Vallejo Earns Paraguay's First Title, Marcinko Sweeps Girls Championships at Orange Bowl; Hovde, Kuzuhara Win Inaugural Lew Brewer Awards

©Colette Lewis 2021--
Plantation FL--

The final day of the 2021 Orange Bowl produced some history in both the boys and girls tournaments, with Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay the first player from his country to claim an Orange Bowl title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Bruno Kuzuhara of the United States, and Croatia's Petra Marcinko the first girl to sweep the singles and doubles titles since 1993.

The seventh-seeded Vallejo had to overcome a partisan crowd, the South Florida heat and humidity and the fatigue of his four previous three-set matches, including Saturday's semifinal, to put his name on the list of champions.

Vallejo took the crowd out of the match early, winning the first four games from an obviously nervous Kuzuhara, who double faulted and made uncharacteristic errors throughout those games. Yet once Kuzuhara held for 4-1, then broke Vallejo to make it 4-2, the supporters surrounding the Frank Veltri Tennis Center's Court 1 began to entertain hope for a turnaround. But Kuzuhara was broken again, shutting down any momentum and Vallejo closed out the first set.

Vallejo said he was also very nervous, but figured that Kuzuhara, who grew up and lives in nearby Coconut Creek, felt the weight of the occasion even more.

"He's playing in his home country, so I guess he has more pressure," Vallejo said. "The first set was very good. He couldn't do much because I was basically dominating. I mean he was missing, but I was mostly dominating."

"First game was not my best, I kind of let the nerves take over me a bit," said the 17-year-old Kuzuhara, the tournament's No. 2 seed. "But then after that, I felt that I played free, played well, it's just how tennis goes."

After a bathroom break, Kuzuhara lost a 10-minute service game, but didn't mope, breaking back immediately and holding serve in his next two attempts. But at 3-all he was broken, and when Vallejo held in a deuce game for a 5-3, the atmosphere began to change from hope to resignation. Serving to stay in the match, Kuzuhara made several unforced errors, and Vallejo took the title on his first match point.

   

Vallejo, who has played Davis Cup for Paraguay since 2019, said Kuzuhara wasn't the only one who felt support from local tennis fans.

"It's unbelievable to come here to the United States and have this kind of support, with people that speak Spanish," Vallejo said. "Even people from my home country of Paraguay, it's unbelievable. To win it was something I never imagined."

Vallejo said he is expecting to be something of a celebrity now when he returns home.

"It will be a big deal," said Vallejo, who is coached by former ATP 52 Ramon Delgado of Paraguay. "In Paraguay we love tennis. We don't have basically any players right now, and it's a long time since Victor Pecci reached the final in the French Open, so yeah, it's a big thing for Paraguay. I'm very proud."

Although disappointed with his loss, Kuzuhara recognized the accomplishment of reaching the final of one of the biggest junior tournaments in the world, one that is played a short drive from where he grew up learning the game.

"It's amazing making the finals here, so many great names, so many great players have made the finals, played on this exact court and are at where I want to be," said Kuzuhara, who is coached by the USTA's Brian Baker, the 2002 Orange Bowl champion. "It was a great honor to play here today."

Both Kuzuhara and Vallejo are planning to travel to Australia to play the Junior Championships in Melbourne next month.

Petra Marcinko lost in the first round at last year's Orange Bowl, to eventual champion Ashlyn Krueger, leaving her marveling at the improvement she has made to her game in the past 12 months. This summer, she lost to her opponent in the finals, doubles partner Diana Shnaider of Russia 6-2, 6-2 at the Tennis Europe Team Summer Cup, and again she can see the strides she has made, taking the Orange Bowl title today with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory.

"She was playing really amazing and I didn't have my day, so it was pretty easy," Marcinko said of that loss. "But I think I've improved a lot in these six months. I worked on my consistency and my mental game, and that's the most important part I improved on."

Marcinko admitted that playing her doubles partner made the match feel more like practice than an important final. After she lost the first set in 28 minutes, Marcinko took a bathroom break, returning with a more aggressive look to her game.

"Final, Orange Bowl, I had too much thoughts going into my head," said Marcinko, who turned 16 earlier this month. "I'm going to make it simple; I'm going to display my game, I'm going to put more balls in the court, make her do something. I like it when the match depends on me, how I do, not the opponent."

Marcinko took the lead for good in the third set, with a break at 2-all, and when Shnaider took a medical timeout for a left thigh problem after losing her serve, Marcinko walked all the way to the fence to retrieve Shnaider's towel for her.

