 Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 10 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 11 Dec 2006 |
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| 10 Dec 2006 | |
| Hofmanova, Luncanu Win Orange Bowl Singles Titles |
Romania’s Alex Luncanu and Austria’s Nikola Hofmanova won the boys’ and girls’ singles titles at the 60th Annual Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne, Fla., Sunday becoming the first players from their countries to win their respective divisions.
No. 3 seed Luncanu, 17, from Bucharest, defeated No. 1 Nicolas Santos 6-2 4-6 6-3, ending the Brazilian’s 11-match winning streak. Hofmanova, who will turn 16 in February, upset No. 2 seed Ksenia Milevskaya, 7-5 6-3.
“Last year I was looking at the girls in the 18s and thought ‘oh my God. They are so good’,” said the Czech-born Hofmanova, who lost in the third round of the Girls’ 16s here last year as the No. 2 seed. “Now I’m the Orange Bowl 18s champion. Wow.”
Hofmanova started off strong and took a 5-2 lead before Milevskaya levelled the first set at five games apiece. After holding serve, Hofmanova broke to win the first set.
“At 5-2 in the first, I stopped playing my game and she started to be more aggressive,” said Hofmanova, who trailed 1-3 in the second set before winning five straight games to finish the match. “I slept for the first three games of the second set.”
Santos, the 18-year-old from Sao Paolo, was the seventh player from Brazil to reach the Orange Bowl Boys’ 18s final, the first in six years and joining three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten, who was runner-up in 1994.
Luncanu used an aggressive all-court game to win his first title on the ITF junior circuit since last December.
“I wanted to win here but didn’t expect to, but I played my best tennis this week and have a lot of confidence now that I am Orange Bowl champion," said Luncanu, who lost to eventual champion Robin Roshardt in the third round here last year.
Santos had won in five consecutive final appearances since losing to current world No. 1 Thiemo De Bakker on New Year’s Day at the Casablanca Cup in Mexico. He had also won 18 of his last 19 junior matches since a first round loss at Wimbledon.
Immediately following the boys’ singles final, Santos teamed with Fernando Romboli in doubles and lost the final to Daniil Arsenov and Roman Jebavy, 6-2 6-4.
The girls’ doubles final featured the top two seeded teams. No. 2 Sorana-Mihaela Cristea and Urszula Radwanska upset No. 1 Sharon Fichman and Katerina Vankova, 6-3 6-1.
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