Barrios Vera, Dellien Win Orange Park, Sarasota USTA Pro Circuit Tennis Titles

Sarasota winner Hugo Dellien

South American players swept titles over the weekend at Florida USTA Pro Circuit events in Sarasota and Orange Park, while Americans took home hardware in both doubles finals.

Hugo Dellien of Bolivia won the $100,000 Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open Challenger in Sarasota, in the final defeating 2015 runner-up Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Unseeded American Reilly Opelka reached the semifinals before retiring against Bagnis trailing 2-5 in the first set with an undisclosed injury.

Dellien in his semifinals defeated his training partner, unseeded Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina 6-3, 6-3. In the quarterfinals he save a match point, beating American Stefan Kozlov 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(6). A former world No. 2 junior, the 24-year-old Bolivian Davis Cup player won his 17th ITF/USTA Pro Circuit title, all on clay. Londero was seeking a sixth career title, earlier this year winning at the Mexico City Challenger.

The Sarasota doubles title went to Americans Hunter Reese and Evan King, who in the final defeated the American/Canadian tandem of Christian Harrison and Peter Polansky 6-1, 6-2.

Orange Park winner Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera

Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera of Chile won the $15,000 Eagle Landing Tennis Classic in Orange Park outside of Jacksonville, Fla., in the final beating top-seeded American Noah Rubin 6-3, 6-4. 

The No. 2-seeded Barrios Vera did not drop a set all week, improving to 2-3 in USTA Pro Circuit finals this year alone. In January he won the title in Weston, Fla. The 20 year old is 5-5 career in ITF/USTA Pro Circuit finals.

Noah’s result turned around a tough slog of late for the 22 year old who had lost seven of his last eight matches entering Orange Park. Noah fell to 3-7 in career ITF/USTA Pro Circuit finals, reaching his first final since winning the ATP Challenger title at Noumea, New Caledonia in January.

Americans Christopher Haworth and Isaiah Strode captured the Orange Park double title as an unseeded team, in the all-American final upending No. 3 seeds Nick Chappell and Raleigh Smith 6-4, 1-6, 11-9.

New this year, USTA Pro Circuit tournaments feature USTA’s Net Generation, where local children at tournaments will be given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in pre-match coin tosses, be a player escort prior to matches, or play tennis during an on-court Net Generation demonstration.

For more info on the USTA Pro Circuit go to www.usta.com/en/home/pro/pro-tennis-events/ProCircuit.html.