Hamui Overcomes Heat and Williams to Reach Boys 18s Easter Bowl Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2006
Palm Springs, CA--

"C'mon hit the ball," were the words seventh seed Johnny Hamui used to jump start his comeback in the 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 third round victory he earned over unseeded Rhyne Williams on a searingly hot afternoon at the Riviera Resort.

Down 5-1 in the second set, Hamui, 18, knew he had to step it up to match the fifteen-year-old's pace and depth.

"I wasn't playing well on the big points," Hamui said. "I was down 4-0 in the first and putting it back wasn't going to work, so I kept trying to hit and play big."

Williams began to miss his usually reliable and potent forehand giving Hamui, a veteran of many ITF events around the world, the opening he needed.

"He was getting nervous, missing forehands in the middle of the court, so I had to make him play big--clap for winners he hit, but thinking he's going to miss on the really big points."

But after he had evened the match, Hamui faced another challenge--cramping.

"It's a problem in long matches," said Hamui, who asked for a trainer in the first game of the third set. "When I come down on my (left) leg after my serve, it gets really tight."

The trainer helped him through that difficulty but at 4-3 his right thigh began to tighten and this time Hamui played on.

"I would have felt really bad calling the trainer a second time," Hamui said. "It would have looked really bad, doing it again, so I just kept going."

Williams acknowledged that the heat and the length of the match contributed to his loss.

"It was smoking out there," said the 2005 Junior Orange Bowl 14s champion,"and we were both wearing down. I lost my focus and instead of getting in longer rallies with him, I was going for the big shot."

"But give him credit--he stuck in there."

After holding for a 6-5 lead in the final set, Hamui waited for Williams' inexperience to show and it did. Williams double faulted to go down 0-15, and then watched in dismay as he totally controlled the point, only to have Hamui hit a running forehand winner for 0-30. Hamui knew the next point was crucial.

"He missed his first serve and then went for a big second serve," said Hamui, thankful for Williams second double fault of the game. "He didn't seem to see me cramping."

Williams admitted lack of experience in the 18s hurt him, but he has three more shots at an Easter Bowl title.

"It's a good start for my first time," he said.

Both Hamui and Williams played doubles Thursday afternoon, and this time, both left the court winners.

Tenth seed Dylan Arnould and fifth seed Nate Schnugg met in their last chance for an Easter Bowl singles title, and it was Arnould who booked a date with top seed Donald Young in the quarterfinals, by a 7-6 (4), 6-1 score.



Schnugg was serving for the first set at 5-4, but Arnould, who will enter Duke in the fall, broke, changing the momentum then and there.

"I started out tentative, got broken early, but I loosened up," said Arnould, who will celebrate his 18th birthday later this month. "I was missing returns, but then I put a few returns in. I went up 5-0 in the tiebreak, it got to 5-3, but I held on."

Arnould credited his prematch preparation for surviving the mid 90s heat.

"It was pretty hot out there, but I prepared pretty well before going out," Arnould said. "But straight sets is definitely better."

In the other quarterfinal match in the top half, Clint Bowles, the fourth seed, will take on Chris Racz, the seventh seed, for the first time ever. Bowles eliminated 14th seed Drew Daniel 6-4, 6-2 and Racz fought back to subdue unseeded Jeff Dadamo 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Dennis Lajola and Steve Forman will meet in a rematch of last year's Kalamazoo 16s semifinals. Sixth seed Lajola overcame heat exhaustion to defeat 11th seed Attila Bucko 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, while the unseeded Forman bested Kayvon Karimi 6-3, 7-5.

Hamui will face third seed Jamie Hunt in the other bottom half quarterfinal. Hunt sent pesky lefthander Bradley Klahn to the sidelines by a 6-4, 6-4 score.

There have regular surprises in the girls draw, and that pattern continued on Thursday when Madison Brengle, the third seed, lost to 13th seed Andrea Remynse 6-4, 6-2. Remynse will take on unseeded Hilary Barte, a 7-5, 6-1 winner over 12th seed Ellah Nze.

In a rematch of their dramatic quarterfinal contest at the International Spring Championships last week, Reka Zsilinszka and Ashley Weinhold will once again meet for a semifinal berth. Zsilinszka saved six match points en route to her 7-5 in the third win in Carson, and joked after Thursday's 6-1, 6-1 dismantling of Logan Hansen that her strategy Friday will be "to save ten match points." Weinhold, the fifth seed, neutralized hard-hitting 10th seed Eleanor Peters 7-5, 6-2.

Jamie Hampton joined Zsilinszka as an unseeded quarterfinalist when she survived a tense three-setter with McCall Jones, also unseeded, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3). Hampton faces top seed Julia Cohen, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over 15th seed Melanie Oudin 6-4, 6-1.

Sixth seed Kim Couts will undoubtedly be fresher than her quarterfinal opponent, 14th seed Melissa Saiontz, who has gone three sets in her past two matches. Saiontz battled unseeded Brittany Augustine for hours in the broiling sun, taking a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory, while Couts had little trouble with Elizabeth Kobak, winning 6-2, 6-1.

The top three seeds in boys and girls 14s and 16s have all advanced to the round of 32 on Friday.

The ITF event results and draws can be found here, the boys 16s event here, and the girls 16s & 14s and the boys 14s, which began on Wednesday, here.