Congratulations to our 2009 winners:

Boys 14:
Thien Nguyen / Vietnam

Draws and Results
click here


The committee can be reached at (305) 662-6072
or email at tennis@jrorangebowl.com

Chairpersons: Abby Dresnick / Barbara Waters
Tournament Director: Jodi Steinbauer

CHIANG TAKES DOWN LAST SEED FOR GIRLS CROWN;

NGUYEN, HONG GIVE WINNERS LIST ASIAN FLAVOR

By Jeff Shain

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Dec. 23, 2009) – Yuki Chiang completed her blitz through the Junior Orange Bowl International seedings by toppling No. 1 Brooke Austin, a 6-3, 6-3 victory that crowned her the champion of the girls 14 & under division.

Chiang (Ojai, Calif.), unseeded when the Junior Orange Bowl Festival’s 48th annual showcase began, already had dispatched the Nos. 2, 3 and 7 seeds before Wednesday’s near-flawless performance at the University of Miami Tennis Center. “I’d beaten all these seeds – if I beat [Austin], then I’m better than everyone because she’s No. 1 in nationals,” Chiang exclaimed. “I wanted to beat her so bad, and that urgency came out.”  

Thien Nguyen brought Vietnam its first Junior Orange Bowl title, capturing the boys 14s division with a 7-6, 6-0 triumph over Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont, Calif.). And South Korea produced its second boys 12s champion in as many years when Hong Seongchan beat local favorite Stefan Kozlov, 6-4, 6-2. “This means very much to me,” said Nguyen, still shaking from the emotion of his first international title, which ended a streak of five straight semifinal disappointments. “Even now I still can’t believe it.”

Nguyen, seeded eighth, was the highest seed to reach the semifinals in a boys 14s division filled with surprises. It was far different from the girls 14s, where the seeds pretty well held true to form – except for Chiang.  Her giant-killer run began with an upset of No. 2 Carolina Costamagna (Argentina) in the second round. Chiang later eliminated No. 7 Katy Dunne (Britain) in the quarterfinals and held off No. 3 Daria Lebesheva (Belarus) in a three-hour semifinal.

“When I was coming in, I didn’t really think much [of my chances],” said Chiang, who made the Junior Orange Bowl her first top-grade event following an eight-month layoff to recover from shin splints.  She worked her way back by winning four Southern California section tournaments before making the trip to Florida.

“I asked my dad, ‘Tell me the truth, what round do you think I’ll get past?’ And he said, ‘I bet you lose in the first round.’ … I think he was trying to motivate me because I like proving him wrong.” Standing nearby, Robert Chiang smiled. “I was kidding,” he confessed, “but she likes challenges.”

Yuki Chiang showed no apprehension against Austin (Indianapolis), who broke the top seed’s serve eight of nine times. Her only letdown came midway through the second set, leading 3-0 before Austin won three straight games to even the count.

But Chiang broke Austin again at love to take a 4-3 advantage, held her own serve at love and broke Austin once more for the match.  “That was probably the match of her life,” said Austin, who was seeking her 12th tournament title of 2009 and had dropped just one set on her path to the final.  “Most of the time when people want to play their best, they start making a lot of errors. But she was real steady and she didn’t make any errors.”

Nguyen went down 2-0 to begin his final against McDonald, but quickly evened the set and wound up capturing the tiebreak 7-2. That seemed to take the spark out of McDonald, who had survived a three-hour semifinal Tuesday against Britain’s Kyle Edmund.  “I didn’t expect the second set to be that easy,” said Nguyen, whose father runs a tennis club in Ho Chi Minh City. “I think in the second set he was kind of down a little bit, so that was to my advantage.”

McDonald said he didn’t feel that fatigued from the long semifinal, but couldn’t summon the energy to put up a better fight in the second set.  “I wish I’d had a little more,” he said. “I just wasn’t too up for it.”

Hong’s victory over Kozlov reversed the outcome from their previous encounter two weeks ago in the final of the Eddie Herr International in Bradenton, Fla.  

Kozlov (Boca Raton, Fla.) took that match after roaring back from a 5-2 deficit in the opening set to win a tiebreak. The stage was set again Wednesday when Hong again jumped out 5-2 and Kozlov won the next two games.

Hong, though, held his serve to put the set away. The Korean appeared to wear Kozlov down over the second set, capturing the final three games.  “I wanted to win this match,” Hong said through a translator. “Today I just wanted to pull through, and I kept with an aggressive strategy.”

Kozlov, whose father runs a tennis academy in Pembroke Pines, Fla., suggested the difference was in his own play.  “I didn’t stay as aggressive,” he said. “I just didn’t play how I was supposed to play.”  Hong’s victory keeps the boys 12s trophy in Korean hands, following up last year’s triumph by Chung Hyeon. Hong witnessed that triumph as part of the Korean contingent entered last year, having been eliminated in the second round.  “My forehand’s improved a lot from last year,” he said. “I can be more aggressive.”