4 Florida Players Raise USTA Gold Balls at National Clay Court Championships

Sebastian Korda

A Florida player in singles and three in doubles took home USTA Gold Balls, and three players finished runner-up in singles and doubles finals over the weekend as USTA National Clay Court Championships were held across the country last week in boy’s and girls’ 12-18 divisions.

Unseeded Sebastian Korda of Bradenton, Fla., the son of former Australian Open winner Petr Korda, defeated No. 7-seeded Alexandre Rotsaert of Boca Raton, Fla., 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the USTA Boys’ 18 & National Clay Court Championships hosted by the City of Delray Beach, Fla.

“It feels good — I think I wanted the Gold Ball more than winning the tournament actually,” the 16-year-old Korda told CBS 12. “It’s nice to have one finally.”

In the Boys’ 18s doubles final, Palm Coast’s Jason Legall and partner Andrew Fenty (Washington, D.C.) were edged 7-6, 7-6 by the Oklahoma pair of Zeke Clark/William Genesen.

“Congratulations to our trophy holders and the spirited field who continued to prove this to be the toughest Gold Ball to conquer,” said tournament organizer John Butler. “The action was as impressive on the court as the camaraderie was off the court.”

Nikki Yanez and Maria Drobotova

At the Girls’ 12s championships at the Polo Club of Boca Raton, No. 14 seeds Nikki Yanez (Sarasota)/Maria Drobotova (Deerfield Beach) raised the doubles trophy, in the final defeating fellow No. 14 seeds Calissa Dellabarca (Santa Barbara, Calif.)/Bridget Stammel (Dallas, Texas) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

The title for Yanez followed the Girls’ 12s singles championship last year.

Jack Anthrop

Orlando’s Jack Anthrop won the doubles title at the USTA Boys’ 12s National Clay Court Championships in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., with partner James Delgado (High Point, N.C.), in the final defeating the team of Ryan Colby (Alexandria, Va.)/Braden Shick (Greensboro, N.C.), 6-1, 7-6.

Anthrop last month was the Boys’ 12s singles winner at the 68th USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Singles Championships.

Amanda Meyer of Delray Beach, the Girls’ 18s winner last month at the 68th USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Singles Championships, was runner-up at the Girls’ 18s clay court championships in Memphis, Tenn., edged 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the championship match by Ann Li (Devon, Penn.)

“In the third set I came out with a little too much adrenaline,” said Meyer, who was broken serving at 4-5 in the final set, speaking to zootennis.com. “I hit the ball a little too hard, my mind was in overdrive. In the third game, I really focused on calming myself down and taking it point by point, staying in the moment.”

The 18s boys’ and girls’ singles champions receive wild cards into the singles main draw of the 2016 US Open juniors event, and a wild card into a USTA Pro Circuit event. The 16s champions receive a wild card into a USTA Pro Circuit event if age eligible.

For more information on the USTA National Clay Court Championships go to www.usta.com/news.