Pick This Year's Winners at The Zoo; Applications for US Open Junior Entries Close Friday
The draws are up at ustaboys.com, so it's time to start the contest, which invites you to pick the singles winners and identify a dark horse (someone outside the top 8 seeds) who has a chance to make the finals. Again, no anonymous comments please. Last year we had great participation, but only one person correctly picked the two number one seeds, Michael McClune and Tennys Sandgren, to capture the championships. Feel free to add comments on who has the toughest draw, a good first round 18s match to watch Friday (I'll go first--Kandath vs. Stevens) and a second round encounter you're anticipating.
The deadline for applying for the U.S. Open Junior Championships is Friday, August 1, and that includes wild card applications. As encouragement for those who may be on the fence, Dennis Nevolo was initially 31 spots out of qualifying last year when the first acceptances were released, and he got into qualifying. He got out of it too, making it to the round of 16 of the main draw.
The application form is available here.
For information on who gets what wild card from the National Hardcourts, please refer to the chart below, taken from the usta website.
*must be ITF age eligible
50 comments:
The Boys 18s draw is wide open. Too many good players to have an outright favorite.
As to my pick for a darkhorse to win it all, I have three: Tennys Sandgren, Kevin King and William Parker. Tennys is not much of a darkhorse as he is seeded #10. King vs. Harrison could be a very interesting fourth round matchup, with the winner to face Sandgren in the Round of 16. I would say that the top 1/8 of the draw is probably the toughest. Parker could go pretty far if he is able to get by Thacher in the third round. That will be another interesting matchup.
My pick for the finals: Kevin King vs. Thacher. Not a mainstream pick, but I never did like conforming to what everyone else thinks.
16s- evan king
18s- ryan harrison
dark horses or create upsets
16s -sarmiento, frank, pasha, mengel,thompson,
18s - jenkins, watt, williams, nevolo, spencer
18's: Alex Domijian (4) over Dennis Nevolo (11)
16's: (9) Sarmiento over (2) King
I guess that makes Nevolo and Sarmiento my "dark horse" picks.
I feel like Ryan Thatcher is a little under the radar too with his 8 seed in a rather tough section of the draw; he's dominated at this event in the past.
why does mardy fish lose in the first round of every single tournament other than indian wells. whoever is coaching him is not doing a good job.
Boys 16s Quarterfinals
Sarmiento vs Van Overbeek
Bangoura vs Cox
Kudla vs Leslie
Ore vs King
I don't know from there.. Pham is a darkhorse, along with Thompson and Shane.
Klahns quarter is wide open...looking like Waylon Chin could get quarters and possibly further. Domaijan or Thacher on hard court seems like a safe bet for the title though.
To Jonathon the Husky zoo tennis...
Would not assume Sarmiento will get to the quarters. Hard is Fowler's surface, and his results on every ITF both played this year in singles is stronger. While both have not played this year, Sarmiento has lost to Kulda and Fowler beat Kulda. It could be a tough match, but Fowler could take control if he plays how he is capable of. I saw him play the qualies at Wimbledon and the kids can really play
I think the toughest page is the one with Jenkins and Thacher. That should be like a semifinal match, not a Rnd of 16 match. Not to mention, Seal's in Jarmere's part of the draw there. And the winner would face either Boyajian or Buchanan (most likely Buchanan). That's just tough right there, I think the bottom part of the draw is the toughest part, most particularly for Jenkins and Thacher, and I really would like to see Thacher take it this year.
Boys 16s Quarters
Fowler vs. Van Overbeek
Bangoura vs. Cox
Kudla vs. Leslie
Ore vs. King
Semis
Van Overbeek vs. Cox
Kudla vs. King
Finals
King def. Van Overbeek
Darkhorses or people to pull upsets--Frank, Sarmiento, Tchan, Pasha, Thompson, Shane
by the way zoooo, mengel may pull out
Whats going on with Donald Young? He's only won one match since Houston this spring. He has lost 8 of his last 9 matches, hasnt won a set in his last four matches, only getting closer than 6-4 once in those matches. And, he hasnt won a set against a non-American with the exception of his won win 1st at Newport since he beat Vicente 1st round at the Houston tournament over three months ago. These past two losses he has been outscored in games 24-6. Hope he gets out of this slump soon.
