Shabaz Shocks World No. 1 Young; Guzick Mounts Memorable Comeback

Shabaz Shocks World No. 1 Young; Guzick Mounts Memorable Comeback--
©Colette Lewis 2005--
Palm Springs CA--


Defending Easter Bowl Champion and top seed Donald Young's reentry into junior tennis came to an abrupt halt after only three wins, when eighth seed Michael Shabaz stunned the ITF's top-ranked junior 6-2, 7-5.

Young, who had played only ATP tour events since his win in the Junior Australian Open in January, came out slowly on the blisteringly hot day and was down two quick breaks that resulted in a Shabaz taking the first set 6-2.

With shade at a premium, both players moved their chairs to the north end of stadium court, but that couldn't prevent the match from heating up in the second set. Shabaz, ranked 46th in the world, had lost to Young twice in the past six months but exuded confidence in his game plan, which boiled down to avoiding Young's forehand.



"I knew if he was going to dictate with his forehand, I was going to be in for a long day," said Shabaz. "I tried to take his forehand away and work his backhand a little more."

Young's unforced errors were a bonus Shabaz probably did not anticipate, and Young's frustration with his lack of consistency, usually a strength of his game, produced a roar of disbelief when he was broken in the third game of the second set. That break appeared to be enough when Shabaz went up 40-0 serving at 5-4. But a exquisite return, a forced error and a volley that missed by inches and suddenly three match points had evaporated. An unreturnable serve gave Shabaz his fourth match point, but he was passed at the net, then hit a backhand long, and it was five games all.


Asked if squandering four match points bothered him, Shabaz maintained that it hadn't. "I knew he doesn't have an overpowering serve, so I knew I was still in it. He doesn't serve very big."

And five points later, Shabaz had another chance to finish it. Serving at 30 all, a rare double-fault gave Young a shot at a tiebreaker, and jangled nerves seemed exposed. But at break point, Shabaz hit a fearless crosscourt backhand winner, and followed it up with an untouchable inside-out forehand to reach his fifth match point. When Young netted a return, Shabaz bounced excitedly, pumped his fist and claimed his place in the semifinals.

Shabaz will face tenth seed Sam Querrey on Friday. Querrey's serve and penetrating ground strokes overwhelmed a dispirited Matt Bruch who lost six games in a row after the match's three-all start, producing a 6-3, 6-1 final score.

In the other semifinal, Jesse Levine (3) meets second seed Carsten Ball. Levine beat seventh seed Marcus Fugate 6-2, 7-6 (3) and Ball finally put an end to the surprising run of unseeded Stefan Hardy 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Will Guzick, the top seed in boys 16s, was down 4-6, 0-5 with his opponent, 11th seed Tyler Hochwalt, serving for the match. What was on his mind?

"I was thinking I'd better go out swinging," said the sixteen-year-old righthander from South Carolina. "I might as well swing as hard as I can and see what happens."

What happened was an improbable comeback, one that after over three hours of tennis, led to a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 win.

"My style is just to stay on the baseline and keep the ball in the court," Guzik said. "When I started coming back, I started taking things early and hitting the lines. I hit a ton of winners, more than I've ever hit."

"In the third set, I actually didn't play nearly as well, but he was really tired and of course I had the momentum. But the key game, I was serving at 3-1 and we played what must have been a fifteen deuce game-- the longest game I've ever played--and when I finally won it, that pretty much decided it."

Guzick takes on 13th seed Adam Schwartz in one semifinal on Friday and second seed Dennis Nevolo meets Jay Wong (3) for a spot in Saturday's final.