Hofmanova and Luncanu Make History at the Orange Bowl

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Key Biscayne, FL--

Austria's Nikola Hofmanova and Petru Alexandru Luncanu of Romania claimed upset wins at the Orange Bowl Sunday morning, getting historic victories for their countries in the prestigious Grade A ITF event.

The Czech-born Hofmanova, seeded ninth, defeated No. 2 seed Ksenia Milevskaya of Belarus 7-5, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy match at the Crandon Park courts on Key Biscayne, to become the first Austrian girl to win a title in the tournament's sixty years.


Hofmanova ran out to a 5-2 lead in the first set, but Milevskaya countered, winning the next three games. Serving at 5-6, however, the 16-year-old from Minsk played a loose game, and unforced errors cost her the set.

"I wasn't confident today at all, I don't know why," said Milevskaya, who lost to Hofmanova in the first round of Wimbledon this year. "After the first set, I was getting mad at myself, and didn't play well."

Hofmanova gave Milevskaya an opening, losing her serve at love in the first game, after Milevskaya had returned from a trip to the restroom, and twice more down a break, at 2-1 and 3-2, But as Milevskaya observed after the match, being down a break isn't unusual.

"Girls tennis is not about serves, it's about how you're playing," she said. "If you serve good it helps you a lot, but not too many girls can do it."

"In the beginning (of the second set), I only looked at how she's playing," said the 15-year-old Hofmanova, who has been playing tennis for 11 years. "But then I started to play my game again."

Asked to describe her game, Hofmanova, whose family moved to Austria when she was two, was quick to respond. "I'm playing aggressive, taking the balls early, and try to make the point, not waiting for the opponent to make the mistake. Normally I try to play more from the net, but that didn't work so much today."

Hofmanova managed to win the Orange Bowl without playing her best tennis in the final, and she spoke with amazement at how far she had come in a year's time, when she was seeded second in the 16s and lost in the quarterfinals.

"Last year I was looking at the 18s girls that were playing, thinking, 'oh my god, they are so good', so it's a great feeling."

When asked how she would celebrate, she spoke of waiting until she returns to Austria on Sunday to celebrate with her family, but after thinking a moment, another idea came to her.

"I'm going to the Dolphin Mall shopping this afternoon," she said. "If I see something and I like it, I'm going to get it, no matter what."


Luncanu had no time for shopping, or anything else, as Romania's first Orange Bowl boys' Champion had a plane to catch for the Yucatan Cup immediately after his 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 upset of top seed Nicolas Santos of Brazil. Had the No. 4 seed known he would be in the finals of the Orange Bowl, he may have skipped the final Grade 1 on the ITF calendar, but his results in 2006 gave little indication that a Grade A title was in the offing.

But after an early round loss at the Eddie Herr, Luncanu had time to prepare for the Orange Bowl, and it showed in his five straight-set victories, leading to the final clash with the 2006 Eddie Herr champion. On a warm and sunny Sunday, for more than two and a half hours, the 17-year-old from Bucharest attacked, attacked and attacked again, knowing it was his only chance to beat the ultra-consistent Brazilian.

"I have to try to do this because it was the key that I could beat him," said Luncanu, who is known as Alex to both his friends and the Romanian fans in the Miami area who came to cheer him on. "He doesn't make many mistakes, so I had to try to go to the net and finish the points."

In the first set, Luncanu did just that, and also hit his share of forehand winners from the baseline, which made his delicate drop volleys all the more effective. Although Santos, serving down 2-5, saved the first set point with a spectacular running backhand down-the-line winner, he succumbed to a perfect Luncanu drop shot, and then just missed the sideline during a rally. Giving Luncanu the chance to start the second set serving first didn't hurt Santos however, as he broke immediately and hung on to take the set.

"I didn't think about too much, because I knew there was one more set coming," said Luncanu. "I tried to forget it and tried to play again like the first set--to be more aggressive."

After Luncanu took a 1-2 deficit and turned it into a 5-2 lead in the third set, the voluble Santos talked to himself incessantly in Portuguese, often ending the soliloquy only a moment before Luncanu was ready to serve. What might have unnerved a less experienced player didn't bother the Romanian.

"He always does like this," said Luncanu. "He always screams, making those things he does on the court," Luncanu said, referring to the many fist pumps and vamoses. "I wasn't thinking too much about what he was doing, just be focused on my game."


Santos acknowledged that Luncanu was the better player on Sunday, although he expressed no disappointment that his 11-match winning streak was at an end.

