Upset Bug Bites at Orange Bowl
©Colette Lewis 2007--
Key Biscayne, FL--
The bug infestation at the Orange Bowl showed no sign of abating on Tuesday, but several seeds felt the sting of defeat as well as the itch of the no-see-ums.
In the girls 18s, qualifier Kerry Wong, who will be attending Clemson next fall, used her stylish game to bounce No. 10 seed Elena Chernyakova of Russia 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 and Coco Vandeweghe steamrolled No. 13 seed Tammy Hendler 6-3, 6-4. Julia Cohen, the No. 5 seed, will end her junior career with a loss, as she went out to Aranxta Rus of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-2. Fifteen-year-old qualifier Santa Shumilina of Russia overcame No. 7 seed Julia Glushko of Israel 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to round out the 18s first round upsets.
The girls 16s second round also saw the exit of several seeds. After a shaky start, Ester Goldfeld, 14, took out No. 3 seed Aleksandrina Naydenova of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-2, Lily Kimbell eliminated No. 6 seed Petra Jurova of Slovakia 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 and 13-year-old Grace Min defeated No. 14 seed Monica Yajima 6-3, 7-5.
The boys 18s finished their first round Tuesday and no surprises surfaced on a cooler and less humid day at Crandon Park. New Yorker Adam El Mihdawy, fresh off a semifinal showing at an ITF Men's Futures event in Israel, took Eddie Herr champion Gastao Elias of Portugal to three sets before falling 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, but the other contests were straightforward affairs, quite a contrast to Monday, when four boys 18s matches went to third set tiebreakers.
For novelty alone, the match of the day in boys 16s was 6-foot-6 Alex Domijan versus five-foot Christian Harrison. Harrison had scored an upset in the first round over No. 5 seed Adrian Puget of France, and the 13-year-old did everything he could to fight the size disparity, but Domijan was too much for him, taking the match 6-1, 6-2.
Only three seeds made it through to the round of 16 in the boys 16s, but they are No. 1 Bernard Tomic of Australia, No. 3 Denis Kudla of the U.S. and No. 4 Julien Uriguen of Guatamala. Uriguen had to stave off a match point in the second set tiebreaker after leading it 5-0 in his match against Eddie Herr 16s finalist Sekou Bangoura Jr., but he used that momentum change for a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0 victory.
Doubles matches, especially of boys 18s, were conducted under the lights Tuesday evening. For complete results, see usta.com.
12 comments:
Any thoughts on the age group choices being made here? Looks like Domijan and Kudla have come down from 18s at Eddie Herr to play 16s at Orange Bowl, yet looks like Christian Harrison has moved up.
is el mihdawy trying to go pro? i thought he was going to go to ohio state?
who ever does this web site...where is levine on the honor role!! he won 2 challengers back to back!
Colette, you mention that Julia Cohen played her last junior tennis match. Does anyone know what her plans are for next year? Is she going to go to college?
The reason I ask is that I think she graduated high school last year.
If Chase Buchanan has not switched to a one handed backhand, can anyone explain that photo on juniortennis.com of him at Eddie Herr hitting what clearly looks like a one-handed topspin backhand.
It can't be a slice because his racket face is closed (pointed down and forward). Maybe he is hitting both one and two handed shots.
Why did bernard tomic play 16s orange bowl when he would have been seeded in the 18s?
Christian Harrison can play both Orange Bowl and Junior Orange Bowl since they are at different times. Kudla and Domijan didn't have that opportunity.
It looks like Julia Cohen might play the Yucatan next week, from what I've heard. I don't know her plans re: college.
The Honor Roll is confined to 18-and-under boys.
I'll see if I can find out from El Mihdawy what his plans are, as he and JT Sundling are still in doubles.
Comment posting may be delayed--something is not working properly on the blogger site.
El Mihdawy is taking a year off, playing Futures as an amateur. He told me he'll make a decision about college this spring or summer.
Post a Comment