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PLANTATION, Fla. - Midweek rain served to compress the schedule at last week’s 73^rd edition of the Orange Bowl, but champions Robin Montgomery, Thiago Tirante, Ashlyn Krueger and Daniel Rincon overcame every challenge Sunday to capture the Tiffany crystal bowls of oranges and end 2019 as champions.

Montgomery, the No. 5 seed, received a break when World No. 1 Diane Parry of France, her projected quarterfinal opponent, pulled out with an injury at the last minute after making the trip to South Florida. Montgomery then took advantage of that opportunity, efficiently dispatching her opponents in straight sets to reach the final, where she defeated unseeded Jana Kolodynska of Belarus 7-6(4), 6-3 for her first Grade A title.

Grade A Girls Singles Champion Robin Montgomery
© Zoo Tennis

Like Montgomery, Kolodynska had kept her matches routine, which was especially important on Saturday, when both the singles quarterfinals and semifinals were played. Kolodynska took out No. 2 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals, while Montgomery earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory over unseeded Celia Mohr of France in her second match of the day.

Kolodynska, who had reached the final of the Eddie Herr the previous Sunday, started her first Grade A championship match with a 5-2 lead, but at that crucial moment, Montgomery remembered the advice drummed into her by her coach.

“I was missing a lot,” said the left-hander, who lives in Washington D.C. and trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in nearby College Park, Maryland. “I think it was because of nerves and I wasn't moving my feet very much. I remembered that my coach said whenever I'm nervous I need to start moving extra, and somehow at 2-5 that clicked. I think it was footwork, and just trusting my shots. I was overhitting, then underhitting. It was me just trying to find my rhythm, the momentum with my shots and trusting myself.”