Top Seed Midon Takes ITF College Park J1 Singles Title; Saito Sweeps Girls Championships Saturday at Junior Tennis Champions Center

©Colette Lewis 2022--
College Park MD--

Lautaro Midon and Sara Saito had the advantage in experience in the singles finals of the ITF J1 College Park tournament Saturday, and that proved valuable as they took quick leads and closed out their opponents in straight sets on the Pershing Square Court at the Junior Tennis Champions Center.

Midon, the top seed, won two J1 titles this spring, but both were on clay, and the 18-year-old from Argentina had lost to No. 5 seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil last month in the first round of the Wimbledon Junior Championships.  Yet on the hard courts, it was Midon who was the more patient and controlled, and he avenged that recent loss with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Although it was Fonseca who had the small crowd gasping at the pace of his forehand, Midon had only to extend any rally, with Fonseca unable to cut down on his unforced errors. The Brazilian, who turned 16 just last week, tried to hit his way out of his predicament, but he couldn't hold serve, and couldn't get the break back in the opening set, falling behind 5-2 and getting broken to drop his first set of the week.

Not much changed after Fonseca took a bathroom break, and when he returned, Midon held and broke, and while dropping only two points on serve, broke Fonseca a second time for a 5-0 lead.

Fonseca, who couldn't find a plan B, when his usual power game deserted him, did hold for 5-1 and broke Midon for 5-2. A love hold for Fonseca made it 5-3, and he forced Midon to deuce in his second attempt to serve out the championship, but Midon got two errors from Fonseca to close the door.

"I was very nervous at the end of the match," said Midon. "But yeah, I got lucky and I beat him."

Midon acknowledged that he played at a higher level today than at Wimbledon, which the reverse was true for Fonseca.

"I played very good, very, very good with no unforced errors," Midon said. "My opponent, was not a better day for him, but in the important moments, I play better than him."

Fonseca was not pleased with his level after playing so well throughout the week, particularly against Aidan Kim in Friday's semifinals.

"It was a tough match, he played very well and it wasn't a good day for me," Fonseca said. "When it was 0-5, I just thought, okay if I am to lose, just do my best. I knew he was nervous to finish, because I know it's not easy. I had chances at 5-3, deuce, 30-all but he's a very experienced guy and he was motivated. I'm a little sad, because I lost, but it was a wonderful week for me."

Midon was happy to escape his third round match, where he trailed Marko Mesaravic 3-1 in the final set tiebreaker before eking out a 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5) victory, and that helped give him confidence going forward.

"That day was bad for me, I played so bad, but with my mentality positive I could beat him," said Midon. "It is important to always win on the bad days, but today was a good day."

Midon has withdrawn from next week's J1 in Canada, but is looking forward to competing at the US Open Junior Championships. 

"It will be my first time at the US Open, so I am very happy to play there," said Midon who also had not played the previous junior slams until competing in all three this year. "I want to play right now, because I feel good with my tennis today and all week, so I am hoping for the best for me."

Saito, who turns 16 in October, will also be making her US Open debut after playing the Australian, French and Wimbledon juniors for the first time this year.

She looked ready for that level today, defeating unseeded Ava Krug of the United States 6-1, 6-1 in 54 minutes.

Saito, who had beaten No. 2 seed and 2021 finalist Mirra Andreeva of Russia 6-3, 7-5 after leading 5-0 in the second set, did not have the same type of opponent in Krug. 

Andreeva, although only 15, has three ITF Women's Pro Circuit titles on her resume, including at a $25,000 tournament in Spain last month. Staying with her in the long baseline rallies was a strategy Saito executed to perfection throughout the first set and a half, with Andreeva's late push to extend the match falling just short.

Against Krug, who hits the ball with at least as much pace as Andreeva, Saito did not need to employ that strategy, with Krug too error-prone to dig out from a poor start.

"Yesterday I rally with so many shots, but today easier than yesterday," said Saito, who denied that she was nervous in her second J1 final. "I just play, do not think too much."

After holding in the third game, Krug lost eight games in a row to trail 4-0 in the second set. Krug broke Saito to get on the board in the second set, but lost her serve again and Saito closed it out with none of the drama of her semifinal with Andreeva.

Krug, who held serve just once, admitted that she did not handle her first J1 singles final as she would have liked.

"Obviously I think Sara handled the big points better at the beginning of the match, especially," said Krug, a 17-year-old from Florida. "I have to give it to her, she played an amazing match, barely made an unforced error. I wish I would have started off the match a little stronger, played more relaxed, but with my first Grade 1 final, it's a little hard to have the experience. Next time, hopefully I'll be better from what I learned."

Krug heads to New York for the US Open qualifying, while Saito had yet another championship to play for in doubles. She collected that trophy as well, with partner Yu-Yun Li of Taiwan, with the No. 5 seeds defeating No. 3 seeds Anastasiia Gureva of Russia and Carolina Kuhl of Germany 6-4, 6-2.

Li and Saito have played together often in the past year, winning a Grade 3 in India and reaching the final of the Grade A in Germany this spring. This week they dropped only one set, in Friday's semifinal, to top seeds Andreeva and her partner Taylah Preston of Australia in a 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 victory.

Saito's return and baseline game fits well with Li's aggressive net play, which Li said she was forced to employ even more than usual in this afternoon's final.

"Today I feel not really good at baseline," said Li, 18. "So I just found some chance and go to the net. She has good rallies from baseline and I have good volleys at the net, so if she's good at the baseline I can volley more and take easy points."

"She has good volleys," Saito said. "And she's always happy."

Fonseca left the tournament on an upbeat note, getting a bit of revenge on Midon by winning the doubles title. Fonseca and Duncan Chan of Canada, the No. 5 seeds, came back to defeat top seeds Midon and Branko Djuric of Serbia 2-6, 6-4, 10-7.

"I was a little sad, but now I'm happy," said Fonseca, who was playing with Chan for the just the second time.

Chan pointed to an improvement in their serving as a key to their comeback.

"In the first set, we really didn't make many first serves," said the 17-year-old. "In the second, we got a little more energy and got used to their serves a little bit; just got a little more comfortable."

Like Saito and Li, Fonseca and Chan have different skill sets that help them as a team.

"I have some good returns and a good service, and he has the best volleys," Fonseca said. "It's a good combination, we're friends, and it works out."

In the match tiebreaker, holding serve was not easy, as the returning team won seven consecutive points before Fonseca held both his serves to give he and Chan a 7-4 lead. Midon and Djuric broke Chan for 8-6, but Midon just caught the tape with a down-the-line return to give Chan and Fonseca three match points. Midon held on his first serve, but Fonseca's forehand volley winner delivered the championship.

Both Chan and Fonseca are playing the J1 in Canada, but Fonseca is not playing doubles in order to get more rest with the US Open Juniors coming up the following week.