Bernard, Damm and Montgomery Advance to Australian Open Juniors Round of 16, Kenin Reaches Semifinals; Oracle ATP Challenger and WTA 125 Underway in Newport Beach; Gauff Named to Fed Cup

Three American juniors have advanced to the round of 16 at the Australian Open, with No. 2 seeds Martin Damm and qualifier Alex Bernard, the past two Kalamazoo 16s champions, coming back from a set down, while No. 2 seed Robin Montgomery won in straight sets.  Damm defeated Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, getting the only break of the second and third sets and holding on for the win. Bernard wasn't able to close out fellow qualifier Corban Crowther of New Zealand serving at 5-4, but he broke and made good on his second chance for a 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5 win. Montgomery also couldn't finish at her first opportunity against Pia Lovric of Slovenia, but she broke and held to avoid a tiebreaker. For more on Montgomery, see this article from the ITF website.

Wednesday(tonight), Damm plays unseeded Lilian Marmousez of France, who beat Damm in the second round at last month's Orange Bowl. Bernard faces top seed Harold Mayot of France, while Montgomery is playing qualifier Olivia Gadecki of Australia.

Savannah Broadus and Ellie Coleman, who are unseeded, have reached the doubles quarterfinals and will play the unseeded team of Sofia Costoulas of Belgium and Antonia Ruzic of Croatia Wednesday.

Tuesday’s second round junior singles matches featuring Americans:
Harold Mayot[1](FRA) d. Aidan Mayo 6-2, 6-3
Martin Damm[2] d. Hamad Medjedovic(SRB) 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4
Alex Bernard[Q] d. Corban Crowther[Q](NZL) 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5
Robin Montgomery[2] d. Pia Lovric(SLO) 6-3, 7-5
Weronika Baszak(POL) d. Ellie Coleman 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3

Wednesday’s second round junior singles matches featuring Americans:
Robin Montgomery[2] v Olivia Gadecki[Q](AUS)
Alex Bernard[Q] v Harold Mayot[1](FRA)
Martin Damm[2] v Lilian Marmousez(FRA)

No. 14 seed Sofia Kenin reached the semifinals in women's singles, defeating unseeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-4, 6-4. Tennys Sandgren(Tennessee) lost a heartbreaker against No. 3 Roger Federer, failing to convert seven match points in a 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3 loss.

The big tournaments this week in the United States are in Newport Beach California, where the Oracle Challenger series features a WTA 125 event and an ATP Challenger 125. Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe both took wild cards and are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. Other men receiving wild cards are Michael Redlicki(Arkansas), UCLA sophomore Govind Nanda and Ulises Blanch. In the women's event, Jessica Pegula and Taylor Townsend are the top two seeds, with wild cards going to Allie Kiick, Kayla Day, Katie Volynets and Sophie Whittle(Gonzaga). Draws are here.

The other tournament this week in the United States is a men's $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Weston Florida. Javier Barranco Cosano of Spain is the top seed, with wild cards going to Toby Kodat, Logan Zapp, Emilio Nava and Rowland Phillips of Jamaica. Alex Rybakov(TCU) and Zane Khan were the two Americans to get through qualifying.

The USTA announced its Fed Cup team for next month's tie with Latvia, and Coco Gauff is among those chosen by Captain Kathy Rinaldi. Gauff is not likely to see action in singles, with Serena Williams, Kenin and Alison Riske also on the team, but this is a great opportunity for her to get high-level practice sessions, as this does not count against her maximum number of WTA tournaments before she resets the counter on her 16th birthday in March. For more about the US and Latvian teams and the event in Everett Washington, see USTA this article. Former Arkansas All-American Adrians Zguns(2002-2006) is the Latvian Fed Cup captain.

Top Girls Seed Jacquemot Beaten at Australian Open; Les Petits As Underway; Paraguay Grade 1 Draws Few Americans; Banerjee Claims Grade 4 Title

The five American juniors remaining at the Australian Open are back on the court Tuesday (tonight in the US) for their second round matches, which tournament organizers split between Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, top seed Elsa Jacquemot of France went out, to Alexandra Vecic of Germany, by a score of 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Jacquemot was one of three girls seeds to lose in the second round, with No. 6 seed Maria Bondarenko of Russia and No. 10 seed Melodie Collard of Canada also eliminated.