"I played my best tennis in these two weeks," said Santos through his coach and interpreter Luis Faria. "And today Luncanu really deserved the win. He played very aggressive, winner shots all the time and he changed the direction of the ball very often."

Santos, who never looked anything but energetic during his run through the Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl, wasn't even interested in taking a break before he played in the final match of the day, the boys doubles finals. After the ceremony, the photographs, interviews and an Orange Bowl T-shirt launching by both players, Santos was right back on the court, with partner Fernando Romboli, also of Brazil. But the day didn't end any better than it started for him, as the fourth seeds were defeated by Roman Jebavy of the Czech Republic and Daniil Arsenov of Russia, the third seeds, 6-2, 6-4.

The girls doubles title, played concurrently with the two singles finals, went to the No. 2 seeded team of Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea of Romania and Urszula Radwanska of Poland. They downed the top-seeded team of Canadian Sharon Fichman and Czech Katerina Vankova 6-3, 6-1.



TAGS: tennis, Orange Bowl, Nikola Hofmanova, Alex Luncanu, Ksenia Milevskaya, Nicolas Santos

Post Title

→

Hofmanova and Luncanu Make History at the Orange Bowl

Post URL

→

https://dancing-with-the-stars-2011.blogspot.com/2006/12/hofmanova-and-luncanu-make-history-at.html

Visit dancing-with-the-stars-2011 for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Will Wins Girls 16s Orange Bowl Title; Dimitrov Takes Rare Double; Young, Brengle Fall in Semis

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Key Biscayne, FL--

Allie Will hasn't been playing tennis for long, but on Saturday she grabbed one of the most prestigious titles in junior tennis, that of Orange Bowl champion, defeating Lauren Embree 6-4, 6-1.

While growing up in California, Will played all the major sports and was good enough to win the shortstop position as the only girl on a boys' baseball team. But once she got a tennis racquet in her hand, at age 10 1/2, she'd found the perfect sport for her.

In Saturday's match, the gusty winds gave both players trouble. Will, the No. 14 seed, chose to receive and broke Embree, but then lost the next four games.

"In the wind it was hard to hit my flat first serve," said Will, 15. "I was spinning in a lot of second serves."

Embree took advantage of that early, aggressively returning any second serves, but when Will got accustomed to conditions, she began taking control of the match.

"At first I was a little nervous, and I had trouble closing out the points," said Will, who missed several overheads and volleys early.

"But toward the end of the first and the whole second set, I started closing out the points better and putting away the volley. If I sat back and waited for her to make an error, we'd still be playing."

The unseeded Embree, also 15, has a reputation for comebacks, but on Saturday, Will had no difficulty closing out the quick counterpuncher.

"I know that she's a fighter and that's she never going to give up," said Will, who has a 4-1 record against Embree with Saturday's victory. "She's got a very good game, so you've got to close it out, and I'm happy I did."

Will, who is coached by Andy Brandi and Harold Solomon at their recently formed academy in Lauderdale, has plans for a big celebration.

"I don't get to have desserts and stuff very often," she said. "Fitness is hard, and even harder if you don't eat properly. But I'm going to let my fitness instructor know that I'm having some ice cream tonight."

The flavor? Cake Batter from Cold Stone Creamery.



Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov swept his second consecutive major junior title in as many weeks, following his Eddie Herr 16s championship with one from the Orange Bowl, defeating Germany's David Thurner 6-3, 7-6 (0). Dimitrov is believed to be the only player to have won both the 16s championships, and is certainly the only to have done it on hard courts, as the Orange Bowl was played on clay until 1998.

Playing in his second consecutive Orange Bowl final, Dimitrov, the only seeded player in the semifinals at No. 5, didn't care for the blustery conditions.

"The weather was bad, really bad, unbelievable," the 15-year-old said. "I dropped my serve, but you have to play, to forget about it."

Dimitrov didn't falter when he had his chance to close out Thurner.

"I was pretty motivated," said Dimitrov, who will begin playing 18s in 2007. "I knew I was going to win the tiebreak. I was just sure."

After winning twelve straight matches, Dimitrov admitted to being tired, but looks at it as training for the future.

"Anyone who wants to be an ATP player, there's a lot of tournaments in a row, so you have to be prepared every single week."

Dimitrov also mentioned that he is looking for a coach to replace his father, one with ATP experience, who will travel with him and help with the transition from the junior game.

But right now Dimitrov will rest, returning to Bulgaria for the holidays before he starts 2007 with an ITF Grade 3 in Sweden.