Donald Young hits loopy and is a grinder. His game is perfect for junior tennis but no power for ATP tennis. I've seen him play 5 times. Like a lot of U.S. juniors, his forhand is weak, sort of an open stance roll not enough body torque He counter punches well but does not dictate. The best part of his game is his ovement and his hands but he doesn't come in enough. His service toss is too low. Does he still choke up on the racquet what's up with that? IMO his style of game is indicative why U.S. junior don't make it big on the tour. He is still young but can you retrain a junior grinder into a hitter?
18s picks....
Best matchup - first round....
Kandath over Stevens, with honorable mention to Daniel over Camillone
Round of 128
1 Harrison over Andreika
Bazarnik over Williams
17 King over Deb-Sen
Phillips over M.Lin
10 Sandgren over Hoffman
Holiner over Daciek
21 Llompart over Kells
Formentera over Holland
7 Klahn over Bernstein
Omodole-Lucien over Saba
Daniel over 26 Courtney
Cha over Bogatov
13 McMorrow over B.Parker
Yazmer over Sarkissian
30 Chin over Schafer
Davis over Canelas
4 Domijan over Talmadge
Abrams over Welnetz
19 Watt over Matthews
J.Lin over Reiman
12 R.Williams over Schroder
Hunter over Malizia
24 Sundling over Ahari
Z.Pine over Breland
5 Krajicek over Clausen
Marchese over Lamble
Siow over 26 Powers
Hovhannisyan over Tu
15 S.Johnson over Griffin
Kandath over Kobelt
31 Britton over Federhofer
Keeton over Reed
Song over Heuer
18 D.Lin over Fillmore
Wyss over Chen
11 Nevolo over C.Smith
Milner over De Chatellus
22 Noble over Jackman
Kecki over Moore
6 Trombetta over Bridge
Balaji over Fotopoulos
27 Lipman over D.Nguyen
Tachibana over A.Nguyen
16 Spencer over Kahan
A.Jung over Junkle
29 Huang over Lippert
Whitner over Wong
3 El Mihdaway over Turner
Ball over Patrick
20 Seal over Wolf
Moss over Swanson
9 Jenkins over Dome
S.Smith over Michalisin
Burkhardt over 23 Kehrer
W.Parker over May
8 Thacher over Schultz
Pogotskin over Chadwell
25 David Nguyen over Fleming
Mayer over Klanke
14 Boyajian over Berman
Schneiderman over Moore
32 Carleton over Bertha
Rovello over Schumacher
2 Buchanan over Karimi
Best matchup - round of 128....
Have to go 9 Jenkins over Dome, but a bunch of good ones to choose from including Llompart/Kells, Formentera/Holland, Watt/Matthews, 31 Britton/Federhofer, 20 Seal/Wolf, Burkhardt/23 Kehrer, and Berman/14 Boyajian.
Round of 64
1 Harrison over Bazarnik
Phillips over 17 King
10 Sandgren over Holiner
Formentera over 21 Llompart
7 Klahn over Omodele-Lucien
Daniel over Cha
13 McMorrow over Yazmer
30 Chin over Davis
4 Domijan over Abrams
19 Watt over J.Lin
12 R. Williams over Hunter
24 Sundling over Z.Pine
5 Krajicek over Marchese
Hovhannisyan over Siow
Kandath over 15 S.Johnson
31 Britton over Keeton
18 D.Lin over Song
11 Nevolo over Wyss
22 Noble over Milner
Kecki over 6 Trombetta
27 Lipman over Balaji
16 Spencer over Tachibana
29 Huang over A.Jung
3 El Mihdaway over Whitner
20 Seal over Ball
9 Jenkins over Moss
Burkhardt over S.Smith
8 Thacher over W.Parker
Pogotskin over 25 David Nguyen
14 Boyajian over Mayer
32 Carleton over Schneiderman
2 Buchanan over Rovello
Best matchup - round of 64....tough call again but I would have to go with Kecki/6 Trombetta, with 10 Sandgren/Holiner, 21 Llompart/Formentera, 5 Krajicek/Marchese, 15 S.Johnson/Kandath, Tachibana/16 Spencer, and W.Parker/8 Thacher as the runners-up.