Boys No. 3 seed Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan, who has nearly twice as many points from doubles as singles (only 25% of doubles points are used for rankings however), lost to Martin Krumich of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2. Mitsui was one of four seeds ousted in the second round, with No. 8 Khololwam Montsi of South Africa, No. 14 Hanwen Li of China and No. 16 seed Terence Atmane of France joining him on the sidelines.

In doubles, Savannah Broadus and Ellie Coleman have advanced to the second round, as has Dali Blanch, who is playing with Alexander Hoogmartens of Belgium. No. 2 seeds Robin Montgomery and Polina Kudermetova of Russia lost their first round match.

Tuesday’s second round junior singles matches featuring Americans:
Aidan Mayo v Harold Mayot[1](FRA)
Martin Damm[2] v Hamad Medjedovic(SRB)
Alex Bernard[Q] v Corban Crowther[Q](NZL)
Robin Montgomery[2] v Pia Lovric(SLO)
Ellie Coleman v Weronika Baszak(POL)

Junior matches have been streaming, although occasionally without any audio, via ESPN Plus.

Coco Gauff and Caty McNally have advanced to the quarterfinals in women's doubles, as have Jennifer Brady(UCLA) and Caroline Dolehide.

In Tuesday's singles quarterfinals featuring Americans, No. 14 seed Sofia Kenin plays unseeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Tennys Sandgren(Tennessee) faces No. 3 seed Roger Federer of Switzerland.

Les Petits As, the prestigious 14-and-under tournament in Tarbes France began today, with eight Americans competing for titles. Atakan Karahan of Turkey is the No. 1 boys seed and Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic is the No. 1 girls seed.

Clervie Ngounoue, who did not play the Bolton tournament last week, is the No. 5 seed this week in Tarbes, and she won her first round match today, as did Brooklyn Olson. Lexington Reed and Maya Joint are on Tuesday's schedule. Bolton champion Alexander Razeghi, the No. 5 seed, won his first round match today, as did Kaylan Bigun. Mitchell Lee and Bolton finalist Nikita Filin, the No. 13 seed, play their opening round matches Tuesday.  Live scoring is available at Tennis Ticker.

Last week's titles at the ITF Grade 1 in Ecuador went to No. 3 seed Julia Garcia of Mexico and No. 14 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy. Garcia defeated Colombia Grade 1 champion Dana Guzman of Peru, the No. 5 seed, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) in the final, while Darderi took out No. 5 seed Alex Barrena of Argentina 6-4, 6-3. It's the first Grade 1 title for both the 16-year-old Garcia and the 17-year-old Darderi.

This week's South American ITF Grade 1 is in Paraguay, with just one American boy, No. 9 seed Bruno Kuzuhara, and four American girls, No. 2 seed Madison Sieg, No. 5 seed Isabelle Kouzmanov, No. 13 seed Rebecca Lynn and qualifier Krystal Blanch, in the draw. The seeds all had first round byes, but Blanch did advance to the second round with a win today. Guzman is the top girls seed; Martin Breysach of France, who like Guzman is the Colombian Grade 1 champion, is the No. 1 seed in the boys draw.

Sixteen-year-old Samir Banerjee captured his second ITF junior singles title last week at the ITF Grade 4 in Kenya. The No. 5 seed, Banerjee came back to defeat No. 6 seed Maximilian Homberg of Germany 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

Noel Wins $15K Title; Sandgren and Kenin Reach Australian Open Quarterfinals; Five US Juniors Advance at AO; ITA Kick-off Weekend Final Results

Alexa Noel, playing in her first event since the beginning of November, won her first ITF World Tennis Tour title today at the $15,000 tournament in Cancun Mexico. The 17-year-old 2019 Wimbledon girls finalist was unseeded this week, but took out top seed and 2018 NCAA champion Arienne Hartono(Ole Miss) of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and beat No. 5 seed Nika Kukharchuk(Ole Miss) of Russia 6-3, 6-2 in today's final. Noel didn't lose a set all week.

