Chekhov and Milevskaya Earn International Spring Singles Titles

©Colette Lewis 2006
Carson CA--

Pavel Chekhov and Kseniya Milevskaya put the "international" in the USTA International Spring tournament at the Home Depot Center Sunday morning, as the Russian boy and Belarusian girl topped American opponents to earn their first Grade 1 ITF championships. As for the "spring" part of the tournament's name, there was sun and not much wind, but the temperature was more reminiscent of California's winter season.

Fourth seeded Milevskaya continued her dominance in the tournament by routing fellow fifteen-year-old Floridian Chelsey Gullickson 6-1, 6-0. Gullickson won the first game of the match but proceeded to lose the next twelve in a row. Unable to get her heavy ground strokes on track, Gullickson got no help from a precise Milevskaya, who is nearly impossible to read and anticipate.

"She's so sneaky," said Gullickson, the third seed and playing in her first Grade 1 final. "You never know where she's going to hit the ball. Her down-the-lines were amazing, and her drop shots are not something you see from girls."

"I love it," said Milevskaya referring to the drop shot. "It's my favorite shot and it helps me alot to keep them going up and down."

Milevskaya credits her ability to neutralize pace and keep opponents off balance to her recent months of training with boys at the Weil Academy in Ojai, and after she conquered her nerves in the first game, she had an answer for everything Gullickson tried.

"I've improved every match," said Milevskaya, who lost only 15 games in six matches in this tournament, but had barely gotten by Gullickson in their only previous meeting last year in Morocco on red clay.

Gullickson hardly recognized her as the same opponent Sunday. "She's definitely improved," Gullickson said.

Milevskaya will continue her training in anticipation of the clay season starting next month in Europe, while Gullickson will head to Palm Springs for the ITF Easter Bowl, which is closed to players outside of the U.S.

Boys top seed Pavel Chekhov was making his second straight appearance in the International Spring final, but this time he left with the winner's trophy after a fierce 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 battle with second seed Kellen Damico of the United States.

Both the points and the games were typically short and sweet, with big serves and groundstroke winners predominating. After the first game of the match, when Damico failed to convert on two break points, there wasn't another for either player until Damico served at 4-5 in the first set. Down 30-40, Damico tried to surprise Chekhov by serving and volleying, but the set was gone as quickly as the passing shot the Russian hit by him.

Damico started the second set with a break, and when he got another in the fifth game, Chekhov experienced the feeling of losing a set for the first time all week.

The third set played out much like the first, with Chekhov serving first and never facing a break point. Damico was equally strong on his serve until 4-5, when he missed five of six first serves. At 30-40, his second serve clipped the net, and although the line judge signaled good, the chair umpire overruled, making for an anticlimactic ending to a tense and well-played final.

Damico, who can be contentious when disagreeing with line calls, was more composed after this bit of bad luck, directing a "before I shake his hand, are you sure?" remark to the chair umpire. When the umpire answered in the affirmative, Damico shook Chekhov's hand and then threw his Wilson racquet on his bag, disappointed but not irate.

"Once he calls it, he's not going to change it," said Damico, 17. "He overruled the line judge and that's match point. But it happens."

As does string-breaking, but at four all in the third, it was an inopportune time to have to play with a new racquet, a misfortune Damico felt was partly to blame for the final break.

But he said, "I also kind of rushed the points at the end."

Chekhov could find little fault with either himself or Damico when assessing the match.

"He was playing unbelievable and at the end I had a little bit of luck," said the seventeen-year-old who trains at IMG/Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton. "He was playing two hours and everyone gets tired...sometimes you lose control."

Asked if he thought Damico's second serve was out on match point, Chekhov was reluctant to voice an opinion.

"I was ready to hit my inside-out forehand, but I don't know."

Like Milevskaya, Chekhov will head back to his academy to train before heading to Europe for the junior clay court season. Like Gullickson, Damico will head to the Easter Bowl full of the confidence that being a finalist the previous tournament brings.

The doubles championships were also played on Sunday, with fifth seeds Gastao Elias of Portugal and Cesar Ramirez of Mexico defeating fourth seeds Clint Bowles of the U.S. and David Simon of Austria 6-2, 6-0 on the boys side. Eighth seeds Jade Curtis and Jillian O'Neill of Great Britain defeated fifth seeds Kristy McVitty and Ashley Weinhold of the U.S. by an equally lopsided 6-0, 6-1 score.

The girls 16s title was won by sixth seed Tanya Raykova of Bulgaria, who defeated unseeded Kaitlyn Christian of the U.S. 6-2, 6-2. Unseeded Kyle McMorrow of the U.S surprised 13th seed Ryan Harrison 6-0, 6-0 for the boys 16 title.

The boys 16s doubles title went to Harrison and Donald Van Velzer of the U.S. The fourth seeds defeated the unseeded U.S. team of Alex Johnson and McMorrow 7-6 (5), 7-5. The fourth seed team of Catherine Isip and Raykova downed unseeded Aeriel Ellis and Michele Sulahian of the U.S. 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1.

For complete draws see usta.com.