"It sounds really good," he said with a smile.

The semifinals in the 18s were not kind to U.S. players, as Delaware's Madison Brengle, the 12th seed, dropped a 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-2 decision to No. 9 seed Nikola Hofmanova of Austria.

The crafty right-hander fought off a set point serving at 4-5 in the first set, and played flawlessly in the tiebreak.

"I missed an easy backhand," said Brengle of that set point, perhaps also remembering a match point in their previous meeting, which Hofmanova also won. "I'll remember that one for a while. It will only mildly haunt me."


"In the first set, we both played very good," said Hofmanova. "In the second set I made too much mistakes, and she played good, more aggressive than me. In the third set, I was the one who did not make so much mistakes, and she put every third ball out, made a mistake."

When asked what makes the rail-thin 15-year-old so tough, Brengle summed it up quickly.

"Her ball is really hard to read off her racquet," Brengle said. "Normally I get a good first step, but I'm a step slower when I play her."

Hofmanova will face No. 2 seed Ksenia Milevskaya of Belarus in the final. Milevskaya defeated No. 3 seed Sharon Fichman of Canada 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.



"I was up 4-3 in the second set," said the 16-year-old from Minsk, who has won five ITF Grade 1s in 2006, and led her team to the Junior Federation Cup. "But I got a little tight to finish the match, because it's semifinals and she's a good player."

But after a bathroom break, Milevskaya returned with renewed focus.

"I was confident and concentrating, and I was lucky. She didn't play so well in the third set."

Hofmanova is approaching her meeting with Milevskaya with optimism.

"I played against her many times, and I lost every time," said Hofmanova. But that changed this year at Wimbledon, when she upset Milevskaya in the first round. "To beat her was good for me."

Top seed Nicolas Santos of Brazil will attempt to duplicate the feat of Dimitrov, winning back-to-back titles at the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl in 2006. Santos earned the chance to become the first player since Andy Roddick in 1999 to win both in the 18s with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over unseeded Peter Polansky of Canada.

"Yes, I'm tired," said Santos, via his coach and interpreter Luis Faria. "But on the other hand, it's a lot of motivation for the finals."

Santos was serving for the match at 5-3, and had three match points, but couldn't shake Polansky. When Polansky, a 2006 U.S. Open junior finalist, finally got the break to get back on serve, there was an opportunity to turn the match around. But Polansky was unable to hold, and Santos converted on his fifth match point.

"I think the wind bothered him more than me," Santos, 18, said. "He takes all the risks, and I start to play very solid."

The anticipated final between No. 1 seed Santos and the No. 2 seed Donald Young was derailed on Saturday by Petru Alexandru Luncanu of Romania, who beat his fellow left-hander 7-6 (6), 6-2.



"The first set was tough because I had to get in a rhythm with him," said Luncanu, who has beaten Young in their only two meetings. "But I found the key, to go over the ball, attack every time, push him to make unforced errors."

Young often is able to ramp his game up at crucial stages of a match, but the tiebreak slipped away from him when he committed a double fault and two forehand errors.

"I think after the first set he quit a little bit in games, he did not try as much," said Luncanu, 17.

"He played well, I didn't play so well," said Young. "When you have wind you have to play it all different. He played it better today than I did."

The 17-year-old from Atlanta admitted that he wasn't as aggressive as he needed to be.

"I should have come in a lot more," said Young. "The times I came in, I won the point. That's what I've been doing all tournament, coming in and putting pressure on people, but I didn't put any pressure on him today."

The doubles schedule had to be reworked due to rain on Friday and players still in singles. The boys' 16s doubles title went to No. 5 seeds Xander Spong of the Netherlands and Ilija Vucic of Serbia 7-5, 6-0 over Nikolaus Moser of Austria and Gilad Ben Zui of Israel.



In the girls 16s doubles final played Saturday evening, Embree and partner Jessica Alexander, downed the Canadian team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Brittany Wowchuk 6-3, 6-2/


For complete draws, see usta.com.


TAGS: tennis, Orange Bowl, Allie Will, Grigor Dimitrov, Nikola Hofmanova, Ksenia Milevskaya, Nicolas Santos, Petru Alexandru Luncanu

Post Title

→

Will Wins Girls 16s Orange Bowl Title; Dimitrov Takes Rare Double; Young, Brengle Fall in Semis

Post URL

→

https://dancing-with-the-stars-2011.blogspot.com/2006/12/will-wins-girls-16s-orange-bowl-title.html

Visit dancing-with-the-stars-2011 for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection