Kronauge Battles Back To Reach Quarterfinals

© Colette Lewis 2005--
Kronauge Battles Back To Reach Quarterfinals--
Down a set and two breaks, second seed Justin Kronauge got a reprieve when a brief rain delay interrupted his match with Paul Koenke, seeded 10th.

"He wasn't missing," said Kronauge, who eked out a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 win. "But after the rain delay, he started making errors he wasn't making before the break."

The match, lasting nearly 4 1/2 hours when the three rain delays were included, drew nearly all players at the site who were not on the courts themselves. Kronauge, who won the USTA Boys 18 Winter National title in January, applied steady pressure during long baseline rallies, but was unable to shake the determined Koenke. Though Koenke was broken at love in the eighth game of the final set, Kronauge could not serve it out. But after holding for 6-5, the 17-year-old from Ohio finally earned two match points, only to see those evaporate when Koenke produced a service winner, then coaxed an error. On his third chance, however, Kronauge prevailed, and just in time too, as the skies opened and play did not resume on Sunday.

Girls top seed Magdalena Bresson was not as fortunate as Kronauge, as she was unable to complete her match with Austin Smith, the 13th seed. Smith is the daughter of tennis legend Stan Smith, who is accompanying her and three other members of his Hilton Head academy in Mobile. Bresson won the first set, Smith won a tiebreak in the second to extend the match, and 4 1/2 hours later, they were chased off the courts by the rain, midway through the final set.

Marek Czerwinski, the boys top seed, made short work of George Navas 6-2, 6-1, and Maciek Sykut, the third seed, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, handled Kelvin Kim 6-1, 6-4. Fourth seed Blake Boswell fell to Max Taylor, the 31st seed, who also has not surrendered a set. In Monday's quarterfinals, Czerwinski faces 18th seed Blake Strode; Kronauge meets unseeded Clint Bowles; Sykut takes on eighth seed Brett Helgeson; and Taylor goes against 14th seed Wesley Miller.


In girls quarterfinal action, the winner of the Bresson/Smith match will meet sixth seed Eleanor Peters; second seed Kristen McVitty squares off against 24th seed Melissa Mang; third seed Lindsay Burdette faces unseeded Ashley Weinhold; and Reka Zsilinszka and Sophie Grabinski, both unseeded, vie for a spot in the semifinals.