week as a success despite his loss in the final.

"It was a great experience; first Orange Bowl, I made the final, that's good," said Malacek, who will play the USTA 16s Winter Nationals after Christmas. "I'm going to keep trying to learn to play the clay game and play more clay tournaments, because I think I'm actually pretty good on it."

Reyniak has been playing the ITF Junior Circuit all year, primarily in Europe, but thought this trip back to the United States would be beneficial. 

"We came here wanting to win, but no expectations," said Reyniak, who will spend the holidays in New York. "Look, just come here, have fun, a little bit of Florida sun, who doesn't want that?" 

"And now I go back to New York, see my big brother, my dad and my dog Lola, and I'm really excited to see her; that's the real prize."

As for a celebration, Reyniak had a chilly one in mind.

"An ice bath, that's my thing," Reyniak. "A big long ice bath when I get home."

The girls 16s final, played after the boys on the Chris Evert Stadium Court, turned on the final game of the first set, with Priscilla Sirichantho breaking Daniela Del Mastro for a 6-4 lead. 

The 14-year-old left-hander dropped her serve in the opening game of the second set, but then reeled off six straight for a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

"It felt like impossible to break her in the beginning," said Sirichantho, who trains at the Solaris Racquet Club in Stamford and also has a weekly coaching session with Brian Barker, James Blake's former coach, at Tennis Club of Trumbull. "But I just held my ground and kept holding until I got my chance. That kind of switched the trajectory of the match, I think."

Sirichantho, who had lost to Del Mastro in their only meeting last fall, was pleased with her performance.

"I'm proud of how I played," said Sirichantho, who will move up to the 18s next year. "I've been playing less tournaments, practicing a lot, and I've had a lot of great coaches help me. I just worked on a lot since losing to her a year ago."

Del Mastro credited Sirichantho for playing well, while expressing disappointment with her own level in the final.

"Today was definitely not my day, but Priscilla played an unbelievable match," said the 14-year-old from Minnesota. "It's been a very memorable week, a very positive week. I played very well the whole week and before this, I wasn't as confident on clay. Now I'm a lot more confident."

The match of the tournament was today's girls 16 doubles final, with top seeds Emery Combs and Olivia de Los Reyes saving five match points in their 2-6, 6-3, 16-14 win over No. 6 seeds Sylvana Jalbert and Reiley Rhodes.

Combs and de Los Reyes, both 14, won three straight ITF J100 title this fall, but that winning streak was in jeopardy throughout the match tiebreaker, after they failed to secure their match point at 9-8.

They saved match points at 10-9, 11-10, 12-11, 13-12 and 14-13, all with winners: a forehand putaway, three volley winners, and drop volley winner. 

Combs and de Los Reyes earned their second match point with a great first serve from de Los Reyes, with Combs putting away the weak return and Rhodes missed a backhand to finally put an end to all the drama.

Comfortable at the net and unwilling to play passively, Combs and de Los Reyes stuck to their game plan despite the two-back strategy of Rhodes and Jalbert.

"It's nice to know we have the skills to do it our way," said Combs, from Conway South Carolina. "We both have good hands, so as long as we are intense and stay positive, we're able to do whatever we want on court."

In addition to commitment and intensity, Combs and de Los Reyes are also determined to enjoy their matches.

"Whenever we have fun on court, it's straightforward," said de Los Reyes, a New Yorker. "Laughing helps a lot." 

Combs and de Los Reyes, who won the Orange Bowl 14s doubles title last year after playing together for the first time at the 2024 Easter Bowl, don't do a lot of signaling or talking during a match, no matter how pressure-packed the point is.

"We just know each other," de Los Reyes said. "And I just go fo my shots," Combs said. "I know my strengths and my weaknesses and I just adjust."

"In pressure moments, I just play what I practice," de Los Reyes said. "And I know I can rely on that."

The boys doubles champions also saved match points in winning the title, although their Houdini act came in the quarterfinals, and unlike the girls, they were playing together for the first time.

"In the quarters, we saved four match points," said Filip Jokic of Serbia, who teamed up with Sean Peng of Texas at the suggestion of a mutual friend and player who was aging out of the 16s. 

"I told him after our quarterfinal match (a 4-6, 7-6(12), 10-4 win over James Ross and Mason Vaughan) that if we could get through our quarters we'd have the confidence to get the title," Peng said.

Against the unseeded team of Rafael Pawar and Zesen Wang, the No. 5 seeds saved a set point at 6-5 in the second set tiebreaker, winning the next three points to secure the 6-3, 7-6(6) win and the champions' crystal bowl of oranges.

"I came over just for this tournament," said Jokic, who lives and trains in Serbia. "This is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, and my brother also played it eight years ago, so I wanted to come and see the best level of tennis."

The ITF Junior Wheelchair Championships are being held in conjunction with the Orange Bowl, and after round robin play for three days, the singles finals are Sunday. Those matches, and the results of today's doubles finals are below.

Boys WC doubles final:
Charlie Cooper(USA) and Tomas Majetic(USA) d. Marijn Bruinooge(NED) and Arlo Shawcross(AUS)[4] 6-1, 6-3

Girls WC doubles final:
Luna Gryp(BEL) and Lucy Heald(USA)[1] d. Emma Gjerseth(SWE) and Seira Matsuoka(JPN)[2] 6-0, 7-6(3)

Boys WC singles final:
Charlie Cooper(USA) vs Tomas Majetic(USA)

Girls WC singles final:
Luna Gryp(BEL)[1] vs Seira Matsuoka(JPN)