Special from
Zoo Tennis
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HOUSTON - With a new venue and an earlier date on the calendar, the International Tennis Federation J300 Pan American Closed was venturing into new territory last week. Yet when an increasingly hot and humid week drew to a close, the top two seeds in both boys and girls draws had made the finals, with No. 1 seed Alex Frusina (WTN 9.5) defeating fellow Houston-area resident Alex Razeghi 7-5, 6-2 and No. 2 seed Maya Joint (WTN 12.3) of Australia outlasting Tyra Grant 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to claim their first ITF J300 titles.
Boys Singles Champion Alex Frusina
© Zoo Tennis
Frusina, who turns 18 in December, wasn't planning to play the event until June's announcement that it would be held at the Giammalva Racquet Club in Houston, where he had trained for several years from age 9. But the chance to play a major ITF junior event less than an hour away from his home in Conroe piqued his interest, and by tournament time Frusina was riding a wave of success that began with the Kalamazoo 18s doubles title, then continued with a semifinal at the J300 in College Park and a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open Junior Championships.
The 17-year-old Razeghi (WTN 7.5), who has another year of ITF Junior Circuit eligibility, also trained at the Giammalva Elite Tennis Academy, with the Humble, Texas resident coming in with high expectations as well after reaching the final at the J300 in College Park last month.
