VERO BEACH -- On Garrett Johns’ second match point, Victor Lilov ripped a forehand at the toes of the hard-charging Duke fifth-year senior, who scooped it up and delicately dropped it over the net with side spin and just off the line to capture his fifth $15,000 ITF World Tour singles title on a breezy Sunday afternoon on the clay courts of the Vero Beach Tennis & Fitness Club.

“That might have been one of the best shots I ever hit; it was crazy,” smiled the second-seeded Johns after downing the third-seeded Lilov of Delray Beach 7-6 (1), 6-2 to win the 30th annual Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation futures tournament and earn $2,160 as well as 15 ranking points which puts him at 433rd in the ATP rankings.

“It was super awesome and I’m so happy to win it.”

Johns, 23, who defeated the 20-year-old Lilov in the semis of an ITF $15,000 in Boca Raton last November, out-served the Canadian native (also a citizen of Bulgaria and the U.S.) to the tune of 10 aces, while winning 74 percent of his first serves. After exchanging early breaks in the first set, Lilov pulled out an 8-deuce marathon game at 5-6, including staving off two sets points on his second kick serves, to force a tiebreaker.

“My serve definitely came up in the big moments,’’ Johns said. “Serving well put some pressure on his service games a little bit. After losing that long 6-5 game I had the mentality that it’s a tiebreaker and anybody can win, and not to let the last game affect me. I did that well.”

Garrett Johns defeated Victor Lilov in straight sets to win the Mardy Fish ITF $15,000 championship Sunday afternoon at Timber Ridge.

Johns, a left-handed writer who plays right-handed, is coached at Duke by Ramsey Smith, son of Hall of Fame player Stan Smith, who boasted a huge serve. Johns started the tiebreaker with an ace and never looked back as Lilov’s game and shoulders began to sag.

“Six months ago, you beat me and you did it again, so thanks,’’ Lilov joked in his post-match speech. “After that long 5-6 game he started serving great and after I missed my [fourth] backhand volley and went down 0-3 in the breaker it was pretty much over and nearly impossible to break him in the second set.

“All credit to Garrett. I played the best I did all week, but I have to become better.”

Lilov, a Junior Wimbledon finalist in 2021, who fell short of winning his second ITF title, will improve to 598 in the rankings, and head to Orange Park in Orlando next week to compete in another $15K. He’s coached by Rudy Diaz, who operates the Developmental Tennis Institute in Miramar.

Johns, an Atlanta native who’s moving to Boca Raton after the college season, won three ITF $15,000 singles tournaments and four ITF $25,000 doubles tournaments in 2023 while taking the college season off. He won another singles title in Memphis in 2022, so the lanky 5-foot-11 Johns is used to being the last man standing on Sundays.

“I think my college career has done that, playing for a team is kind of bigger than yourself,’’ said Johns, an All-American singles player, who will compete in the upcoming NCAA individual and singles regional tournament. “There’s a lot of pressure so after playing that and coming here with ad scoring, I feel kind of comfortable.”

Co-tournament director Randy Walker read the inscription on the perpetual pineapple trophy that says: “We hope we never see you again!” That’s because most of these teenagers and 20-somethings have much bigger dreams than toiling in the minor leagues, chasing ranking points around the world in order to reach the ATP Tour.

“Now, I’m focused on playing some Challengers and getting to qualifying rounds for Grand Slams, but first I have to focus on finishing the college season,’’ Johns said.

American teens first pro title

Cooper Woestendick and Alexander Razeghi, a couple of 17-year-old Americans, showed that taking out the top-seeds in the second round wasn’t a fluke as the enthusiastic duo won their first professional title Saturday evening in front of a spirited crowd.

The 6-foot-3 lanky Woestendick, who was part of a doubles team to win the Junior Australian Open title in January, earned his first career ranking points this week, as he and Razeghi, his left-handed partner, eked out a 6-4, 4-6 (10-3) victory over brothers Alex, 25, and Miles Jones, 23, of Marina del Rey, Calif., in blustery conditions.

“It got pretty stressful for a second and then a tiebreaker, but we’re glad we got it done,’’ said Stanford-bound Razeghi, from Humble, Texas, who has won six Gold balls for winning USTA National tournaments.

The 6-foot-3 Woestendick from Olathe, Kan., who boasts a huge serve, had never won a pro doubles match in the two tournaments he entered in Wichita the last two years, was thrilled to notch his first ATP doubles singles and doubles ranking point this week.

“It’s cool,’’ Woestendick said of his doubles’ title. “No one can ever take that away from us that we won a professional tournament. Obviously, we both have a good future.”