Late Afternoon Rain Dampens Opening Round of Girls 16 and 18 Singles

Late Afternoon Rain Dampens Opening Round of Girls 16 and 18 Singles ~~~
©Colette Lewis 2005
Bradenton FL--

The skies threatened throughout the day Monday, and although the 12s in both divisions and the boys 14s managed to finish, the girls 14s, 16s and 18s were not as fortunate. A midafternoon shower disrupted play once, and then the deluge. Matches near completion were finished indoors and girls 18s number one seed Agnieszka Radwanska was as close to done as it gets-- holding a match point when play was suspended. Eventually the 2005 Jr. Wimbledon champion from Poland closed out lucky loser Maria Mohk 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round.

Fifteenth seeded Floridian Lauren Albanese was able to eliminate her Bolivian opponent 6-1, 6-1 before the rains.

The third round of 12s again produced a plethora of mismatches, with not a single three-setter on the boys side. However, Emmett Egger, the USTA's top-ranked twelve-and-under, battled George Toutine over two and a half hours before emerging with a 6-4, 6-2 decision. By a stroke of luck, as there are no seeds in the 12s, Mika De Coster who is second in the USTA ranking, is in the other half of the draw, and should the two meet, it would not be until Friday's final.

The girls 12s saw more close contests, with Jessie Pegula, Sloane Stephens, Theresa Smith and Amber Li of the U.S. needing three sets to advance. Stephanie Vidov, Jeannette Draeger and Michi Iyeyemi of the U.S. moved through in straight sets.

The girls 16s draw was full, so there were no byes for seeds and a couple of them fell in their first matches. Fourth seeded Krista Damico of the U.S. lost to Canada's Marie-Pier Huet 6-2, 6-3 and sixth seeded Carolyn McVeigh and qualifier Nina Vulovich, both of the U.S., needed a third set tiebreak to decide their match, which went to Vulovich 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).

All seeds in the girls 14s had byes, so there were no upsets, but several notable players advanced. Last year's girls 12 champion Tara Moore of Great Britain made her debut in the 14s a successful one, with a straight set win, and Carling Seguso, the spitting image of her namesake (and mother), joined younger brother Ridley in Monday's winners circle with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Older brother Holden, who received the 16th seed when Philip Bester withdrew due to injury, will take the court on Tuesday in the boys 18s.

The boys 14s also had no seeded players on court Monday. Lucky loser Andre Pozantidis of the U.S. impressed with a 6-0, 6-1 decision and Anton Chekhov, whose older brother Pavel is the 14th seed in the boys 18s, took out his opponent in straight sets.

Matches in progress that were not completed indoors on Monday evening will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday with regularly scheduled matches to follow.

For additional reports from the Eddie Herr, visit juniortennis.com.