Florida Gators

BRADENTON, Fla. – Returning to familiar courts at IMG Academy for the Eddie Herr International Junior Championship, Florida freshman Jonah Braswell ended his junior career on a high note as the runner-up at the ITF J1 tournament.
 
Starting off the tournament scorching hot, Braswell won his first and second matches in straight sets. In both victories, the freshman collected a bagel in the second set of each to secure the wins over Reiya Hattori from Japan 6-4, 6-0 and Atakan Karahan from Turkey 6-3, 6-0, respectively.
 
The first sign of push back came in the third round and quarterfinal, as the two matches went the distance. Braswell dropped his first set against Patrick Schoen from Switzerland 6-4, but responded convincingly 6-1 and 6-2, respectively in the following frames to advance to the quarterfinal. Another battle awaited with Danil Panarin from Russia where Braswell jumped out to a 6-4 first set, but Panarin answered with a 6-3 second frame. Braswell punched his ticket into the semis thanks to a 6-3 final set.
 
In the semifinal with France's Tiago Pires, Braswell's match didn't last long as Pires retired behind 6-1, 2-0. This marked Braswell's first J1 semifinal and clinched his chance at the title.
 
Another French foe remained for Braswell as the Sarasota, Fla. native took on Arthur Gea for the title. Braswell went down fighting and gave it all he had in the 7-6 (4), 6-2 defeat by Gea.
 
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