Larcher de Brito and Krajicek Upend Seeds in Grass Court Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2006
Philadelphia PA--

An unseeded finalist was assured in the boys singles at the US International Grass Courts when Devin Britton and Austin Krajicek both came through with hard-fought three set victories in the draw's bottom half.

Krajicek, who turns 16 on Friday, overcame a slow start to oust second seed Chris Racz 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. The lefthander from Florida is willing to take his chances at the net, and that gave him an advantage on the grass over Racz, who relies primarily on his groundstrokes. Once Krajicek got rolling in the second set, Racz had no way to stem the tide.

Britton, who at 15 is the youngest of the boys quarterfinalists, battled Brad Klahn for over two and a half hours before finally securing a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-3 victory over the lefthander from California. The match length was noteworthy because both played grass court tennis and most of the points were short--it was the games that were long. At 3-4, Klahn was broken and Britton played a very confident final game to close out the match. Both players showed an excellent grasp of the nuances of grass with winners much more common than errors throughout the contest.

The two other boys semifinalists are doubles partners--Rupesh Roy, the top seed, a 6-3, 6-1 victor over Adam El Mihdawy; and Brad Cox, the fifth seed, who defeated unseeded qualifier Houston Barrick 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The surprise result in the girls draw on Wednesday saw 13-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito eliminate third seed Reka Zsilinszka 6-4, 6-3. Larcher de Brito, who does not spend much time near the net, used her heavy, flat and deep groundstrokes to keep Zsilinskza off balance. The lack of time to react and the uncertainties of the surface contributed to the ineffectiveness of Zsilinskza's counterpunching style against the determined Larcher de Brito. Next up for Larcher de Brito is top seed Lindsay Burdette, who again won in straight sets, this time over Beatrice Capra.

The marathon match of the day saw fourth seed Gail Brodsky and Olivia Janowicz battle for over three hours before Brodsky finally prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Janowicz had a bout with cramps during the third set on a humid and overcast day, but she was able to continue after a visit from the trainer, and also to play doubles later in the afternoon.

Brodsky meets Julia Boserup in the singles semifinals, which will not be played until Friday. Boserup advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Brittany Augustine.

The doubles semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, although rain overnight could have an impact on that. All four seeded teams in the girls division made it through, while top seeds Cox and Roy and fourth seeds Klahn and Rhyne Williams remain alive in the boys draw. For complete draws, see the tennislink site.