US Ashlyn Krueger and France’s Arthur Fils claimed upset titles at the 2020 Orange Bowl on the green clay in Plantation, Florida. Both Krueger and Fils were born in 2004 and started the tournament as unseeded players.
Krueger beat Australian Open Junior champion Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in the third round and seventh seed Jana Kolodynska from Belarus 6-4 6-4 in the 18s division final. Krueger led 5-1 in the second set and had to fend off a late rally from Kolodynska. Krueger needed five match points in the 10th game. The 16-year-old player dropped just set during the tournament en route to the title.
Krueger has become the fourth US player to win the Orange Bowl following in the footsteps of Whitney Osuigwe, Coco Gauff and Robin Montgomery.
The list of past winners of the women’s Orange Bowl features Chris Evert (1969-1970), Gabriela Sabatini (1984), Elena Dementieva (1999), Caroline Wozniacki (2005), Sofia Kenin (2014) and Coco Gauff (2018).
Ashlyn Krueger: “I was definitely nervous. I had a lot going on in my head, but I just tried to refocus and I did at 5-4. I tried to serve big and just work on my first ball, but she played good points on those match points. She didn’t quit, she played really well, she is a tough player. She gave me a ton of stuff I don’t like, slice and stuff, she mixed it up a ton, so I just really had to stay focused and play my game, not let that get into my head. I have improved a lot, especially in that area, staying more positive, because last year I did get more upset than I did this year. For me it is really about staying positive, because when I get negative, I don’t play well. I would love to play a Junior Grand Slam. That’s been a goal of mine for a long time, any event, I am not picky, just playing more tournaments”.
Arthur Fils beat top-seed Peter Fajta from Hungary 6-1 4-6 6-2 in the final becoming the first Frenchman to claim the Orange Bowl boys 18s title since Hugo Gaston in 2017. Fils built up a 6-1 3-0 lead, but Fajta came back by winning six of the next seven games to claim the second set 6-4. Fils won two matches in the Roland Garros junior draw last October.
Before Fils only three French players won the prestigious under 18 tournament. They were Guy Forget in 1982, Gianni Mina in 2017 and Hugo Gaston in 2018. Gaston reached the fourth round at Roland Garros after beating Stan Wawrinka.
Arthur Fils: “I played very well at Roland Garros and this gave me a lot of confidence. I knew I was playing good, but I didn’t have any results yet. Fajta was tired. I was winning 6-1 3-0 and then I did some bullshit. I made some mistakes. In the third set I was focused and it was good”.
The list of former Orange Bowl Boys 18s winners includes John McEnroe (1976), Jim Courier (1987), Roger Federer (1998), Andy Roddick (1999) and Dominic Thiem (2011).
US Jonah Braswell won the 16s title beating Peru’s Ignacio Buse 6-0 6-1. US Virginia Ray beat Tatum Evans 6-4 3-6 6-1 claiming the Girls 16s title.
