Garrett Johns

by Harvey Fialkov

On Garrett Johns’ second match point, Victor Lilov ripped a forehand at the toes of the hard-charging Duke fifth-year senior, who scooped it up and delicately dropped it over the net with side spin and just off the line to capture his fifth $15,000 ITF World Tour singles title on a breezy Sunday afternoon on the clay courts of the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club in front of approximately 200 fans.

To see the incredible shot, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuutsfsMNas

“That might have been one of the best shots I ever hit; it was crazy,” smiled the second-seeded Johns after downing the third-seeded Lilov of Delray Beach 7-6 (1), 6-2 to win the 30^th annual Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation futures tournament and earn $2,160 as well as 15 ATP ranking points which puts him at No. 433 in the ATP rankings.

“It was super awesome and I’m so happy to win it,” he said.

Johns, 23, who defeated the 20-year-old Lilov in the semis of an ITF $15,000 in Boca Raton last November, out-served the Canadian native (also a citizen of Bulgaria and the U.S.) to the tune of 10 aces, while winning 74 percent of his first serves. After exchanging early breaks in the first set, Lilov pulled out an 8-deuce marathon game at 5-6, including staving off two sets points on his second kick serves, to force a tiebreaker.

“My serve definitely came up in the big moments,’’ Johns said. “Serving well put some pressure on his service games a little bit. After losing that long 6-5 game I had the mentality that it’s a tiebreaker and anybody can win, and not to let the last game affect me. I did that well.”

Johns, a left-handed writer who plays right-handed, is coached at Duke by Ramsey Smith, son of Hall of Fame player Stan Smith, who boasted a huge serve. Johns started the tiebreaker with an ace and never looked back as Lilov’s game and shoulders began to sag.

“Six months ago, you beat me and you did it again, so thanks,’’ Lilov joked in his post-match speech. “After that long 5-6 game he started serving great and after I missed my [fourth] backhand volley and went down 0-3 in the breaker it was pretty much over and nearly impossible to break him in the second set.

“All credit to Garrett. I played the best I did all week, but I have to become better.”

Lilov, a Junior Wimbledon finalist in 2021, who fell short of winning his second ITF title, will improve to No. 598 in the rankings, and head to Orange Park in Orlando next week to compete in another $15K. He’s coached by Rudy Diaz, who operates the Developmental Tennis Institute in Miramar.

Johns, an Atlanta native who’s moving to Boca Raton after the college season, won three ITF $15,000 singles tournaments and four ITF $25,000 doubles tournaments in 2023 while taking the college season off. He won another singles title in Memphis in 2022, so the lanky 5-foot-11 Johns is used to being the last man standing on Sundays.

“I think my college career has done that, playing for a team is kind of bigger than yourself,’’ said Johns, an All-American singles player, who will compete in the upcoming NCAA individual and singles regional tournament. “There’s a lot of pressure so after playing that and coming here with ad scoring, I feel kind of comfortable.”

Co-tournament director Randy Walker read the inscription on the perpetual Mike Rahaley Memorial Trophy that says: “We hope we never see you again!” The saying is a nod to Rahaley, the late tournament founder, who often joked with players in the finals of this entry-level pro tournament that he hoped he would never see them again, insinuating that he wanted them to move up to bigger and better tournaments and not toil in the beginning levels of pro tennis.

“Now, I’m focused on playing some Challengers and getting to qualifying rounds for Grand Slams, but first I have to focus on finishing the college season,’’ Johns said.

American teens first pro title

Cooper Woestendick and Alexander Razeghi, a couple of 17-year-old Americans, showed that taking out the top-seeds in the second round wasn’t a fluke as the enthusiastic duo won their first professional title Saturday evening in front of a spirited crowd.

The 6-foot-3 lanky Woestendick, who was part of a doubles team to win the Junior Australian Open title in January, earned his first career ranking points this week, as he and Razeghi, his left-handed partner, eked out a 6-4, 4-6 (10-3) victory over brothers Alex, 25, and Miles Jones, 23, of Marina del Rey, Calif., in blustery conditions.

“It got pretty stressful for a second and then a tiebreaker, but we’re glad we got it done,’’ said Stanford-bound Razeghi, from Humble, Texas, who has won six Gold balls for winning USTA National tournaments.

The 6-foot-3 Woestendick from Olathe, Kan., who boasts a huge serve, had never won a pro doubles match in the two tournaments he entered in Wichita the last two years, was thrilled to notch his first ATP doubles singles and doubles ranking point this week.

“It’s cool,’’ Woestendick said of his doubles’ title. “No one can ever take that away from us that we won a professional tournament. Obviously, we both have a good future.”

By Harvey Fialkov

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, Calif., 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 long-time British coach Damion Jackson was proud of his disciples 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 Grant his first lesson at age 3 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 his mettle, that helped him get to three ITF $15K finals last year (2 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 have 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.”

Garrett Johns

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