NICEVILLE, FL (November 11, 2018) -- The Bluewater Bay Pro Circuit Championships, a $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit event, has often served as a launching pad for rising stars on the ATP World Tour. Numerous past winners have gone on to compete in major tournaments, including the four grand slams.
Sunday, another star may well have gotten his start. 18-year-old Nicolas Mejia of Columbia, one of the highest ranked junior players in the world, captured his first pro title, defeating American Strong Kirchheimer 6-4 6-4 at the Bluewater Bay Tennis Center. Mejia trains in Florida at the IMG Academy, and showed off his clay court prowess all week in Niceville by extending rallies and showing off his excellent movement. He did not drop a set all week, winning ten in a row, losing no more than four games in any set.
“Nicolas has an incredibly bright future and was a pleasure to watch all week,” said Gary Bertoldo, Tournament Director. “To get through the draw he had without dropping a set all week is incredibly difficult.”
Mejia defeated the top three seeds in the tournament in route to the title. He earned 18 ATP World Tour ranking points, tripling his previous total of six, and will climb some 200 places in the ranknigs.
For Kirchheimer, a four-year letter-winner at Northwestern, it was another strong performance, finishing runner up in back to back weeks. He earned 10 ATP points and will climb inside the top 500 for the first time in his career.