For the second straight week, no Americans made the quarterfinals at a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Florida. This week's tournament in Vero Beach was disrupted by rain, with two matches a day for several players on both Friday and Saturday. No. 6 seed Daniela Seguel of Chile won the title today, defeating No. 7 seed Tereza Mrdeza of Croatia 7-5, 6-4.  Two unseeded teams met in the doubles final, with Connie Hsu(Penn) of Taiwan and Panna Uvardy of Hungary taking the title with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 win over the Spanish team of Irene Burillo and Andrea Lazaro(Florida International).

Former University of Tennessee star Tennys Sandgren has reached a second Australian Open quarterfinal, with his first coming two years ago. Sandgren, currently 100 in the ATP rankings, defeated No. 12 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-4 to set up his first meeting with Roger Federer of Tuesday. For more on Sandgren's fourth round victory, see this article from the ATP.  Sofia Kenin is the other American still competing for a singles title in Melbourne, after the No. 14 seed came back to defeat Coco Gauff 6-7(5) 6-3, 6-0. Kenin's quarterfinal opponent Tuesday will be unseeded Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.
Sunday’s fourth round singles matches featuring Americans:

Ashleigh Barty[1](AUS) d. Alison Riske[18] 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Sofia Kenin[14] d. Coco Gauff 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0
Tennys Sandgren d. Fabio Fognini[12](ITA) 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-4

After going winless on Saturday's first day of junior competition in Australia, US competitors went 5-1 on Sunday. Kalamazoo 16s champion Alex Bernard, who went through qualifying, had a particularly impressive victory, beating No. 13 seed Nicholas David Ionel of Romania 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. Ionel won four straight ITF $15,000 tournaments last fall. In addition to Ionel, three other seeds boys went out in the first round: No. 15 Bu Yunchaokete of China, No. 11 Eliakim Coulibaly of Ivory Coast and No. 4 Jeffrey Von Der Schulenberg of Switzerland.  Four seeded girls also lost in the first round: No. 14 Selena Janicijevic of France, No. 7 Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia, No. 5 Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic and and No. 3 Kamilla Bartone of Latvia.

The ITF website spoke with No. 2 seed Martin Damm after his win on Sunday for this article. None of the five American juniors remaining are on Monday's schedule for singles.

Sunday’s first round junior singles matches featuring Americans: 5-1

Alex Bernard[Q] d. Nicholas David Ionel[13](ROU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
Aidan Mayo d. Viacheslav Bielinskyi[Q](UKR) 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1
Robin Montgomery[2] d. Sofia Costoulas(BEL) 6-1, 6-0
Martin Damm[2] d. Lorenzo Claverie(VEN) 6-4, 6-1
Ellie Coleman d. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz[WC](AUS) 6-4, 7-5
Ya Yi Yang(TPE) d. India Houghton[Q] 1-6, 6-3, 6-3

The ITA Division I Kick-off Weekend is winding down, with some blowouts, some close matches and a few surprises. Below are the results as of 6 p.m.; I will update the late Stanford - Cal and UCLA - Central Florida men's matches and the Princeton - USC women's match later tonight. The winners move on to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which for the women is February 7-10 in Chicago, and for the men is February 14-17 in Madison.

All results are below. I've used bold type for the No. 1 seeds, who were hosting, who lost this weekend.

Women:(Friday/Saturday)

North Carolina[1] d. Auburn[4] 4-0

Old Dominion[2] d. Columbia[3] 4-1

FINAL: North Carolina[1] d. Old Dominion[2] 4-1

UCLA[1] d. Minnesota 4-0

Loyola Marymount[3] d. Gonzaga[2] 4-0

FINAL: UCLA[1] d. Loyola Marymount[3] 4-0

Vanderbilt[1] d. Penn[4] 4-0

Arizona State[3] d. Northwestern[2] 4-2

FINAL: Arizona State[3] d. Vanderbilt[1] 4-3

Texas[1] d. Iowa[4] 4-0

LSU[2] d. Texas Tech[3] 4-1

FINAL: Texas[1] d. LSU[2] 4-0

Tennessee[4] d. Kansas[1] 4-2

Virginia[3] d. Cal[2] 4-1

FINAL: Virginia[3] d. Tennessee[4] 4-3

Saturday/Sunday:

