Russia’s Anastasia Potapova won a hard-fought return to the Junior Orange Bowl International final, enduring some wild swings in a third-set tiebreaker before finally putting away Poland’s Iga Swiatek in a Girls 14-and-under slugfest.
When Swiatek’s crosscourt shot was ruled just out, second-seded Potapova had a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) triumph in a match that nudged past 21/2 hours at the University of Miami’s Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
She will play Tuesday for against Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, who has a unique chance to rule two Orange Bowl divisions in the same year.
Andreescu, from Toronto, won the Girls 16s at last week’s Orange Bowl International in nearby Plantation. On Monday, she extended her personal winning streak to 20 consecutive matches by wearing down No.4 seed Taylor Johnson 7-6 (6-1), 6-3.
Israel’s Yshai Oliel also moved one step away from completing his own double triumph, moving into the Boys 14s final with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Roscoe Bellamy (Pacific Palisades, California). Oliel, who won the Boys 12s two years ago, would become the ninth boy to capture titles in both divisions.
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