There was history made at the 2021 Orange Bowl with, Team Dunlop player, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay becoming the first player from his country to claim an Orange Bowl title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Bruno Kuzuhara of the United States.
Vallejo was seeded 7th and had to deal with a raucous crowd who were largely supporting his American opponent. However, Vallejo silenced the crowd early, winning the first four games. There was a little bit of a wobble for the Paraguayan as his opponent held serve and then broke Vallejo back, giving the crowd some hope. However, Vallejo collected himself and broke back immediately and continued to dominate, leading to what was eventually a relatively straight forward victory.
Vallejo stated he was nervous, but figured maybe his opponent felt the pressure of the occasion even more.
“He’s playing in his home country, so I guess he has more pressure,” Vallejo said. “The first set was very good. He couldn’t do much because I was basically dominating. I mean he was missing, but I was mostly dominating.”
Next up for Vallejo is Australia, he is looking to travel there in the new year to take part in the Junior Championships in Melbourne.