Round of 32
1 Harrison over Phillips
10 Sandgren over Formentera
7 Klahn over Daniel
30 Chin over 13 McMorrow
4 Domijan over 19 Watt
12 R.Williams over 24 Sundling
5 Krajicek over Hovhannisyan
31 Britton over Kandath
11 Nevolo over 18 D.Lin
Kecki over 22 Noble
27 Lipman over 16 Spencer
3 El Mihdaway over 29 Huang
9 Jenkins over 20 Seal
8 Thacher over Burkhardt
14 Boyajian over Pogotskin
2 Buchanan over 32 Carleton
Best matchup - round of 32....they are starting to all get good at this point but I would go 9 Jenkins/20 Seal over 12 R.Williams/24 Sundling, 27 Lipman/16 Spencer, and 32 Carleton/2 Buchanan.
Round of 16
1 Harrison over 10 Sandgren
7 Klahn over 30 Chin
12 R.Williams over 4 Domijan
5 Krajicek over 31 Britton
11 Nevolo over Kecki
27 Lipman over 3 El Mihdaway
9 Jenkins over 8 Thacher
2 Buchanan over 14 Boyajian
Best matchup - round of 16...each one is unreal, but if I could only watch one, I would pick 9 Jenkins/8 Thacher over 12 R.Williams over 4 Domijan.
Quarters
7 Klahn over 1 Harrison
12 R.Williams over 5 Krajicek
11 Nevolo over 27 Lipman
2 Buchanan over 9 Jenkins
Best matchup - Quarters....Klahn/Harrison
Semis
7 Klahn over 12 R.Williams
2 Buchanan over 11 Nevolo
Finals
2 Buchanan over 7 Klahn
Some random thoughts on the 18s draw...
- when is the last good result that Harrison has had? He absolutely has the talent to take the whole shooting match, but doesn't seem to be coming in with a lot of momentum
- I think people are sleeping on Rhyne Williams. Certainly, he could fit in the 'lack of momentum' category as well, but he doesn't have a #1 seed target on his back either. I think people are forgetting that he was a favorite coming into last year's tourney but injuries kept him from getting a shot.
- the draw is unbelievably deep. Maybe I'm just following it a little more closely but it seems like the number of tough matchups in the round of 128 and round of 64 is better than I can remember. Also, even looking at the results from the Boys Team Championships in Illinois this week, the margin between the guys in the bottom half of the seeds and the rest of the draw is not that wide.
- have Thacher and Kecki been playing? Great results at the Zoo in the past but are their games in form?
- injuries - Thacher, Watt, and Federhofer all retired at the Teams within the last two days - was that precautionary or will that hamper their Zoo run?
- strength of the 16s draw - we had talked about this previously but in case we needed to be reminded about how some of the 16s could be competing in the 18s, Evan King just beat Steve Johnson 3 & 3 yesterday. Could you imagine the 18s draw with Fowler, King, Van Overbeek, Kudla, Sarmiento, Cox, Bangoura, and Ore sprinkled in? Yikes.
Should be fun to watch this unfold.
Colette, I can't believe you are leaving your home base for part of this tournament. I know you are conflicted with trying to give equal time to both genders, but it seems like you would make an exception for the Zoo. I mean, it's the name of your website for goodness sakes. I'm just giving you a hard time. I appreciate your hard work on the site and the forum it gives us to talk tennis. Thanks so much.
Austin, I agree, Donald Young is an absolute disaster right now. I don't know what the deal is. Last summer, it seemed like he was adding a lot more pop on his serve and starting to transition to a pro game, but his results over the last few months have been brutal. Still cheering for him, but yikes.
I dont really follow girls divisions too much, who could be playing at the 18's Hard Courts but isnt there? Whatever happened to Kellen Damico's little sister? She was good a few years ago.
I'm not going anywhere Brent. I'll be in Kalamazoo from start to finish.
