Tennis: All-American final on Sunday at the Mardy Fish championships

VERO BEACH — On a sunny yet blustery Saturday afternoon more suited for kite-flying and windsurfing, the semifinals of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation $15,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event pitted four Americans for the first time since 2005.

Actually, the four doubles finalists are also American, marking the first time in the 30-year tournament history that all eight Americans reached this stage together.

In the noon semifinal at the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club at Timber Ridge, third-seeded Victor Lilov, 20, who also holds citizenship papers in Bulgaria and Canada (where he was born), bounced back from an 0-6 second set trouncing to down Miles Jones, of Marina del Rey, California, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 to reach his fifth pro final that includes his only title in a $15,000 ITF in Peru in 2022.

“I didn’t deserve the first set as he was playing better but I was able to find a way to break at 3-3, love-30 and that was the difference," said Lilov, a Junior Wimbledon finalist in 2021 where he lost to Samir Banerjee, now at Stanford University. “He got the momentum in the second set, and I got down on myself, acting a bit like a baby.”

The 0-6 or bagel loss didn’t deter Lilov, who recalled that twice before in his, “life, I came back from 6-0 down, including the Junior Orange Bowl 12s’ final," said Lilov, who beat Bruno Kuzuhara, of Coconut Creek, that day at Salvadore Park in Coral Gables. Kuzuhara went on to win the Junior Australian Open singles and doubles in 2022.

“I said it can’t get any worse so I came out in a new set with more energy and told myself to put more balls on the court. … It was so ugly with the wind and the high bounces off the clay. It was so difficult to control. I got the early break in the third, went up 3-0 and he went down after that, so I took advantage.”

Jones, 23, who was into his first career ITF semifinal and first doubles final with his brother, Alex, 25, said he got too impatient in the third set.

“He played better tennis in the worst conditions," said Jones, who, like his brother, sports a stylish one-hand backhand. “The break at 3-3 in the first was pivotal. I focused on getting ahead in the second set and not give up on long rallies. His level dropped. In the third, the complete opposite happened. It’s the first time I won a 6-0 set and lost. I hope it’s the last time."

Lilov’s opponent in the 1 p.m. Sunday final will be second-seeded Garrett Johns, who converted 7-of-7 break points to outlast his close friend and housemate this week, fifth-seeded Will Grant, of Boca Raton, 6-3, 7-5.

Johns, 23, who won seven ITF singles and doubles tournaments last year and is an All-American singles player at Duke, clearly displayed more poise at the most critical stages of the match.

“Super important playing the big points well," said Johns, an Atlanta native, who will move to Boca Raton next month and live near his buddy whose couch he often uses when he’s in South Florida.

“I thought Will actually did a better job dealing with the wind than me in the second set, coming in, making some good volleys, moving me around a lot, but I stayed tough on the big points and got the win.”

Grant’s longtime British coach Damion Jackson was proud of his disciple's resilience in the second set.

“That stood out for me. Garrett really took his chances and whenever there became a big moment, Garrett was the one that stepped up and played the great tennis," said Jackson, who gave 3-year-old Grant his first lesson in London where Grant was born.

“Both players struggled with the wind but kudos to Garrett, he played the better tennis when it mattered. Will could take heart with the second set but I think he was a bit fatigued from his match on Friday.”

Grant, 23, a member of the University of Florida national championship team of 2021 with Ben Shelton, wouldn’t go down gently against his USTA National Hard Courts 12s’ championship partner.

Grant, ranked 738, showed the mettle that helped him get to three ITF $15K finals last year (two doubles titles). He trailed 2-4, 15-40 in the second set when he finally broke (4-of-11 on break points) to claw back in the match.

However, while serving at 5-6, 30-30, Grant’s normally reliable two-hand backhand let him down for an unforced error, setting up Johns’ sliced backhand which induced a Grant forehand into the net.

Lilov and Johns met once before in a $15K in Boca Raton six months ago when the fifth-year Blue Devil prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semis.

“He’s a very good defender,’’ Lilov said. “It was very windy there, too. He took me apart there because he was better in the wind that day."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: mardy fish tennis vero tournament americans