News & Features

Share:

BRADENTON, Fla. - Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez of Mexico ended his junior career on a high note, while Japan's Wakana Sonobe can look forward to building on her success after the two left-handers claimed ITF J300 Eddie Herr International titles Sunday at the IMG Academy.

Pacheco arrived full of confidence with titles the two previous weeks at the ITF J300 in Zapopan, Mexico and the ITF J500 in Merida, Mexico, where he was the defending champion. After several tough matches, including a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback over Russia's Danil Panarin in the third round and a 7-6(4), 7-5 semifinal win over Romania's Luca Preda, the 18-year-old from Merida brought a 16-match winning streak into the Eddie Herr final, meeting surprise finalist Theo Papamalamis of France.

Boys Singles Champion Rodrigro Pacheco Mendez
© Zoo Tennis

Papamalamis, who lost his first set of the tournament 6-0, collected wins over No. 4 seed Alexander Frusina, No. 8 seed Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic and, in the semifinals, No. 2 seed Iliyan Radulov of Bulgaria to reach his first ITF J300 final.

The hot and humid conditions, which contrasted with a chilly start to the week, favored top seed Pacheco, who appeared fresher and more patient throughout the first set. He also had a recent win over Papamalamis in the semifinals in Zapopan to add to his side of the ledger.

Papamalamis found some success early in the final by bringing Pacheco to the net, but the effectiveness of that strategy declined as the match wore on.

"It was working very well, but in the end, he knew I was going to do that, so it was more easy for him," said Papamalamis, who has official visits to Texas A&M and University of South Carolina scheduled after the Orange Bowl. "I tried to make the points shorter. In Zapopan, I tried to do the same, but it doesn't work."