Marcia Frost will be in Berkeley later in the week.
Must have gotten your schedule mixed up with Marcia's. Enjoy the tourney.
Well, don't have time to go quite so deep for the 16s. I will go with the following….
Round of 32
1 Fowler over 20 Newman
9 Sarmiento over 21 Seaborn
5 Van Overbeek over 28 Fang
Vinsant over 14 Frank
4 Bangoura over 17 Mengel
11 Thompson over 24 Shane
7 Cox over 26 Spinosa
15 Vick over 31 McCoy
Egger over 19 Giron
6 Kudla over 22 Song
13 Leslie over Bernstein
3 Sock over C.Johnson
De Coster over 18 Ho
8 Ore over 23 Pham
Rossi over Quigley
2 King over 32 MacMaster
Round of 16
9 Sarmiento over 1 Fowler
5 Van Overbeek over Vinsant
4 Bangoura over 11 Thompson
15 Vick over 7 Vox
6 Kudla over Egger
3 Sock over 13 Leslie
8 Ore over De Coster
2 King over Rossi
Round of 8
5 Van Overbeek over 9 Sarmiento
4 Bangoura over 15 Vick
6 Kudla over 3 Sock
2 King over 8 Ore
Semis
5 Van Overbeek over 4 Bangoura
2 King over 6 Kudla
Finals
2 King over 5 Van Overbeek
Gotta go w/ my hometown boy as the dark horse: Garret Dunn - the only guy more physically imposing than Domijian. If Garret wins his 1st round match it'll be the battle of the giants in the 2nd round.
I'll kep it short:
based on all ITF/USTA results on hardcourt my picks are:
18:Bradley Klahn
16s: Harry Fowler
18s Rd of 32:
Harrison over King
Formentera over Brigham
Klahn over Courtney
Chin over McMorrow
Domijan over Watt
Williams over Sundling
Krajicek over Powers
Kandath over Britton
Nevolo overover Lin
Trombetta over Noble
Spencer over Lipman
El Mihdawy over Huang
Seal over Jenkins
Thatcher over Walker
Boyajian over Chadwell
Buchanan over Carleton
Rd of 16:
Harrison over Formentera
Klahn over Chin
Williams over Domijan
Krajicek over Kandath
Trombetta over Nevolo
Spencer over El Mihdawy
Thatcher over Seal
Boyajian over Buchanan
Qtrs:
Harrison over Klahn
Williams over Krajicek
Trombetta over Spencer
Thatcher over Boyajian
Semis:
Harrison over Williams
Thatcher over Trombetta
Finals:
Thatcher over Harrison
mcmorrow is a seeded dark horse. he is seeded in the teens but no one recognizes his true talent. give him two years and he will not only be contending for a k zoo title and a US open bid but also for a NCAA title with the huskies. just wait and see kyle will soon show his true talent and become the next great american tennis prodigy.
I don't understand why people aren't looking at Josh Tchan in the 16s. He placed 3rd in both Winter Nat and Easter Bowl and won the 16s so cal sectionals. Also De Coster over Ho? Do you know anything about junior tennis or are people just blind picking? Not to discredit De Coster but Ho was the finalist at 16s winter nat. For the 18s a definite sleeper is Dome. He has a tough draw but if he's healthy he has a chance to take out Jenkins but it seems that Thatcher has a pretty darn good draw.
man what a tough one. i think for the 16s that sarmiento, king, van overbeek, and kudlas are gonna all do awsome and in the 18s i think thacher, harrison, jenkins, formentera, and williams are gonna do fantastic
My thoughts:
18s: Got to go with Ryan Harrison.
16s: Evan King.
Ryan Harrison has a great chance to win the title. He will have to play many days of top notch tennis in order to win. That is the only thing that could hold him back. However, any person that will win the title will have to go through the same thing. But Harrison should take the title.
The 16s draw is hard to tell. Many good players around the same skill level. Kudla has a chance, but can't tell based on his results lately. Evan King has the best chance out of all the people. Evan is in the same position as Harrison, except that Evan is more even in terms of skill level with his competitors.
I don't think there will be any dark horses. However, there are plenty of threats and many upsets that will occur throughout.