Shnaider said it was more her nerves, rather than her legs that let her down.

"I was so nervous about being in the finals of the Orange Bowl, so that's why I could not show my best game," said the 17-year-old from Moscow, who now trains in Belarus. "Four tournaments in a row (two on the ITF Women's Circuit), it's impossible to feel your best in a final, but it wasn't that so much. It was my mentality."

Marcinko also felt she had the upper hand mentally.

"I was relaxed, I think that's why I won," said Marcinko, who is currently without a coach and traveling with her father. "I was cool in my head. I did a few mistakes out of nerves, but was good enough to win the match. I knew she was going to get nervous, going to get tight, fold a bit under pressure, but she was playing well, so it didn't affect her game that much."

Marcinko said she is eager to return home to Zagreb after three weeks in Mexico and the United States, with her mother's pancakes, a tradition when she wins a tournament, the prime focus of her celebration.

Marcinko can look forward to a second helping of pancakes after teaming with Shnaider for the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the final for the second week in a row. Last week's Eddie Herr final went to 11-9 in the match tiebreaker; this week, in just their second tournament as a team, Marcinko and Shnaider hit their stride in an impressive second set, closing out the No. 1 seeds 7-6(5), 6-0.

"We were more motivated to show our opponents that the first time was not lucky, that we are better," said Shnaider, the 2021 Wimbledon girls doubles champion. 

"Second set was amazing," said Shnaider. "It was really good, played our best," Marcinko added. "The first set was a bit slow but we got it at the end, played the important points well."

Another motivation was to put a smile back on Shnaider's face after the disappointment of the singles final two hours earlier.

"We make her day better now," Marcinko said.

Marcinko's day could not have been any better, becoming the first girl to win both singles and doubles at the Orange Bowl since 1993, the first year doubles results are available. 

Marcinko is planning to play the junior slams next year, beginning with Australia next month. Shnaider is not vaccinated, so she will probably not be going, although she is on the entry list as of now.

In the boys doubles final, No. 7 seeds Edas Butvilas of Lithuania and Abedallah Shelbayh of Jordan defeated unseeded Nicholas Godsick and Ethan Quinn 6-2, 6-4 to earn the title.

Shelbayh and Butvilas were on opposite sides of the court in the final of the Wimbledon Junior Championships this year, with Butvilas coming out on top, but they had wanted to play together for some time.

"We tried a couple of times, but different tournaments and different schedules," said Shelbayh, a freshman at the University of Florida, who is closing out his junior career with an Orange Bowl title. "But when the chance came, we took advantage of it."

Last week's Eddie Herr was their first tournament as a team, but they perfected their partnership, dropping only one set all week.

"Today everything was going great," said the 17-year-old Butvilas. "We returned really well, served really well."

Shelbayh and Butvilas said Sunday's final was the first match that they both played well throughout.

"We had some matches where I was not there, but he really raised the level," said Shelbayh, who won the 16s Orange Bowl doubles title in 2019. "But today, as a team, it was the best match from start to finish. We had to stay on top of them, they're a very good team," Shelbayh said of the 2020 Orange Bowl 16s champions.

The USTA announced at the conclusion of the boys final that Director of Junior Competition Lew Brewer, the tournament director of the Orange Bowl, would be retiring as a full-time employee of the USTA at the end of this year.

In Brewer's honor, the USTA has established the Lew Brewer Award, to be given annually at the Orange Bowl to one American girl and one American boy "who have exhibited character, grit and mental toughness over the course of their Junior Tennis Career. They have committed to excellence in high-performance tennis competition and are striving to reach their full potential both on and off the court."

The first two recipients of the award are Liv Hovde and Bruno Kuzuhara.

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.

Eddie Herr 12s, 14s, 16s Recap; Two All-American 16s Finals at Orange Bowl; Kuzuhara and Colby Reach 18s Semifinals, Marcinko Beats Fruhvirtova

©Colette Lewis 2021-
Plantation FL--

We're about to enter another weekend of finals, this time at the Orange Bowl, on the east side of Florida. Last Saturday at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Americans swept the singles titles in the 12s and 16s divisions, and had finalists in the 14s as well. My recap of those championship matches can be found today at the Tennis Recruiting Network; the tournament summary of the ITF J1 at Eddie Herr was published Thursday and can be found here.

