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Orange Bowl International

Canadian overcomes seeding to claim double win at Orange Bowl International

 

Erin Routliffe became the first Canadian to win the Orange Bowl girls’ 16s singles title, and she also took home the doubles crown.

mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com

Erin Routliffe arrived at the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship from Canada last week seeded No. 13 and wondering whether she could adapt her game to the clay courts of the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation.

The 6-2 Canadian headed home Saturday giddy with “two new fruit bowls!” She won the 16s singles and doubles titles, which gave her a major boost of confidence. She is the first non-American to win the 16s girls’ title in six years and the first Canadian ever to win it.

Just three weeks ago, she trained for the first time at the National Tennis Center in Montreal and will be moving there full-time in January.

“My family lives in Toronto, and it’s really hard to think about living without them at my age, but these are sacrifices you have to make if you want to go far in tennis,” Routliffe said after beating No. 2 seed Katie Boulter of Great Britain 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday’s final. “I have two younger sisters, and they don’t like the idea of me moving away, but this is a real, real big opportunity I can’t pass up.”

Routliffe knocked off top seed Johnnise Renaud of North Miami in the third round and No. 14 Rasheeda McAdoo of Palmetto Bay in the semifinal. She won both in straight sets.

In the boys’ 16s final, unseeded Hyeon Chung of South Korea defeated No. 12 Diego Pedraza of Colombia 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1. Both players train at the Bollettieri IMG Academy in Bradenton. Pedraza broke Chung twice early, led 4-0 in the first set and served for the first set at 5-3, but Chung forced a tiebreaker. The Korean went on to win the second set and roll in the third.

“When I was down 0-4 in the first, I had nothing to lose, so I took it one point at a time and built from there,” Chung said through a translator. “We train together a lot, play practice matches, so I didn’t feel any pressure.”

The girls’ 18s final Sunday will be No. 2 seed Yulia Putintseva of Russia against No. 5 Annett Kontaveit of Estonia. Kontaveit upset top-seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 0-6, 6-4, 4-2, Ret. in one semifinal, and Putintseva beat wild card Sachia Vickery of Miramar 7-5, 7-5 in the other. Vickery was the only American left.

In the boys’ 18s semifinals, No. 1 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria defeated No. 12 Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, and No. 7 Patrick Ofner of Austria beat Filip Peliwo of Canada 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Sunday’s final will be a rematch of the recent Eddie Herr final, which Thiem won. Thiem is on a 17-match win streak.

Allie Kiick of Plantation lost her 18s doubles semifinal with partner Carol Zhao of Canada 6-4, 3-6 (18-16) to Jennifer Brady of Boca Raton and Kendal Woodard of Stockbridge, Ga.

The 18s finals begin at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Veltri Tennis Center (just north of Broward Boulevard in Central Park). Admission is free.

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