IMG Academy International 12s, 14s, 16s Summary; Kisimov avenges ITF J300 Bradenton final loss in Orange Bowl opener; Liutova’s winning streak continues; Amey ousts top seed Vaughan in 16s

One of those storylines emerged just as the Orange Bowl draw was released, with a rematch of the ITF J300 Bradenton boys final between Jordan Lee and Bulgaria’s Dimitar Kisimov set for the first round in Fort Lauderdale.

Due to rain on Tuesday, that match was postponed to today, with Kisimov avenging his loss to Lee on Sunday with a 6-4, 7-5 win in sunny, calm and warm conditions.

Lee fell behind 5-1 in the first set but closed the gap to 5-4 before Kisimov served out on his second attempt.

Kisimov got a key break at 3-all in the second set and held at 5-3 in a service game with five deuces and two break points. Lee held on to force Kisimov to serve out the score at 5-4, which he failed to do despite leading 30-0 in the match. Unforced errors were the main cause, although Kisimov could hardly blame himself for Lee’s inside-in forehand winner at 30-40.

Kisimov said he was frustrated with himself for failing to serve out the match, although with his calm demeanor on the court, no one would notice.

“I don’t show any emotion, but inside I’m a little angry about those kinds of games,” said the 17-year-old from Sofia. “But the good thing was that I managed to calm myself down, and that’s maybe why I got those next two games.”

However, Lee couldn’t hold at 5-all, with Kisimov breaking with a perfect drop shot at 30-40.

Kisimov served for the match for the second time and had only one goal.

“I just concentrated on not making any unnecessary mistakes, and actually continuing to attack,” said Kisimov, who, as he did at 5-4, led 30-0 but this time smashed a forehand winner to earn three match points. He made an unforced error on a slice to make it 40-15, but converted the second with a lob winner off a charging Lee.

Kisimov was surprised to see his Orange Bowl draw, but thought it probably benefited him.

“I was like, oh, again. But I actually wanted to play again because I wanted to get revenge,” Kisimov said. “It was tough in the final with Eddie Herr. I was very motivated today and now I’m very happy because I won. But it was a great match, a great match.”

Next up for Kisimov is another American, No. 5 seed Keaton Hance.

Although Lee saw two winning streaks snapped today, with the 2024 Orange Bowl 16s champion suffering his first Orange Bowl loss and his chance at a second run of consecutive championships at IMG and Orange Bowl, Kristina Liutova extended hers with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Annika Penickova.

Like Lee, the ITF J300 Bradenton champion had a tough draw when he faced seventh-seeded Pennickov, but the 15-year-old Seattle native wasn’t concerned about that as it was just another match against a good opponent.

“It was no different than the other players,” said Liutova, who defeated three seeds in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final in Bradenton. “The tactics might be different but mentally I would go out and play my game and do what I have to do to win the game. I have to go out and just play, enjoy the competition.”

Although the result looked routine, the match lasted two hours and fifteen minutes, with almost half of the 19 games ending in draws.

“I had to find a way to return well so that the next shot doesn’t kill me,” Liutova said of her efforts to counter Pennickova’s big left serve. “She is a great server and upon returning I had to adjust.”

In the opening set, Liutova couldn’t serve out 5-3, but she didn’t panic and broke Penickova in a five-deuce game to claim the set.

“Mistakes are in the past and I have to accept the past because nothing will change whether I get frustrated or not,” Liutova said. “If I come back from the last point faster, that will only help.”

Liutova will face 15-year-old Tea Kovacevic of Bosnia, who defeated Iona Boian of Romania 6-1, 6-1 on Monday.

Two boy seeds lost today, with qualifier Navneet Raghuram advancing as No. 14 seed Stefan Haita of Romania retired 3-6, 6-3, 2-0. Wild card Marcel Latak eliminated No. 6 seed Alan Wazny of Poland 6-1, 7-6(5).

Latak, the reigning Kalamazoo 16s champion, got off to a fast start but had to make some adjustments in the second set, trailing by two breaks at 4-1.

“In the first set I just went for it and everything clicked,” said the 16-year-old from Illinois. “Second set I had a super slow start, I wasn’t serving my best, the shot selection wasn’t there at all. My father was in the coaching box and he told me that I had to first put a bunch of balls in the court and then try to find something. After a few points of that, the rhythm came back and I was able to go up 6-5.”

Latak doesn’t really enjoy the surface, but his success on this swing has made him rethink that.

“I’m happy with how I’m playing on clay,” Latak said. “Expectations weren’t high at all before I came (to Florida). I know I’m not going to be a clay player to be honest, but I think I have to forgive clay now.”

Like most other players, Latak has rated the courts at the renovated Jimmy Evert Tennis Center as excellent and slow.

“They’re super slow,” Latak said. “When I came here for my first practice, I hit everything so early and these tracks are really so slow. But I like it, I really like the conditions.”

Latak will face Gavin Goode, who advanced on Monday when Sweden’s Wiliam Rejchtman stopped Vinciguerra trailing 6-3 and 1-0.

No. No. 2 seed Jack Kennedy struggled in the first half of his match against Croatia’s Emanuel Ivanisevic, but the momentum of the passing shot winner, followed by a forehand winner at 5-all in the second set tiebreak, lifted him to a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 victory. On Thursday he will play against Volodymyr Gurenko from Canada in the second round.

In the 16s divisions, top boys seed Mason Vaughan was defeated by fellow IMG Academy International semifinalist Colter Amey 7-6 (3), 6-3. Catalina Delmas Schaerer, the No. 2 seed in the girls’ draw, lost to Australia’s Amy Gray 6-2, 6-3.

The boys 16s quarter-finals will be played on Thursday and the girls 16s will play both their third round and quarter-finals on Friday.