Two American girls have won the 16s and 18s titles at the prestigious Orange Bowl. Allie Kiick, the 15-year-old daughter of former Miami Dolphins standout Jim Kiick, won the 16s with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 win over Catherine Harrison of Germantown, Tenn.
“This was more meaningful to me than winning the Super Bowl, and I mean that,” Jim Kiick told the Miami Herald. “In football, it's 11 guys, and I expected to win those games.
"To see your daughter alone out there, fighting back like that and winning the Super Bowl of junior tennis at 15 is a magnificent thing. I have goose bumps. I was way more nervous here than the Super Bowl because in football, once the first play is run, the butterflies go away. Here, I had no control, and that killed me.''
In the 18s, American Lauren Davis beat compatriot Grace Kim 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-1 for the title, her 33rd win in her last 34 matches.
On the boys' side, Alexios Halebian, the sole American, fell 6-1, 6-3 to Jannick Lupescu of Netherlands in the semifinals. Britain’s George Morgan won the title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Lupescu.—Matthew Cronin