Costa Rica serves Copa del Café tennis tourney

Darling of U.S. tennis courts, Denis Kudla is set to take a swing at Costa Rica´s Copa del Café, which opens today at 6:45 p.m. at the Costa Rica Country Club in the western San José suburb of Escazú.

Kudla, a 16-year-old from the U.S. town of Arlington, Virginia, comes fresh on the heels of victory at the Dunlop Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in Miami, becoming the first U.S. citizen to win that trophy since 2003, according to the daily Miami Herald.

At Costa Rica´s Copa, one of the most competitive international tournaments for players 18 and under, the top seed faces such competitors as Guatemala´s Julen Uriguen, a 17-year-old who is second favorite to win in boys´ singles, the tournament´s organizational committee president Kenneth Thome told newswire AFP.

On the female roster, 15-year-old Timea Babos of Hungary is favored to win.