Maria Camila Osorio Serrano Becomes First Colombian to Win US Open Girls’ Singles Title

Maria Camila Osorio Serrano has saved the best for last…

Competing in her last Grand Slam as a junior at Flushing Meadows, the Colombian tennis player put forth a near-perfect performance to defeat American qualifier Alexandra Yepifanova, 6-1, 6-0, to claim her maiden Grand Slam title, while becoming the first Colombian to win the girls’ singles title at the US Open.

Maria Camila Osorio Serrano

“It’s unreal,” Osorio Serrano said told reporters after the match. “It’s been a really great week for me—I’m just so happy and thankful for this, I can’t believe I won.”

The No.4-seed was large and in charge from the start of Sunday’s final on Court 17, opening the match with an ace to serve notice that she wasn’t experiencing any fatigue from Saturday’s double-header in Queens. The same could not be said for Yepifanova, who struggled to find her footing after battling through two three-setters to reach the final on Saturday in New York.

Osorio Serrano would break for 2-0 in the opening set with a forehand volley winner into the open court that was met with a cacophony of cheers from a lively crowd of Colombian spectators.

Yepifanova broke in the third game with a crosscourt backhand winner to close to 2-1, but it would prove to be the only game she would win in the final. 

Osorio Serrano rolled through the next 10 games as the Colombians’ cheers from the bleachers inside Court 17 only grew louder.

Osorio Serrano won 60 of 93 points in the final and broke Yepifanova in all six of her service games.

“There was a lot of people from Colombia cheering for me,” Osorio Serrano said of the support she received all week from her fans. “I’m really thankful for this and I want to thank them because the whole week they have been supporting.”

Osorio Serrano, who’s coached by formerATPpro Alejandro Falla,  joins a select group of US Open girls’ singles champions that includes Victoria AzarenkaMarion Bartoli, Lindsay DavenportJennifer Capriatiand Amanda Anisimova.

Orantes Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

Rafael Nadal won his first and only U.S. Open title in 2010… But fellow Spaniard Manuel Orantes claimed the U.S. Open crown some 35 years before. And, now he’ll be forever immortalized in Newport, Rhode Island.

The 63-year-old Spanish tennis legend has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the master player category.

Manuel Orantes

Along with winning the 1975 U.S. Open by beating Jimmy Connors in straight sets in the final, Orantes was the runner-up to Bjorn Borg at the 1974 French Open.

Orantes reached No. 2 in the rankings in 1973, and he was in the year-ending top 10 for five consecutive years.

Along with Orantes, this year’s inductees will include former world No. 1 Jennifer Capriati and former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten.

The induction ceremony will be held on July 14, 2012 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.