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MIAMI - The Junior Orange Bowl takes pride in its long history of international competition, and with the Miami-area event celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, two more countries were added to the list of champions.

Boys 14s Champion Alejandro Arcila
© Zoo Tennis

Colombia's Alejandro Arcila in the Boys 14s and Moldova's Lia Belibova in the Girls 12s are the first players from their countries to win titles at the prestigious tournament, while Slovenia's Svit Suljic, the Boys 12s champion, is the first boy from his country to hoist the winner's bowl of oranges. In the Girls 14s, Californian Iva Jovic joined a lengthy list of American champions last week in Coral Gables, with four of the last five Girls 14s winners representing the United States.

Arcila, the No. 5 seed, was tested by No. 6 seed Calvin Baierl of the United States in the semifinals before recording a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory to reach his second consecutive Junior Orange Bowl final. After finishing as runner-up in the 12s division in 2019, the last time the event was played, Arcila was motivated to improve on that finish, with a first-time meeting with No. 3 seed Darwin Blanch of the United States his final test.

Blanch, the 2021 USTA Boys 14s Clay Court Champion, started well, with the 14-year-old left-hander's power and transition game too much for Arcila in the first set. Blanch led 5-3 in the second set tiebreaker, but he had injured his knee a few points into the tiebreaker, which resulted in a 3-6, 7-6(5), 3-0 ret. win for Arcila.

"I just put the ball in as much times as I could," said Arcila, a 14-year-old from Medellin, who trains several months of the year in Florida. "I just tried to stay focused, because I knew if I won the tiebreak and we went to a third set, I was likely to win the match."