One of those champions, in the girls 16s, will be going for a second consecutive title tomorrow at the Veltri Tennis Center, with unseeded Kate Kim advancing to the final with a 6-1, 6-1 win over unseeded Alessandra Teodosescu of Italy.

The challenge for the 16s is making the transition from hard courts in Bradenton to clay courts in Plantation, but Kim has not missed a beat.

"For me it's an easier transfer from hard to clay," said the 16-year-old from Lake Worth Florida. "I think I do like clay a little bit more, it better suits my ball. I think I hit a really heavy ball, so when it hits the clay it's really lively and I get a lot of short balls I'm able to attack a little bit more. The (hard) courts at IMG were also kind of slow, so I think that helped with the transition."

As with all 16s third round winners, Kim had to play two matches on Thursday, and her 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Piper Charney in the quarterfinals was nearly three hours long. 

"It was a great match, and we were both playing really well," said Kim, who trains at Team Anderson in Lake Worth. "I'm glad to off the court a little earlier today than I was yesterday. But I've been doing really well with my recovery, going to PT every day, stretching, icing, doing everything I can. I'm feeling great today and excited for tomorrow."

Yakoff, who is unseeded, will be playing for a second Orange Bowl title after defeating unseeded Olivia Center 6-2, 6-2 in a semifinal encounter that was much longer than the score would suggest.  Yakoff, who won the Junior Orange Bowl 14s in 2019, also made the transition from hard courts to clay, after winning the G18s doubles title at the USTA National Indoor Championships late last month.

"I came here a few days before the tournament and hit twice a day around an hour and a half each," said the 16-year-old from New Jersey, who has yet to lose a set in this week. "I've also been playing doubles; we lost yesterday in a very close match, so that also helped with the clay."

Yakoff said her mindset has helped her advance methodically through the draw.

"Most have matches have been long, a lot of the games have gone to deuce and I feel I've been staying strong mentally, especially in those long games," Yakoff said. "I've tried to dictate points as much as possible and I feel that's been working out."

Kim and Yakoff are friends, but they have not played previously.

The boys 16s finalists are also both Americans, with Californian Quang Duong and Texan Alexander Frusina meeting in the final. No. 4 seed Duong took out Eddie Herr 16s finalist Lorenzo Carboni of Italy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while Frusina, the No. 2 seed defeated unseeded Zhengqing Ji of China 6-2, 1-6, 6-0.

Duong, who did not play Eddie Herr, but has been competing on the ITF clay circuit the past month, credits his father with preparing him for the physical rigors of three matches in two days, and with helping him navigate the tight spots that inevitably appear in a match.

"My dad does all my mental training stuff and we have specific routines," said Duong. "I just control my breathing, how my dad taught me and it worked."

Duong started well, using his depth to keep No. 14 seed Carboni from going on offense. But the 15-year-old Italian fought back, with Duong unable to stay with his game plan.

"In the second set, I got too impatient," Duong said. "I panic a lot and I just ran out of gas. The third set, I calmed down a lot more. I didn't play that well, but I fought really hard, ran down every point. He fought every point as well."

Frusina, who was delighted with his play in the first set, also saw a dip in his play in the second.

"The first I came out firing on all cylinders," said Frusina, who trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. "I couldn't complain about how I was playing. In the second set, I just got a little outplayed in most of the points. He stepped up his game and served much better. It was kind of tough to just hang in there, but in the third, I was able to bring my serve percentage back up, win a lot of first serve points and creating short balls for my forehand."

Frusina, who turns 16 next week, said he has been targeting this tournament all year. 

"I've been training really hard back at IMG and just building a lot of confidence there," said Frusina, who played the ITF J1 in Bradenton as a wild card and reached the doubles semifinals. "I've been looking forward to this tournament since the year started, I've had it on my list and I'm really trying to bring it home here."

Frusina and Duong met this summer in the second round of a J3 in Cancun, with Frusina posting a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory.

"I won the last time we played, at an ITF in Mexico, but it was a very close match," Frusina said. "I know he's been playing really well, so it should be a good match tomorrow."

The girls 16s final is set to begin at 10 a.m., with the boys final to follow. Live scoring will be available via iOnCourt.

The boys semifinals in the 18s division, will feature two Americans: No. 2 seed Bruno Kuzuhara and unseeded Ryan Colby. 

Kuzuhara broke open a close match with No. 10 seed Coleman Wong of Hong Kong late in the first set to claim a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

There were no breaks of serve until Wong lost his at 4-5 in the first.