South Carolina[1] d. Purdue[4] 4-0

Georgia Tech[2] d. Wisconsin[3] 4-0

FINAL: Georgia Tech[2] d. South Carolina[1] 4-1

Duke[1] d. Kansas State[4] 4-0

Tulsa[3] d. Mississippi State[2] 4-3

FINAL: Duke[1] d. Tulsa[2] 4-0

Stanford[1] d. South Florida[4] 4-0

Washington State[2] d. Denver[3] 4-0

FINAL: Stanford[1] d. Washington State[2] 4-0

Oklahoma State[1] d. San Diego[4] 4-0

Ohio State[3] d. Wake Forest[2] 4-2

FINAL: Ohio State[3] d. Oklahoma State[1] 4-3

Florida State[1] d. UC-Santa Barbara[4] 4-1

Texas A&M[2] d. Miami[3] 4-2

FINAL: Florida State[1] d. Texas A&M[2] 4-0

Georgia[1] d. Michigan State[4] 7-0

Notre Dame[2] d. Furman[3] 4-2

FINAL: Georgia[1] d. Notre Dame[2] 5-2

Michigan[1] d. Ole Miss[4] 4-2

Central Florida[2] d. Utah[3] 4-3

FINAL: Michigan[1] d. Central Florida[2] 4-2

NC State[1] d. Rice[4] 4-2

Florida[2] d. Oklahoma[3] 4-3

FINAL: NC State[1] d. Florida[2] 4-0

Pepperdine[1] d. UNLV[4] 4-0

Arkansas[2] d. Arizona[3] 4-2

FINAL: Pepperdine[1] d. Arkansas[2] 4-1

USC[2] d. Kentucky[3] 4-3

Princeton[4] d. Washington[1] 4-3

FINAL: Princeton[4] d. USC[2] 4-3

Men:(Friday/Saturday)

Ole Miss[4] d. Illinois[1] 4-3

Michigan[2] d. Texas Tech[3] 4-3

FINAL: Michigan[2] d. Ole Miss[4] 4-3

Wake Forest[1] d. E Tenn State[4] 4-2

Kentucky[3] d. Penn State[2] 4-1

FINAL: Wake Forest[1] d. Kentucky[3] 4-2

Saturday/Sunday:

