Qualifiers Make Their Mark in Girls 18s First Round; Four U.S. Boys Make 12s Quarterfinals

Qualifiers Make Their Mark in Girls 18s First Round; Four U.S. Boys Make 12s Quarterfinals ~~~
©Colette Lewis 2005--
Bradenton FL--

It was 2:30 p.m. by the time the heavy rains abated and the courts dried on Tuesday, but the 24 hour delay didn't bother six qualifiers in the girls 18s draw, all of whom advanced to the second round.

The biggest upset was Eleanor Peters' 6-1, 6-3 drubbing of sixth seed Ayumi Morita of Japan. Peters, who recently signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Maryland, won both her qualifying matches in straight sets (her first win was a walkover). Also serving notice is fifteen-year-old Kristy Frilling, who cruised through her three qualifying matches in straight sets and on Tuesday eliminated eighth seed Bibiane Schoofs of the Netherlands by the rollercoaster score of 7-5, 0-6, 6-0. Frilling takes on another qualifier, Jelena Durisic, Wednesday afternoon.

Other girls 18s seeds losing in the first round were 14th seed Julia Cohen and 16th seed Anastasia Pivovarova defeated by Valeria Pulido of Mexico and Germany's Sabine Lisicki respectively.

In the girls 16s, the only seed losing on Tuesday was 14th seed Kari Wig, a loser in three sets to Helene Auensen of Norway.

The boys and girls 12s have managed to get their scheduled matches in each day, although the rain set them back to 6 and 7 p.m. The quarterfinals are now set and on the boys side, there is an American in each quarter, with Mika De Coster, Emmett Egger, Christian Harrison and Ridley Seguso victorious today.

De Coster has lost four games in three matches, and none in his win Tuesday. Except for Harrison, all will face Australians in the quarters. Only Denys Mylokostov of the Ukraine, Harrison's opponent, spoils the Davis Cup atmosphere.

The girls 12s feature much more diversity, with both U.S. girls remaining, Sloane Stephens and Jessie Pegula, in the top half of the draw. There were no three set matches in the girls Round of 16.

With the weather forecast much improved for Wednesday, boys 18s singles will finally begin, with first round matches in the morning, and second round matches in the afternoon. The boys 16s singles first round is also scheduled for Wednesday.

Doubles in all divisions except the 12s have been delayed until Thursday.