USTA Press Release, December 13, 2021
Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo and Croatia’s Petra Marcinko won the Orange Bowl boys’ and girls’ 18s singles title, respectively, as the world’s premier junior tennis tournament concluded on Sunday at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation, Fla.
Vallejo, the tournament’s No. 7 seed, upset No. 2 seed and hometown favorite Bruno Kuzuhara (17, Coconut Creek, Fla.), 6-2, 6-3. Kuzuhara grew up approximately 20 minutes from the Plantation facility and was cheered on by a spirited crowd.
Kuzuhara was also honored with the inaugural Lew Brewer Award, named after longtime tournament director Lew Brewer, who is retiring at the end of the year, and created to commemorate his years of service to both the Orange Bowl event and junior tennis. The award will be given each year at the Orange Bowl to one American boy and one American girl that demonstrate excellence on and off the court. The inaugural girls’ winner was Liv Hovde (16, McKinney, Texas).
Sjajan tjedan za Petru Marčinko, Petra je ispisala povijest s dva naslova u istoj godini na Orange Bowlu! 🏆🎾🇭🇷#Marcinko #HTS #ITFWorldTennisTour #ITFJuniorTour #OrangeBowl #OrangeBowlTennis pic.twitter.com/yeFFgytCqx
— Hrvatski teniski savez (@hts_sluzbeni) December 13, 2021
Meanwhile, in the girls’ 18s singles final, the fifth-seeded Marcinko defeated her doubles partner, No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Marcinko and Shnaider teamed up to beat Brenda Fruhvirtova and Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the girls’ 18s doubles final, 7-6(5), 6-0. Marcinko became the first player to sweep the Orange Bowl girls’ 18s titles in at least the past 28 years (doubles champions records are as of 1993).
In the boys’ 18s doubles final, Lithuania’s Edas Butvilas and Jordan’s Abedallah Shelbayh defeated the American pair of Nicholas Godsick (17, Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Ethan Quinn (17, Fresno, Calif.), 6-2, 6-4.