"I just kept telling myself throughout the set to stay solid, and hopefully my chance will come," said the 17-year-old from nearby Coconut Creek. "At 4-5, especially with the new balls, the ball started flying a bit more, flew on him a bit. I got my chance and I took it."

Kuzuhara lost his serve to open the second set, but quickly recovered. 

"Even with the break, I felt good," Kuzuhara said. "I knew I was playing well, playing within myself, and I got the break right back. After I held, it was just smooth sailing from there."

Kuzuhara has been well known in the Fort Lauderdale-Plantation area for years, since he reached the Junior Orange Bowl 12s final  in 2016, and he had plenty of supporters during today's quarterfinal.

"I'm always happy to make a semifinal, especially at Orange Bowl here, especially being at Plantation," Kuzuhara said. "My fans and friends from around town, because I live close by, they come to watch, so it's always a pleasure, always great to have them come and cheer me on."

Kuzuhara will face unseeded Kalin Ivanovski of Macedonia, who defeated unseeded Gerard Campana Lee of Korea 7-6(5), 6-3.

Colby made short work of another fan favorite at the Veltri Tennis Center, beating No. 6 seed Leo Borg of Sweden, the son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg 6-1, 6-2.

Borg struggled with his serve in the first set, and, as in his third round match, took a medical timeout as well.

"I feel like he got off to a little bit of a slow start and I jumped on him pretty quickly," said Colby. "He came out better in the second, but I got one break and it was kind of over."

With Borg struggling to find any consistency, Colby was free to play the game he wanted to play.

"It's was fun being out there," Colby said. 

Colby will face No. 7 seed Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay, who defeated unseeded Eddie Herr finalist Kilian Feldbausch of Switzerland 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. Vallejo and Colby played two weeks ago in the third round of the JA in Merida, with Vallejo posting a 6-3, 6-0 win.

"I didn't make too many balls that day," Colby said. "The opposite of today. Hopefully it will go better tomorrow; I'm prepared. I'll be ready for him, ready to get him back."

No. 6 seed Petra Marcinko of Croatia got a second chance to end the run of finals of No. 3 seed Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, and she made the most of it in a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 quarterfinal victory. Marcinko, who had lost to Fruhvirtova in the semifinals of the JA in Mexico two weeks ago, served for the second set at 5-4, only to see Fruhvirtova roar back to send it to a third. But Marcinko got an early break and held on to it, ending her fellow 16-year-old's streak of ITF junior circuit finals at three.

Marcinko will face unseeded Kristyna Tomajkova of the Czech Republic, who advanced to the semifinals when No. 10 seed Celine Naef of Switzerland retired trailing 6-4, 3-0.

No. 12 seed Laura Hietaranta of Finland returns to the semifinals for the second straight year, defeating unseeded Mia Kupres of Canada 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2. Hietaranta will face No. 5 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, who defeated unseeded Kayla Cross of Canada 6-1, 6-2.

The 16s doubles champions will be decided on Saturday, with another all-American final on the boys side.

No. 7 seeds Andrew Delgado and Tanner Povey, who defeated Carboni and Cole Henceroth 6-1, 6-1 in today's semifinals, will play unseeded Nikita Filin and Chase Fralick. Filin and Fralick advanced to the final with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Samuel Heredia and Miguel Tobon of Colombia.

Eddie Herr champions Noemi Basiletti and Vittoria Paganetti of Italy reached their second consecutive final the hard way, coming from 6-1 and 8-4 in the match tiebreaker to defeat unseeded Jessica MacCallum and Sophia Webster 6-4, 2-6, 10-8. The No. 5 seeds will face No. 8 seeds Piper Charney and Anya Murthy, who beat the unseeded team of Maya Joint and Susanna Maltby 6-3 6-3.

The semifinals in the 18s doubles will feature five Americans, but just one team with both players from the United States.  In the top half boys semifinal, Nicholas Godsick and Ethan Quinn will play Juan Carlos Prado Angelo of Bolivia and Cooper Williams; Eddie Herr champions Aleksander Orlikowski and Olaf Pieczkowski of Poland, the No. 6 seeds, face No. 7 seeds Edas Butvilas of Lithuania and Abedallah Shelbayh of Jordan in the bottom half.

