Anisimova Defeats Swan in Girls Singles Final in Grade A Abierto Juvenil Mexicano, Olivieri Wins Boys Title; Wiersholm Claims Pensacola Futures Championship

Amanda Anisimova's first ITF junior title was a big one, with the 14-year-old from Florida defeating No. 3 seed Katie Swan of Great Britain 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to capture the Grade A Abierto Juvenil Mexicano title.

Ranked 368 last week, Anisimova beat the sixth-ranked Swan by weathering several storms along the way.  Trailing 5-2 in the first set, with Swan's first serve clicking, Anisimova finally began to return better and find her forehand in the eighth game.  Saving a set point with a forehand winner at 2-5, 30-40, Anisimova broke Swan at 30-40 with a forehand winner. Yet another forehand winner ended Anismova's service game, bringing the set back to even at 5 and she broke Swan on her third break point of the game, with a, you guessed it, forehand winner.  Anisimova closed out the first set on her third set point, when her backhand forced an error from Swan.

Anismiova went up 2-0 in the second set, winning seven straight games from 5-2 down it the first set, but it was Swan who fought back and took control, running off five straight games of her own before Anisimova held for 5-3 after saving three set points at 0-40.  Swan needed two more set points on her own serve, but finally converted and immediately broke Anisimova to start the third, helped by a inadvertent drop shot winner. But Swan's 2-0 lead disappeared as it had for Anisimova in the second set, with a long game, which included a pair of double fault/ace sequences, eventually going the way of Anisimova on her sixth break point.

Anisimova held and broke at love for a 4-2 lead, then saved a break point to hold for 5-2, with Swan saving a match point in the next game, but forcing Anisimova to serve it out.  Getting three first serves in, Anisimova went up 40-0, but then double faulted for 40-15. She missed another first serve on match point number two, but Swan netted a backhand return to end the match.

It was sweet revenge for Anismova, who had lost to Swan, the Australian Open girls finalist, at the Easter Bowl back in April by a 6-2 6-3 score.  She said after the match that she hopes to do well enough in the remaining three tournaments of the year to receive Australian Open entry in January, but the 250 points she earned this week are probably enough regardless.

Anisimova is among the 24 American girls in the main draw of the Grade 1 Yucatan Cup, which begins Monday. Five US boys are in the main draw.

The boys singles championship at the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano went to unseeded Genaro Olivieri of Argentina, who defeated No. 13 seed Youssef Hossam of Egypt 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

At the $10,000 Pensacola Futures, qualifier Henrik Wiersholm won the battle of the 18-year-olds, beating Alex Rybakov 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.  The University of Virginia sophomore won nine matches in ten days, picking up his first ATP point with a win on Wednesday and rolling from there. Rybakov saved one break point serving at 3-4 in the third set, but Wiersholm converted the second and held to 30 to close out the title. It was the second straight week that Rybakov, the TCU recruit, had come up short in a Futures final.

There are no men's Pro Circuit events the rest of the year in the United States, but there are two more $15,000 ITF Men's Futures tournaments, one in Waco this coming week, and one in Tallahassee the following week.

The last women's event in the United States is a WTA $125K series event, new this year, in Carlsbad, California. CiCi Bellis is returning to competition after an injury, with Katerina Stewart, Samantha Crawford, Kristie Ahn, Grace Min, Nicole Gibbs(5), Jennifer Brady and Sachia Vickery(7) among the young Americans in the draw.