Tournament Summary
Richmond Wins 14s Junior Orange Bowl Title
Korea Takes Two Championships while de Vroome Reigns in Girls 12s
by
Colette Lewis, 29 December 2008
The Junior Orange Bowl has always been proud of its international stature, and in 2008, the Coral Gables, Florida-based event for the 12s and 14s age groups showcased Korea as a country on the rise.
Hyeon Chung, who had become Korea's first Eddie Herr champion when he took the boys 12s title earlier in the month, defeated Silas Cerqueira of Brazil 6-3, 6-4 to add another illustrious title to his resume. Chung, a No. 1 seed at the Junior Orange Bowl, where No. 1 seedings are awarded to the top player in 16 countries, was a favorite for the title, but his compatriot,
So Ra Lee, unexpectedly advanced through girls 14s qualifying all the way to the final, where she defeated
Victoria Duval of the U.S. 7-5, 6-3.
Lee put the rest of the field on notice when she stormed past girls 16s Dunlop Orange Bowl champion Chanelle Van Nguyen of the U.S. 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. From there, the victories over seeds just kept coming, as Lee took out No. 7 Xue Zhang of China, Anna Mamalat of the U.S., a No. 9, and in the quarterfinals, No. 3 Kyle McPhillips, also of the U.S.
But perhaps Lee's most impressive win was over surprisingly unseeded Sachia Vickery, the 13-year-old from Florida who has had a spectacular start to her ITF junior career, rising to just outside the top 100 in the 18-and-under international rankings in just eight months of circuit play. Lee lost the first set in their semifinal match, but it was the left-hander from Seoul who played more aggressively and consistently down the stretch, taking a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 decision over Vickery.