Qavia Lopez, who is playing with Switzerland's Chelsea Fontenel, will play the top seeded Fruhvirtova sisters in the semifinals Saturday. Clervie Ngounoue and her partner, Lucija Ciric Bagaric of Croatia, the No. 5 seeds, will play Eddie Herr champions Marcinko and Shnaider, the No. 2 seeds, in the other semifinal.

See the tournament website for draws and the order of play for Saturday.

Eddie Herr ITF Recap; Unseeded Canadians Cross and Kupres Post Big Upsets in Third Round of Orange Bowl; Kuzuhara, Colby Reach Boys Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2021--
Plantation FL--

Last week the Fruhvirtova sisters dominated the conversation at the Eddie Herr International ITF J1, but finals day ended up belonging to the boys. My coverage for Tennis Recruiting Network is available here; the recap of the Eddie Herr 12s, 14s and 16s finals will be available on Friday.

After another warm and sunny day at the Veltri Tennis Center, the ITF JA Orange Bowl is moving into its final stages, without either of the top seeds. Boys No. 1 Samir Banerjee lost in the first round on Tuesday to Kilian Feldbausch, and in today's third round, girls No. 1 Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus was ousted by unseeded Kayla Cross of Canada 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Cross said her underdog status helped her stay aggressive, but closing out a win over the US Open girls finalist and ITF's No. 2 junior, is hardly routine. 

"Obviously I played very well to beat a player like that," said the 16-year-old left-hander. "It was a very intense match, around three hours long, very physical. I went into it with no pressure, she has all the pressure, but when you get to the end, when everyone's like yeah, she's about to beat the No. 1 seed, that's running through your mind. In the third set, I just went out and said I have to win this match, I can't play not to lose, because she will take the advantage if I do that."

Cross has been disappointed in her singles play this summer and fall, but she recognized that she was competitive in the losses she took.

"I wasn't doing the  best, but I kept up my doubles, and I was really close in a lot of singles, I was just losing in the third set, third set breakers, 7-5, 6-4," said Cross, who beat 2020 Orange Bowl champion Ashlyn Krueger at the J1 in San Diego, but hadn't had a win of that stature since. "It's nice to get that big, top win again."

Although Cross recognizes that Canadians are expected to be good indoor hard court players, clay is her preferred surface. 

"Honestly for me, I like clay the best, I grew up on clay even though I was in Canada," Cross said. "All the summers, I played on clay, I personally love clay the best. I just like to be able to slide; you get to show your style a little more. I come to the net, can drop shot, for me it's a little funner."

Cross will face No. 5 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, who defeated No. 11 seed Lucija Ciric Bagaric of Croatia 6-2, 6-1.

Cross is one of four Tennis Canada junior girls traveling together, competing around the world. Victoria Mboko and Annabelle Xu have the slightly better rankings after their year and a half of ITF Junior Circuit travel, but it was Cross and Mia Kupres who made the big splash at the Orange Bowl.

Kupres, an unseeded 17-year-old from Edmonton, ended the possibility of a fourth straight final between the Fruhvirtova sisters, beating No. 4 seed Brenda Fruhvirtova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. 

"I came out knowing I was the underdog," said Kupres, who recently signed a national letter of intent with Texas A&M for the fall of 2022. "I went out hitting my shots freely, and I thought I played pretty smart, using my weapons to my advantage: my forehand, and I served well."

As with Cross, Kupres admitted that the pressure increased in the third set, although she was aware that Fruhvirtova was having problems with her shoulder and called for a trainer early in the final set. 

"Towards the end, of course, when it started getting close, I was getting a little nervous, but I just kept with my game," Kupres said. "I've had a couple of pretty good tournaments, so I was confident. Toward the end of the third set, I could definitely notice on her serve, she couldn't really swing at it because of her shoulder."

Kupres is partial to a hard indoor surface, but feels her game also translates well to clay.

"Clay courts suit my heavy ball," Kupres said. "And I've been working a lot on my serve, using my serve to get the upper hand in the point, and I think I used that well today."

Kupres will face No. 12 seed Laura Hietaranta of Finland, a semifinalist at last year's Orange Bowl. Hietaranta defeated No. 8 seed Clervie Ngounoue of the United States 6-3, 6-3. 

Kristyna Tomajkova of the Czech Republic, who defeated No. 2 seed Alexandra Eala on Wednesday, eliminated the other American still in the girls draw, defeating No. 15 seed Liv Hovde 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Tomajkova will face No. 10 seed Celine Naef of Switzerland, who avenged her Eddie Herr loss to Solana Sierra of Argentina, the No. 7 seed this week, 6-3 6-3. Naef had held match points in her third round loss to Sierra last week. 

