Special from
Zoo Tennis
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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - 2022 Easter Bowl girls 16s champion Valerie Glozman returned to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden last month and left it with the 18s title, while Cassius Chinlund, who had never played in a USTA Level 1 final, earned his first gold ball by claiming the boys 18s title.
Girls 18s Champion Valerie Glozman
© Zoo Tennis
Although neither of the 16-year-olds dropped a set en route to their finals, both were challenged throughout their championship matches on Stadium 4. Top seed Glozman defeated No. 5 seed Aspen Schuman 7-6(4), 6-3 and No. 5 seed Chinlund accelerated past No. 7 seed Emon van Loben Sels 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Glozman, who had beaten unseeded Shannon Lam 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinals, managed to eke out the first set on her fourth set point, having failed to convert the first three with Schuman serving at 4-5 and 5-6. After needing 77 minutes to secure the opening set, Glozman doubted she could win another set without changing tactics. Her renewed commitment to aggressive ball-striking paid off and she quickly took a 5-0 lead to start the second set.
"I really stepped it up in the beginning of the second set," said Glozman, a resident of Bellevue, Washington. "It was a miracle that I could pull out the first set, and so I decided to just play my practice game, just rip the ball, and I was connecting on all of them. I gave myself permission to miss a few, so I could relax a little bit. And I went up 5-0, but that's when the nerves came back again and she definitely stepped it up and put more pressure on me. She's a great player and she never gives up, so it's always a tough battle."