South Carolina[3] d. Oklahoma[2] 4-0

Georgia[4] d. Mississippi St[1] 4-1

FINAL: South Carolina[3] d. Georgia[4] 4-3

Tennessee[1] d. Arizona State[4] 4-0

Columbia[2] d. Oklahoma State[3] 4-0

FINAL: Columbia[2] d. Tennessee[1] 4-2

USC[1] d. UNC-Wilmington[4] 4-0

Santa Clara[3] d. UC-Santa Barbara[2] 4-3

FINAL: USC[1] d. Santa Clara[3] 4-0

Texas[1] d. Indiana[4] 4-0

Florida State[2] d. Vanderbilt[3] 4-2

FINAL: Texas[1]d. Florida State[2] 4-0

Baylor[1] d. Gonzaga[4] 4-0

Louisville[2] d. New Mexico[3] 4-1

FINAL: Baylor[1] d. Louisville[2] 4-1

TCU[1] d. Florida Atlantic[4] 4-0

Arizona[3] d. Notre Dame[2] 4-2

FINAL: TCU[1] d. Arizona[3] 4-0

Ohio State[1] d. Purdue[4] 4-0

Tulsa[3] d. Utah[2] 4-2

FINAL: Ohio State[1] d. Tulsa[3] 4-0

Virginia[1] d. Memphis[4] 4-0

NC State[2] d. Utah State[3]4-0

FINAL: NC State[2] d. Virginia[1] 4-1

North Carolina[1] d. Elon[4] 4-0

Georgia State[2] d. Old Dominion 4-2

FINAL: North Carolina[1] d. Georgia State[2] 4-0

Florida[1] d. Temple[4] 4-0

South Florida[2] d. Fresno State[3] 4-2

FINAL: Florida[1] d. South Florida[2] 4-0

Texas A&M[1] d. South Alabama[4] 4-0

Georgia Tech[2] d. Oregon[3] 4-3

FINAL: Texas A&M[1] d. Georgia Tech[2] 4-0

UCLA[1] d. San Diego State[4] 4-1

Central Florida[3] d. San Diego[2] 4-3

FINAL: UCLA[1] d. Central Florida[3] 4-3

Stanford[1] d. Tulane[4] 4-1

Cal[2] d. Miami[3] 4-0

FINAL: Stanford[1] d. Cal[2] 4-0

Junior Orange Bowl Videos, Photo Gallery; US Juniors Looking for First Win on Day Two of Australian Open Junior Championships

I've completed the processing of the videos of the finals of the Junior Orange Bowl last month in Coral Gables and they are below. There is just one video for the B14s final, because it was possible to be above and behind that particular court. There are also very brief videos from the third place match at the B12s at Salvadore Park, which can be found by going to my YouTube channel via these links for Manas Dhamne and Calvin Baierl.

The photo gallery of all 16 Junior Orange Bowl semifinalists is up at the Tennis Recruiting Network via this link.

B14s JOB final

Stephanie Yakoff

Kayla Cross

Mirra Andreeva

Yelyzaveta Kotliar

Benjamin Gusic Wan

Alejandro Arcila

Saturday was not a good day for Americans at the Australian Open, with all six Americans in singles action losing their matches. At least one American woman will advance to the quarterfinals however, with Sofia Kenin and Coco Gauff playing each other Sunday.

Women: 0-1
Elise Mertens[16](BEL) d. Cici Bellis 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-0

Men: 0-2
Dominic Thiem[5](AUT) d. Taylor Fritz[29] 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4
Stan Wawrinka[15](SUI) d. John Isner[19] 6-4, 4-1, ret.

Saturday’s first round junior singles matches featuring Americans:

Hanwen Li[14](CHN) d. Dali Blanch 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
Khololwam Montsi[8](RSA) d. Cash Hanzlik[Q] 6-4, 6-1
Aubane Drouget(FRA) d. Savannah Broadus 7-6(8), 6-4

Sunday’s fourth round singles matches featuring Americans:

Alison Riske[18] v Ashleigh Barty[1](AUS)
Coco Gauff v Sofia Kenin[14]
Tennys Sandgren v Fabio Fognini[12](ITS)

Sunday’s first round junior singles matches featuring Americans:
Alex Bernard[Q] v Nicholas David Ionel[13](ROU)
Aidan Mayo v Viacheslav Bielinskyi[Q](UKR)
Robin Montgomery[2] v Sofia Costoulas(BEL)
Martin Damm[2] v Lorenzo Claverie(VEN)
Ellie Coleman v Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz[WC](AUS)
India Houghton[Q] v Ya Yi Yang(TPE)

The junior doubles draws were released Saturday with Arthur Cazaux and Harold Mayot of France the top boys seeds and Kamilla Bartone of Latvia and Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic the No. 1 seeds in the girls draw.

As for the Americans, Savannah Broadus and Ellie Coleman play India Houghton and her partner Celia Mohr of France in the first round. Robin Montgomery is playing with Polina Kudermetova of Russia, and they are the No. 2 seeds. Qualifiers Alex Bernard and Cash Hanzlik are partners this week, with Aidan Mayo playing with regular partner Lorenzo Claverie of Venezuela. Dali Blanch is partnering with Alexander Hoogmartens of Belgium. All four US boys in the doubles draw (Martin Damm is not entered) are in the top half and play Sunday (tonight in the US). The US girls, all in the bottom half, are not on Sunday's schedule.

My Conversation with Brandon Nakashima; Razeghi Wins Bolton; Three Americans Qualify for Australian Open Juniors; Gauff Ousts Osaka; ITA Kick-off Weekend Underway

At the Ann Arbor Challenger earlier this month, I had an opportunity to talk with Brandon Nakashima about his decision to strike out on the pro tour after one season at Virginia. We spoke about his success last fall on the Challenger circuit and how that informed his decision, and what he gained from his experiences during those five months in Charlottesville. For more on Nakashima's decision, see this article for the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Alexander Razeghi earned his second title of the week at the Tennis Europe Teen Tennis International tournament in Bolton England today, beating fellow American Nikita Filin 6-3, 6-0 in the singles final. Razeghi, the No. 9 seed, won the doubles title Thursday with Mitchell Lee. The US has now won three of the past four boys singles titles in Bolton, with Toby Kodat claiming the title in 2017 and Victor Lilov earning it in 2018.

