15 year old Wakana Sonobe, the lefthander from Japan, beat Teodora Kostovic 63 61 to win the Eddie Herr girls 18s. Both girls train at IMG Academy. The win earned Sonobe a qualifying wild card at the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi in February.
The match contested on Har-Tru green clay featured some drama as Kostovic left the court down 2-1 in the second to take a bathroom break. But the rules don’t allow for such an interruption and Kostovic’s emergency – or stall tactic – delayed the match long enough to penalize her four points and the game. She only won one more point after that controversy. Sonobe is sponsored by Mizuno attire and shoes and plays with a Wilson racquet.
Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez of Mexico concluded his historic junior career in style by winning the boys 18s title vs. unseeded Theo Papamalamis of France 62 63 on the Har-Tru green clay. Lacoste sponsored Pacheco Mendez has won three straight ITF junior titles in recent weeks and seventeen matches in a row. The top seeded lefthander became the first player from Mexico to be ranked No. 1 in May of this year, and was attempting to finish the year as the ITF World Junior Champion, but he wasn’t able to capture the doubles titles he needed at the last two events, in addition to the three singles titles he did earn. Because Pacheco Mendez will not play the Orange Bowl this month, he will not be able to defend his 350 points earned last year as a finalist. Hence, the ITF World Junior Champion will be Brazil’s Joao Fonseca (by 50 ranking points).
Pacheco Mendez of Mexico will be eligible for the ATP Accelerator Program, receiving up to eight main draw Challenger wild cards by virtue of finishing in the Top 10 in the year-end ITF junior rankings. The lefthander who plays with a Technifibre racquet, is ATP 688 right now and also earned a wildcard into the Hong Kong ATP 250 qualifying draw. He has already played two ATP main draws in Mexico, a 63 61 loss to ATP no. 19 Nicolas Jarry in Los Cabos in July and a 61 62 defeat to ATP no. 12 Alex deMinaur in Acapulco in February.
The Eddie Herr International Tournament will change it’s name next year. In the future, the tournament will be called the IMG Academy International Tennis Championships.
Michael Antonius of Buffalo, NY won the 14s without losing a set, a feat he achieved also last year in the 12s. The 13 yr old who trains at USTA Orlando and in Buffalo with his dad, beat unseeded Matei Victor Chelemen of Romania 6-2, 6-1.
Bradenton · Eddie Herr · IMG Academy · ITF