The fourth quarterfinal will feature No. 3 seed Linda Fruhvirtova against No. 6 seed Petra Marcinko of Croatia. Fruhvirtova defeated Victoria Mboko of Canada 6-4, 6-3, while Marcinko fought back to take a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Evialina Laskevich of Belarus. Fruhvirtova and Marcinko played at Wimbledon and at the JA in Merida this year, with Fruhvirtova winning both matches in straight sets. 

Two Americans have advanced to the boys quarterfinals: No. 2 seed Bruno Kuzuhara and unseeded Ryan Colby. 

Kuzuhara was moved from a show court to one of the outer courts due to the length of the 16s match on his original court, so only a few of the local fans were able to track his 6-3, 6-2 win  over No. 16 seed Olaf Pieczkowski of Poland. Kuzuhara will face No. 10 seed Coleman Wong of Hong Kong, who took out No. 8 seed Gonzalo Bueno of Peru 6-4, 6-1. 

Colby didn't play badly in the first set of his 0-6, 7-6(3), 6-0 win over unseeded Henrique Rocha of Portugal. Rocha was on fire, hitting winners at will, but once he cooled off, Colby took control and cruised to his first JA quarterfinal. He will face No. 6 seed Leo Borg of Sweden, the son of Bjorn Borg, who defeated unseeded Hynek Barton of the Czech Republic 6-3 2-6, 6-4. 

Eddie Herr finalist Kilian Feldbausch of Switzerland defeated qualifier Preston Stearns 7-5, 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal against No. 7 seed Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay. Vallejo came back to defeat qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3.

The fourth quarterfinal will feature two unseeded players with Gerard Campana Lee of Korea taking on Kalin Ivanovski of Macedonia. Campana Lee defeated No. 5 seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3, while Ivanovski beat No. 15 seed Edas Butvilas of Lithuania 7-6(4), 7-6(3).

The singles and doubles semifinalists in the 16s division have been determined after both the third round and the quarterfinal in singles were played today.

The girls 16s champion will be unseeded, with the two seeds remaining in the draw losing in today's quarterfinals. Olivia Center won two three-setters, beating Reya Coe 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in the third round and No. 15 seed Anya Murthy 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Center will face Stephanie Yakoff, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, beating Clara Zou 6-2, 6-1 and No. 14 seed Vittoria Paganetti 6-4, 6-3. 

Eddie Herr champion Kate Kim defeated Kavya Karra 6-4, 6-3, then outlasted Piper Charney 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3). Kim will face the only international player still alive in the girls draw, Alessandra Teodosescu of Italy. Teodosescu defeated No. 2 seed Alexia Jacobs of Canada 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 and wild card Pearlie Zhang 6-3, 6-1.

The boys 16s semifinal in the top half will feature Eddie Herr finalist Lorenzo Carboni of Italy, the No. 14 seed, against No. 4 seed Quang Dong of the United States. Carboni defeated top seed Joseph Phillips 6-3, 6-4 and unseeded Lucas Andrade Da Silva of Brazil 7-5, 6-3.  Duong had no trouble with Rafael Botran Neutze of Guatemala in the third round, winning that match 6-3, 6-1, but he had his hands full with Chase Fralick, who was physically compromised by his earlier 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 marathon win over No. 10 seed Adhithya Ganesan. Fralick was cramping in the third set, and eventually Duong claimed a 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3 victory.

No. 2 seed Alexander Frusina had to come from a set down in the third round, beating Cooper Woestendick 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. He then downed No. 7 seed Stefan Regalia 6-3, 6-2. Frusina will face unseeded ZhengQing Ji of China, who defeated No. 15 seed George Lazarov of Bulgaria 7-5, 6-3 and unseeded Andrew Delgado 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3.

Singles semifinal play in the 16s is expected to begin around 11:30 a.m. on Friday, with the doubles semifinals not before 2:30 p.m.  The 18s division begins with all singles quarterfinals at 10:00 a.m., with doubles not before 1 p.m. 

Live scoring, via the iOncourt app will be available for the singles matches Friday. For live scoring in a browser, click here. The live scoring is being done manually, and not by officials, so it may be by game only, not point by point.

Second Seed Eala, Eddie Herr Champion Bielinskyi Fall in Second Round at JA Orange Bowl; Top Seed Ousted in Girls 16s; Australian Open Junior Acceptances

©Colette Lewis 2021-
Plantation FL--

Kristyna Tomajkova made her first trip outside Europe to play the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl this year, and today the 16-year-old from Prostejov Czech Republic picked up the best win of her junior career, beating No. 2 seed and ITF World No. 3 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-3, 6-3 on a warm and sunny day at the Veltri Tennis Center.

Tomajkova did not know Eala's game, but wasn't troubled by the power of the 16-year-old left-hander.

"I played well. I think she was the favorite, but I did everything right, and I just went for it," said Tomajkova, who reached the third round of the Eddie Herr. "It's an incredible win for me, it's the first time I played against that good of a player."

Tomajkova said the clay in the United States is a bit different from what she is used to in Europe, and she also likes hard courts, but believes clay brings out the strengths of her game.

"I think my style is better on clay, because I have good movement, and this is one of my strengths," said Tomajkova, who also pointed to her drop shot as another skill enhanced by the clay. "That is my strength too, I like it. Especially my backhand drop shot. I used that today and actually that worked."

Tomajkova will face No. 15 seed Liv Hovde, one of two American girls remaining in singles, after Hovde defeated Mao Mushika of Japan 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. 

Two other seeded girls lost in Wednesday's second round, with Evialina Laskevich of Belarus beating No. 9 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia 7-5, 6-4 and Mia Kupres of Canada defeating No. 13 seed Alina Shcherbinina of Russia 6-0, 6-2.

Eddie Herr ITF champion Viacheslav Bielinskyi of Ukraine looked to struggling a bit physically yesterday in his 7-5, 6-3 win over qualifier Landon Ardila, and today he could not summon the requisite energy to hold off Ryan Colby. Playing in his last junior tournament, Bielinskyi came to the court with his torso heavily taped, and his serve, never a huge weapon, had no heft at all. After dropping the first set 6-2, Bielinskyi retired after Colby held to start the second set.

 

Colby, who is also playing in his last junior event before starting college at USC next month, had an idea that Bielinskyi, the No. 4 seed this week, was not at his best physically.

"I heard he served underhand a little bit in his match yesterday," Colby said. "I didn't know how bad it was though, until the second set, when he just kind of gave up. I heard that he gets every ball, and he's got to be tired after winning Eddie Herr the week before, so I just thought if I could fight harder than him, I could win. I knew he was a little hurt, so I just kept pushing on him."

Colby, who won the USTA 18s Clay Court Championships this summer, said he prepared for the Mexico Grade A and this tournament at his home base at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park Maryland. 

"It was like 40 degrees, but we were still outside playing on the clay," said Colby, who much prefers the heat of South Florida. "I love hitting my forehand, so I just run around it all the time, so the slow courts help a lot. I've been playing well, just had one bad match (in Merida), but I'm feeling really good and ready for my match tomorrow."

Colby will play Henrique Rocha of Portugal in Thursday's third round.

After losing top seed Samir Banerjee yesterday, two more Top Four seeds lost today, Bielinskyi and No. 3 seed Mili Poljicak of Croatia. Poljicak, the Merida JA champion, lost to Kalin Ivanovski of Macedonia 6-4, 7-6(5).  Qualifier Preston Stearns defeated No. 13 seed Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez of Mexico 6-4, 6-4.  Colby and Stearns are two of the four US boys remaining, with No. 2 seed Bruno Kuzuhara and unseeded Alex Michelsen also advancing with straight-sets wins Wednesday. 

The girls 16s draw lost its top seed today, with Yichen Cindy Zhao of China losing to Michela Moore 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in a four-hour battle. There are now only four seeds remaining in the girls 16s round of 16: No. 2 Alexia Jacobs of Canada, No. 15 Anya Murthy and Italy's Vittoria Paganetti[14] and Noemi Basiletti[16].

Top boys 16s seed Joseph Phillips had a second straight marathon, defeating Juan David Velasquez of Colombia 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(3). No. 2 seed Alexander Frusina beat Mitchell Lee 6-4, 6-4.

The Australian Open Junior Championships are on for 2022 and the acceptance list has been posted. 2019 girls champion and ITF Junior No. 1 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra has entered, along with No. 7 Diana Shnaider of Russia and No. 10 Petra Marcinko of Croatia. 

Bruno Kuzuhara, No. 9 in the ITF junior rankings, is the only Top 10 boy in the field.