The girls title went to unseeded Mingge Xu of Great Britain, who defeated No. 8 seed Hephzibah Oluwadare, also of Great Britain, 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

I still can't find any scores from the final round of Australian Open Junior Championships qualifying on the ITF website, but the main draws are now posted on the Australian Open website, so I know that Alex Bernard, Cash Hanzlik and India Houghton won their matches and will move on to the main site in Melbourne. Those three join Robin Montgomery[2], Ellie Coleman, Savannah Broadus, Martin Damm[2], Aidan Mayo and Dali Blanch as Americans in the main draw.

Friday's matches produced some surprising results in the women's draw, with Serena Williams going out to Qiang Wang of China in three sets and Coco Gauff eliminating defending champion and No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-3, 6-4.  Osaka didn't play well, but Gauff took advantage of her position as underdog and used her serve effectively to avenge her loss to Osaka in the US Open last year. Gauff, who won the Bolton Teen Tennis title in 2017, is the first player to reach the second week at two slams before turning 16 since Martina Hingis did it in 1995-96. For more on Gauff's win, see this article from the WTA website.  Gauff plays Sofia Kenin on Sunday.

Friday’s third round singles matches featuring Americans:

Women: 3-2
Qiang Wang[27](CHN) d. Serena Williams[8] 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5
Coco Gauff d. Naomi Osaka[3](JPN) 6-3, 6-4
Maria Sakkari[22](GRE) d. Madison Keys[10] 6-4, 6-4
Sofia Kenin[14] d. Shuai ZhangCHN) 7-5, 7-6(7)
Alison Riske[18] d. Julia Goerges(GER) 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-2

Men: 1-2
Marton Fucsovics(HUN) d. Tommy Paul 6-1, 6-1, 6-4
Tennys Sandgren d. Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Saturday’s third round singles matches featuring Americans:

Women:
Cici Bellis v Elise Mertens[16](BEL)

Men:
Taylor Fritz[29] v Dominic Thiem[5](AUT)
John Isner[19] v Stan Wawrinka[15](SUI)

Saturday’s first round junior singles matches featuring Americans:

Dali Blanch v Hanwen Li[14](CHN)
Cash Hanzlik[Q] v Khololwam Montsi[8](RSA)
Savannah Broadus v Aubane Drouget(FRA)

The annual ITA Kick-off Weekend, which serves as a play-in event for next month's National Team Indoor Championships, began today at seven sites, with 23 more four-team competitions getting underway Saturday. The Men's Division I National Team Indoor is at the University of Wisconsin February 14-17 and the Women's Division I National Team Indoor is being hosted by the University of Illinois in Chicago February 7-10.

College Tennis Ranks has supplied both a men's and a women's Kick-off Weekend page, while Bobby Knight also has a page for the event at College Tennis Today, with links to video and live scoring.

Americans Filin and Razeghi Reach Bolton Final; Mayot and Jacquemot of France Top Seeds at Australian Open Junior Championships; Bellis's Comeback Continues

After claiming both the girls and boys doubles titles today at the Tennis Europe Teen Tennis International in Bolton England, the United States will earn a third title on Friday, when No. 9 seed Alexander Razeghi and unseeded Nikita Filin face off for the boys singles championship.

Razeghi defeated No. 7 seed Viktor Frydrych of Great Britain 6-1, 6-4, while Filin took out unseeded Jamie Diack, also of Great Britain 7-6(2), 7-5.

Razeghi has already earned one title at Filin's expense, in the doubles final, when he and Mitchell Lee, the No. 8 seeds, beat Filin and Kaylan Bigun, the No. 4 seeds, 6-4, 6-4.

