Players aim to make history in tourney finals
Victor Lilov moved one step closer to joining an exclusive club of double Junior Orange Bowl International winners on Monday, fending off some surprising net tactics from Ozan Colak to reach the final of the Boys’ 14-andunder division.
Lilov needed a few games to find his rhythm when Colak began coming to the net early and often. After dropping two of the first five games, the No. 1 seed eventually pulled away for a 6-3, 6-2 triumph at the University of Miami’s Schiff Tennis Center.
“He got me out of my rhythm, which is very smart for him,” said Lilov, who won the Boys 12s title two years ago. “It was a pretty tricky match and I was a little fortunate in the first set to get through it. Then in the second set I think I got a little more in the groove.”
The North Carolina native now seeks to become just the 10th player to take home trophies in both boys’ divisions when he faces Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong in Tuesday’s final. Israel’s Yshai Oliel was the last to accomplish the feat when he took the Boys’ 14s crown four years ago.
Wong, seeded third, also has a chance to make Junior Orange Bowl history as the first to add his homeland to the champions’ roll. He punched his ticket to the final with his second three-set triumph in as many days, dispatching No. 2 Bruno Kuzuhara 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4.
The Girls’ 14s final also figures to write its own page of history. Like Wong, Turkey’s Melisa Ercan has the opportunity to become her nation’s first to win a Junior Orange Bowl crown. Or Canada’s Victoria Mboko could hold the rare distinction of being younger than the Girls’ 12s champion.
“I’m surprised,” said Mboko, who turned 12 just last August but advanced with her third straight three-set triumph. “I’m really excited about it. It’s the best I’ve ever done in an international tournament.”
Mboko dropped her opening set 3-6 against Alexis Blokhina (Plantation) before blitzing the next two by scores of 6-1 and 6-1. Ercan, the No. 4 seed, was more efficient in capturing a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Violeta Martinez (Port St. Lucie).
The Girls 12s will feature a showdown of the top two seeds, as No. 1 Clervie Ngounoue and No. 2 Brooklyn Olson advanced.
Ngounoue (Washington, D.C.) made quick work of Japanese qualifier Hayu Kinoshita by a 6-1, 6-0 scoreline. Olson (Bradenton) was only slightly less efficient in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over France’s Shanice Roignot.
Rudy Quan, seeded No.1 in the Boys 12s, continued his march through the division with 6-3, 6-1 victory over Croatia’s Antonio Voljavec on the clay of Salvadore Park. Quan’s opponent in the final will be Santiago Muhala, (Katy, Texas), who beat Kaylan Bigun 6-2, 6-2.