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| 12 Dec 2002 | |
| Groenefeld Cruises Into Quarterfinals of Burger King Orange Bowl |
Ann-Lena Groenefeld was concerned about fatigue going into the 2002 Burger King Orange Bowl International Championships and rightfully so. Her first round match came less than 24 hours after competing in the finals of inaugural USTA International Winter Championships, also held at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park, where she lost to American Jamea Jackson in straight sets.
“I was a little bit tired (at the start of the event) but I had a good draw,” said Groenefeld, who jumped to a career-high No. 7 in the ITF World Junior Rankings this week. “(My first round opponent, thirteen-year-old Julia Cohen) was playing her first Orange Bowl. I had a good draw so far and I played good do that I don’t have to be long on court. I am very glad because now comes tough rounds.”
Seeded second behind Vera Douchevina, Groenefeld dominated No. 13 seed Aurelija Miseviciute of Lithuania in the third round, 6-1, 6-1, on Thursday. She improved her win-loss record to 15-2 on the ITF circuit in the last five weeks, including a championship run at the Luxembourg Indoors.
“I played unbelievable and didn’t make any mistakes,” said Groenefeld. “(Miseviciute) plays a lot like (Viktoria) Kutuzova (her semifinal opponent last week). She plays deep and hits high balls, which is good for me to attack.”
Groenefeld has lost only five games in the three matches en route to the Orange Bowl quarterfinals, where she will face No. 12 seed Evguenia Linetskaya of Russia in a rematch of last week’s quarterfinals.
“It was a tough first set (last week),” said Groenefeld of her match with Linetskaya. “We’ll see. I’ll try my best. I’ll try to play the same of course. It’s gonna be good.”
In the boys’ 18s, No. 1 seed Marcos Baghdatis won his eighth match in less than two weeks, surviving a scare from fifteen-year-old lucky loser Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. It was the third consecutive three-set match for the upstart Djokovic, who eliminated local favorite Brendan Evans in the first round. Baghdatis will next face No. 9 Luis Flores, who upset No. 6 Go Soeda of Japan in the third round.
No 3. Brian Baker of Nashville easily defeated wild card Suhkwa Young of Bradenton, Fla. 6-1, 6-1, in their third round meeting. Baker will face No. 7 Florin Mergea of Romania in the quarterfinals in their third meeting of the year. Baker posted a three-set win in their first-ever meeting at the Australian Hardcourt Junior Championships in January and edged Mergea, 7-5, 6-4, in the semifinals of the Kentucky International Junior Tennis Derby in September.
Mergea eliminated Californian Jamil Al-Agba, 6-2, 6-2, in the third round.
Baker followed-up his singles win by advancing to the semifinal of doubles with Brandan Evans. The duo, seeded second, defeated Kamil Capkovic of the Slovak Republic and Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
Photographs by Susan Mullane
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