In the girls doubles final, also between two American teams, No. 7 seeds Brooklyn Olson and Mia Slama defeated unseeded Lexington Reed and Maya Joint 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.

While the boys singles final is all-USA, the girls singles final is all-Great Britain, with Mingge Xu and Hephzibah Oluwadare meeting for the title. The unseeded Xu defeated No. 4 seed Sarah Iliev of France 6-4, 6-3 and Oluwadare beat No. 3 seed Anastasiia Firman of Ukraine 6-2, 6-4. Both Xu and Oluwadare played the Junior Orange Bowl 12s last month, so they are younger than many of those in the draw in this 14-and-under event.

The draws for the Australian Open Junior Championships, which begin Saturday (Friday night in the US), have been released, although without the qualifiers. I'm not sure if the qualifying is over and the results haven't been posted on the ITF website, or there was a delay in finishing, but as of now, there are just six Americans in the draws: Martin Damm[2], Dali Blanch, Aidan Mayo, Robin Montgomery[2], Savannah Broadus and Ellie Coleman.

As I pointed out back in December, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines did not enter, but it must have been a mistake on her part, because she was granted a wild card. The seeds:

Australian Open Junior Seeds:

1. Harold Mayot(FRA)
2. Martin Damm(USA)
3. Shunsuke Mitsui(JPN)
4. Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg(SUI)
5. Arthur Cazaux(FRA)
6. Leandro Riedi(SUI)
7. Dominic Stricker(SUI)
8. Khololwam Montsi(RSA)
9. Flavio Cobolli(ITA)
10. Dalibor Svrcina(CZE)
11. Eliakim Coulibaly(CIV)
12. Karlis Ozolins(LAT)
13. Nicholas David Ionel(ROU)
14. Hanwen Li (CHN)
15. Bu Yunchaokete(CHN)
16. Terence Atmane(FRA)

1. Elsa Jacquemot(FRA)
2. Robin Montgomery(USA)
3. Kamilla Bartone(LAT)
4. Alexandra Eala[WC](PHI)
5. Linda Fruhvirtova(CZE)
6. Maria Bondarenko(RUS)
7. Oksana Selekhmeteva(RUS)
8. Polina Kudermetova(RUS)
9. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva(AND)
10. Melodie Collard(CAN)
11. Mai Nirundorn(THA)
12. Ane Mintegi Del Olmo(ESP)
13. Zhuoxuan Bai(CHN)
14. Selena Janicijevic(FRA)
15. Priska Nugroho(INA)
16. Hong Yi Cody Wong(HKG)

Americans picked up three second round wins Friday at the Australian Open, with Taylor Fritz coming from two sets down to beat Kevin Anderson and John Isner getting a straight-sets victory. That gives the US five men in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time since 2008. Only four can make it to the round of 16, with Sam Querrey and Tennys Sandgren playing each other tonight.

The third American win Friday was by Cici Bellis, who defeated No. 20 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4. The 20-year-old Bellis, who won her first slam match at age 15, will be playing in a slam third round for the third time, but first since 2017, after two years of injuries and surgery. For more on her long battle to return, see this Associated Press article.

Thursday’s second round singles matches featuring Americans:

Women: 1-3
Elina Svitolina[5](UKR) d. Lauren Davis  6-2, 7-6(6)
Cici Bellis d. Karolina Muchova[20](CZE) 6-4, 6-4
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova[30](RUS) d. Taylor Townsend 7-5, 7-6(1)
Yulia Putintseva(KAZ) d. Danielle Collins[26] 6-4, 2-6, 7-5

Men: 2-0
Taylor Fritz[29] d. Kevin Anderson(RSA) 4-6, 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2
John Isner[19] d. Alejandro Tabilo[Q](CHI) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Friday’s third round singles matches featuring Americans:

Women:
Serena Williams[8] v Qiang Wang[27](CHN)
Coco Gauff v Naomi Osaka[3](JPN)
Madison Keys[10] v. Maria Sakkari[22](GRE)
Sofia Kenin[14] v. Shuai ZhangCHN)
Alison Riske[18] v Julia Goerges(GER)

Men:
Tommy Paul v Marton Fucsovics(HUN)
Tennys Sandgren v Sam Querrey