American boys on the main draw entry list are Kuzuhara, Ozan Colak, Aidan Kim, Cooper Williams and Yannik Rahman. American boys accepted into qualifying are Leanid Boika, Kurt Miller and Nicholas Godsick. The cutoff ranking for boys was 121.

The US girls on the main draw entry list are Clervie Ngounoue, Liv Hovde, Alexis Blokhina and Qavia Lopez. American girls accepted into qualifying are Krystal Blanch, Mia Slama, Gracie Epps, Ava Krug and Olivia Lincer. The cutoff ranking for girls was 99.

Orange Bowl Top Seed Banerjee Ousted by Eddie Herr Finalist; Qualifier Michelsen Defeats No. 9 Seed Buse; Few Surprises in Girls First Round

©Colette Lewis 2021--
Plantation FL--

Prior to today's first round match at the ITF JA Orange Bowl, Kilian Feldbausch had only one day to recover from a grueling run at the Eddie Herr ITF J1, where he won four matches from a set down, beat top seed Bruno Kuzuhara to reach the final and extended No. 2 seed Viacheslav Bielinskyi to a third set tiebreaker before running out of gas.

That one day was enough, with the 16-year-old from Switzerland defeating top seed and 2021 Wimbledon boys champion Samir Banerjee 6-3, 6-2 on the Veltri Tennis Center's stadium court. 

Banerjee, who did not play any of the clay court tournaments leading up to the Orange Bowl, looked rusty, and he also took a medical timeout after losing serve in the opening game of the second set,  receiving treatment for his elbow. Feldbausch kept the pressure on, and while he admitted feeling some fatigue, it didn't affect his performance.

"My legs feel a bit heavy, but I stayed focused," Feldbausch said. "Yesterday I rest in my room, just moved in the fitness a bit, worked on the legs."

Feldbausch, who has reached three J1 finals on clay this year, felt he was more at home on the clay than Banerjee.

"I think he play better on hard court or on grass," Feldbausch said. "But I like to play the seeded players, because it's a challenge."

Feldbausch, who plays Princeton recruit Paul Inchauspe of France in the second round Wednesday, admits that reaching another final this week will be a challenge.

"It will be difficult, but I think I can do it," Feldbausch said. "I need to stay mentally focused and try always my best."

 Four other boys seeds lost in today's first round: No. 14 seed Ethan Quinn, who was beaten by Henrique Rocha of Portugal 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4); No. 11 seed Aleksander Orlikowski of Poland, who lost to lucky loser Lorenzo Ferri of Italy 6-1, 6-4; No. 12 seed Ozan Colak, who fell to Dylan Dietrich of Switzerland 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and No. 9 seed Ignacio Buse of Peru, who was beaten by qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-1, 5-7, 6-0.

Michelsen, playing in his first Grade A tournament, was pleased with his execution on a surface he is just beginning to get comfortable on.

"I served well, returned well, wasn't missing much, going for my shots, and I was volleying really well, better than last week," said the 17-year-old from Southern California, who is competing in his first Orange Bowl. "I've been in Florida two weeks now, so I'm getting used to it."

The fact that he was in qualifying this week was a plus, given his limited experience on the surface.

"I won three matches in qualifying, grinded through qualies and I think that helped today, actually," said Michelsen, who didn't know that Buse had reached the 16s Orange Bowl final in 2020. "Just to have those matches on these courts."

Michelsen, who recently committed to Georgia for next fall, didn't travel much before this year.

"The competition is always so good in SoCal, so I could just play local tournaments," Michelsen said. "We're spoiled."

The only seed to fall in the girls draw was No. 16 seed Alexis Blokhina, who lost to Rebecca Munk Mortensen of Denmark 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. 

Top seed Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus defeated Katja Wiersholm 6-3, 6-3 and No. 2 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines beat Charlotte Owensby 6-2, 6-3. 

Brenda and Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic both won their 30th matches since November 15th, with No. 4 seed Brenda beating Emma Charney 6-2, 6-2 and No. 3 seed Linda defeating Anastasiya Lopata of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1.

The first round of the 16s was finally completed, after beginning Sunday.  The Eddie Herr 16s champions, switching from hard courts to clay, had mixed results. Unseeded Kate Kim defeated Kate Fakih 7-5, 6-1, but wild card Rudy Quan lost to No. 15 seed George Lazarov of Bulgaria 7-5, 6-3.

Second round singles in both 16s and 18s are on Wednesday's schedule, along with the first round of 18s doubles and the second round of 16s doubles.