 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 22 Dec 2003 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 22 Dec 2003 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 08 Dec 2004 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 22 Dec 2003 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 22 Dec 2003 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 08 Dec 2004 |
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| 08 Dec 2004 - ITF - Will Fletcher | |
| Orange Bowl Preview |
With the last Grade A tournament of 2004 just a few days away Crandon Park Tennis Centre is ready to host one of the oldest junior tennis tournaments in the world, the 58th Orange Bowl Tennis Championships, set to begin on 13 December. The Orange Bowl Festival has been held in South Florida for more than 65 years. It was originally conceived as a football game between two northern United States college football teams in the 1930s to bring tourism to Miami during the winter months. The Festival later expanded to include the Orange Bowl Parade on New Years Eve, and a host of peripheral events were added along the way, including the Orange Bowl tennis tournament.
Six of the top 20 ITF Junior boys are entered in the maindraw of the boys’ singles. The top five ranked players are focusing their attentions on the men’s circuit leaving Korea’s Sun-Yong Kim, participating in his first Orange Bowl, as the top seed. Kim has performed consistently this year particularly on hard courts, winning two Grade 1 events and achieving runner up in the Osaka Mayor’s Cup. This year’s event could prove to be the seventeen-year-old Korean’s best opportunity to claim his first Grade A title considering the absentees in the draw.
The second and third boys’ seeds, Mischa Zverev (GER) and Viktor Troiki (SCG) will certainly have breathed a sigh of relief on looking at the acceptance list. In last year’s Orange Bowl an impressive Gael Monfils overcame both players as the Frenchman charged to the final. The absence of the World Junior no. 1 and the other highest ranked boys gives these players and the likes of Rafael Arevalo Gonzalez (ESA) a genuine chance of lifting the famous bowl of oranges and with it their first grade A title.
The girls’ singles features eight of the top 20 ranked girls including top seed and favourite, Katerina Bondarenko (UKR) who will go into the tournament buoyed by her recent triumph at the Grade 1 Yucatan Cup in Mexico. Although it is unlikely that current World junior no.1 Michaella Krajicek (NED) will be overtaken in the rankings before the year-end, it is still mathematically possible for Bondarenko to reach the top spot. This in itself will be all the motivation the Wimbledon Champion requires to go all out for the title.
Last year Romanian, Gabriela Niculescu (ROM), halted Bondarenko’s progress in the first round. However, this year it is Gabriela’s sister Monica, who reached the semifinals last year before losing to the eventual champion, who will provide the main challenge to the Ukranian. The 2003 champion, Nicole Vaidisova (CZE), who is not entered, also accounted for the departure of Marina Erakovic (NZL) at last year’s event but this time around the Kiwi, ranked 10 in the world, will certainly be in contention to win her first Grade A. The girls’ singles event boasts a competitive field but is quite open and certainly one of a number of players could go all the way.
So with one of the most high profile events on the junior circuit poised to begin what is certain is that every player will be striving to emulate the Orange Bowl’s illustrious roll of honour. In doing so this year’s champions will follow in the footsteps of tennis greats and established pros including John McEnroe (1976), Ivan Lendl (1977), Gabriela Sabatini (1984), Mary Joe Fernandez (1985), Jim Courier (1987), Nicholas Lapentti (1994), Elena Dementieva (1998), Roger Federer (1998) and Andy Roddick (1999).
Keep an eye on the ITF Juniors website for daily reports and photos…
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