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BRADENTON, Fla. - The original IMG Academy tennis complex, under construction during the 2021 Eddie Herr International Championships, welcomed the world's best junior players to an impressive new tennis stadium and indoor facility last week, with perfect weather adding even more sparkle to the annual festival of tennis.

Players from Asia won four of the six singles titles in the 12s, 14s, and 16s divisions, while American boys captured the other two titles in all-American finals last Saturday on the IMG Academy's hard courts.

12s Singles

Michael Antonius won the Easter Bowl 12s title this spring, and, after spending the summer away from competition to work on his game, was the No. 1 seed and the player to beat at this year's Eddie Herr.

Boys 12s Singles Champion Michael Antonius
© Zoo Tennis

Antonius looked the part throughout the tournament, losing only five games in his first five matches to reach the final against Alabama's Tabb Tuck, the No. 4 seed. Tuck came back in the semifinals against unseeded Takashiro Kawaguchi of Japan, earning a 2-6 6-2, 10-8 victory to advance to the championship match. Although many of the points and games were long in that contest, Antonius again posted a dominant score, taking the title 6-2, 6-1.

Antonius, who referred to himself as a bully during the tournament, elected to compete in the 12s division for one final time. The tournament's lack of a consolation draw and the host of more mature players in the 14s made that decision easier for the analytic Buffalo resident.

"I felt like I had a better chance to win the 12s," said Antonius, who trains with the USTA at the National Campus in Lake Nona. "Not playing as many kids who are big and strong, like in the 14s, I was able to work on more things: being more aggressive, having more chances to be the bully out there. In the 14s, more people can be the bullies compared to me."

Antonius admitted he was aware of how few games he had lost in the tournament.

"I was trying to limit as many points and games as possible from the opponent," said Antonius. "So I could get with the lead and stay with the lead. I made sure to keep the foot on the pedal, not having a great first set and a loose second, but keeping that same mentality throughout the match."

No. 4 seed Tuck, who like Antonius comes from an area not known for its tennis, had nothing but praise for his opponent, while also satisfied with his own performance in his first Eddie Herr.

"He's so consistent from the baseline, never misses a ball, and if you give him anything short, he's always going to take advantage and rip his forehand," said Tuck, who trains with former University of Alabama-Birmingham coach Derek Tarr. "I'm really pleased with myself, I had a great week here playing at IMG, it's a really nice facility and I was playing great all week long."

The girls 12s title also went to the top seed, with Yeri Hong of Korea receiving the champion's trophy when No. 5 seed You Komada of Japan retired due an injury with Hong leading 6-2, 1-0.

Tournament Director Hisashi Sato Gives Yeri Hong a Trophy Near the Statue of Nick Bollettieri, Who Died Sunday
© Zoo Tennis

14s Singles

Korea earned half the singles titles in the Eddie Herr's younger divisions this year, one in each age group, with No. 2 seed Se Hyuk Cho defeating No. 5 seed Keaton Hance 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the championship match.

Hance, a 14-year-old from Torrance, California, defeated top seed Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria in a three-hour, 30-minute quarterfinal match before taking out No. 7 seed Ford McCollum 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals. Cho had not dropped a set in his first five matches, beating unseeded Kuan-Shou Chen of Taiwan 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.

Hance played a near-perfect first set in the final, but Cho fought back to take a 4-1 lead in the second. At that stage of the match, Hance was hoping to merely extend the set, so he was not prepared to be serving for the match at 5-4.

"Obviously there were a lot of nerves," said Hance, who had lost to Cho in three sets at the ITF World Junior Tennis 14U team competition in August. "When I was down 1-4, I was just focusing on getting as many games as I could in that set, make him work for the second and I ended up getting a lot more than I was expecting. The nerves hit me I guess, made some quick errors; he played a good game also."

Down 4-1 in the third set, Hance wasn't able to mount another comeback, with Cho appearing physically fresher and buoyed by the Korean cheering section applauding his winners.

"I think he just had more energy coming on the court today, most of his matches were a little shorter than mine," Hance said. "It was a very competitive set, but I think he was just a little more energized."

Cho now has added an Eddie Herr title to the one he collected at this year's inaugural Wimbledon 14s championships.

The only unseeded player to claim an Eddie Herr title this year in the 12s, 14s and 16s was Yihan Qu of China, who defeated top seed Emerson Jones of Australia 7-5, 6-2 in the girls 14s final.

16s Singles

For top seed Maxwell Exsted, the third time was a charm in an Eddie Herr final. The 15-year-old from Minnesota, who had reached the 12s final in 2019 and the 14s final last year, looked as if he was going to go 0-3 in championship matches, trailing No. 2 seed Calvin Baierl 5-2 in the final set before roaring back for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Boys 16s Singles Champion Maxwell Exsted
© Zoo Tennis

Exsted said that deficit helped him loosen up and start going after his shots.

"In the beginning of the third my legs were bothering me a little bit, but I started to feel better, get more energy," said Exsted, who avenged his loss to Baierl in the Junior Orange Bowl 14s last year. "Everybody tends to play better when they're behind, because they're looser. You have nothing to lose. So I could have lost 6-2, but I loosened up, played well."

Baierl agreed that Exsted picked up his game, but was disappointed in his response to that.

"I just lost my concentration when I went up 5-2," said the 15-year-old from Florida, who reached the Kalamazoo 16s final in August. "He started playing better, and that's all it takes. One level drops, he raises it, and it just switches like that. I was getting too aggressive and overhit a lot when I didn't need to."

The girls 16s title went to No. 2 seed Hyunyee Lee of Korea, who defeated No. 14 seed Ece Gencer of Turkey 6-3, 6-3 in the final. Gencer had beaten No. 10 seed Amy Lee of California 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals, while Hyunyee Lee had ended the run of unseeded Rachael Smith of Illinois 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the final.

DOUBLES

B12s:

Taiki Takizawa(AUS) and Erikas Maskolaitis(GRE)[1] d.

Tabb Tuck(USA) and Victor Pignaton(USA)[4] 6-4, 6-3

G12s:

Jordyn Hazelitt(USA) and Raya Kotseva(USA)[8] d.

Miyu Nishiwaka (JPN) and Ran Wakana(JPN)[3] 6-2, 3-6, 10-6

B14s:

Jack Kennedy(USA) and Keaton Hance(USA)[2] d.

Mason Taube(USA) and Ford McCollum(USA)[3] 6-4, 6-7(0), 10-3

G14s:

Nancy Lee(USA) and Thea Frodin(USA)[4] d.

Sena Yoon(USA) and Danielle Young(USA)[7] 6-1, 6-3

B16s:

Benjamin Willwerth(USA) and Noah Johnston(USA)[4] d.

Abhishek Thorat(USA) and Asror Ismoilov(USA)[3] 6-2, 6-2

G16s:

Vessa Turley(USA) and Georgia Cranford(USA) d.

Amelie Justine Hejtmanek(GER) and Kayla Schefke(USA)[4] 6-0, 6-2