IMG Academy’s Miomir Kecmanovic caps dominant week with Eddie Herr title

Less than 24 hours earlier, Miomir Kecmanovic and Benjamin Sigouin had stood together in celebration on Court 1 at IMG Academy, clutching matching trophies and posing for a photo beneath an IMG banner. As doubles teammates, they had made short work of their opponents, winning in two sets in well under an hour. They had established themselves as the clear top two at the Eddie Herr.

They returned to the court early Sunday afternoon in Bradenton, this time as opponents. Serbia’s Kecmanovic, an Ascender playing on a familiar clay court, is No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation’s junior rankings. Canada’s Sigouin was the No. 2 seed at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament.

The two weren’t on the court long. Kecmanovic dismantled Sigouin 6-2, 6-1 at the Eddie Herr ITF for his second championship of the weekend. After winning doubles a year ago, Kecmanovic has three trophies at the tournament in a two-year stretch before his 18th birthday.

“It’s always very nice to win both every tournament, but it doesn’t happen that often, so I enjoy these moments very much,” Kecmanovic said. “I think I’m going to take this and just relax at Orange Bowl and try to play my best.

With the two wins, Kecmanovic proved his place as the top junior in the world. His rise began nearly a year ago with a win at the Orange Bowl in Plantation and brought him to the top spot last month after his win at the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano in Mexico City. Instead of resting and taking his No. 1 ranking into next week’s Orange Bowl, Kecmanovic placed his reputation on the line at the school he’s called home for the past four years, and he delivered a dominant week of play.

Kecmanovic dropped one set during the week — in his semifinal against Turkey’s Ergi Kirkin on Saturday — and was never in trouble against Sigouin. The Canadian’s only lead during either set was a 1-0 edge during the second, which Kecmanovic promptly turned into a 6-1 rout.

“He was brave enough to put it on the line and not too many people would do that,” said Nick Bollettieri, who founded IMG Academy as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978, “but in order to be the best at anything in life you need to put it on the line.”

Bollettieri has known Kecmanovic since the 17-year-old came to Florida from Belgrade four years ago. Kecmanovic was a bit of a hothead then, Bollettieri said, which has almost entirely faded as he’s risen to No. 1.

The only set he dropped at the Herr happened to be the one time he wavered. Kirkin’s mobility and defense gave Kecmanovic trouble — the powerful ground strokes Kecmanovic used to bully his way to the championship didn’t always get past Kirkin. Kecmanovic tried to be overly precise and the No. 12 seed was able to steal a set.

Kecmanovic stayed home at the baseline for almost all of Sunday’s final and simply overpowered Sigouin, recording three aces during the second set. Bollettieri said Kecmanovic needs to become more comfortable coming to the net to excel at the professional level, but for now he has a style that works.

“The goal this year was to be No. 1 and to finish 1,” Kecmanovic said. “I did that right now, so I’m very proud of myself, very happy with the way I played and performed this week, so I hope I can do the same at the Orange Bowl.”

The girls championship provided a more competitive week. None of the top five seeds reached the quarterfinals, leaving sixth-seeded Varvara Gracheva to face 12th-seeded Maria Lourdes Carle in the championship.

Argentina’s Carle fell into an early hole before fighting back to top the Russian 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 that included digging out of a 4-2 deficit during the second in a match that took nearly three hours.

“This match was more hard for me because I stayed 1-0 and 4-2 down. I thought I lost the match,” Carle said. “I found my play, and this is the most important for me and for my career.”

This story was originally published December 4, 2016 at 6:48 PM with the headline "IMG Academy’s Miomir Kecmanovic caps dominant week with Eddie Herr title."