One threat that could stop other high seeds is Emmett Egger.
He is a really good player with great style. Just split sets with Junior Ore about a month ago and split sets with Harry Fowler too.
His results have not been too impressive the last year, kind of interested to see his outcome.
I really wish I was there to watch. This is probably the greatest junior tournament in the history of tennis, honestly.
If anyone could comment on Emmett Egger, I would be interested.
16s - Bob van Overbeek
18s - Bradley Klahn
Emmett Egger just lost first and first to people ranked well below him at clays.
Picks to win based on most recent results:
18s - Austin Krajicek, been playing very well
16s - Evan King, he's the most even player, not up and down, and playing extremely well going in.
Egger I think is training at Boca? From watching him, his game may be one that develops later, as he matures, and becomes more adept at coming in. Probably will take some lumps along the way, but with a shot at a very good end result IMO.
Its interesting that his results also went down a bit when he spent some time at Newcombe a few years ago, and then improved when he went home to WA, although again in this case, I feel his game is being prepared for the long term, and he is someone who three years from now "may" really take off.
Egger getting a set off Fowler and a set off Junior Ore in his losses to them looks pretty impressive on paper; however, he played Ore on a grass court which gives his net game an advantage. Moreover, when he got a set off Fowler, Fowler was in a bit of a slump during that three month period where his forehand rocket just temporarily disappeared for some reason.
Egger did win the National Open in May which was impressive, but then had two of the worst tournaments of his life back to back which were the June National Open and then the National Clays where he lost first and first to much lower ranked players.
His ability to come to net has always made him a very interesting player with future potential, but his lack of groundstroke power has always been a problem that he can't seem to shake and some are wondering if burn out is a new issue.
Here are my picks. For my darkhorses I had two rules. One was they had to be a double digit seed to be considered, the other was I didnt have them making the quarterfinals.
16's:
Quarters
(9)Sarmiento over (5)Van Overbeek
(7)Cox over (4)Bangoura
(6)Kudla over (3)Sock
(2)King over (8)Ore
Semi's
(9)Sarmiento over (7)Cox
(2)King over (6)Kudla
Finals
(2)King over (9)Sarmiento
Darkhorses
(15)Nelson Vick
(16)Nathan Pasha
18's:
Quarters
(7)Klahn over (1)Harrison
(4)Domijan over (15)Johnson
(16)Spencer over (11)Nevolo
(8)Thacher over (2)Buchanon
Semi's
(7)Klahn over (4)Domijan
(8)Thacher over (16)Spencer
Finals
(7)Klahn over (8)Thacher
Darkhorses
(12)Rhyne Williams
(14)Brennan Boyajian
Regarding Eggers groundstroke power, agree it is lacking..but although Johnny Mac is/was unique, look at his groundstroke pace. And even today at age 49, he can still give anybody in the world trouble for one set. Not comparing Egger to Mcenroe by any means, but do feel Egger should not be written off because of lousy results as a 15 year old, especially with his style of play.
two picks
boys 18s: Austin Krajicek
boys 16s: Evan King
Not saying either are the best in the draw, that's to be determined down the road, but going into this tournament they both are playing at the top of their forms.
austin,
you've just picked 9-16 seeds as your dark horses but said they won't make the quarters. If you're picking a 16 seed to make the round of 16, he's not a dark horse, he's just advancing as far as expected. Unless you mean you expect these players to lose early? Please explain.
Also, apologies for misspelling Domijan and Thacher's names earlier.
Just means that I think they could make a deep run even though I didnt pick them. For instance I would have picked Nathan Pasha over just about anyone, however hes playing the guy I picked to win it all in the Round of 16. I think if he gets past King he will make the finals.
In the 18's I think Rhyne Williams could definitely win it all, but I have him losing to Alex Domijan. The only people I would have picked over Williams is Klahn and Domijan, as I think they are the two best players in the tournament right now. Unfortuantely his draw is tough, but dont be surprised if he wins it, i.e. a darkhorse.
16s-Evan King
18s-Bradley Klahn
In the 16s Campbell Johnson an Tom Pham are both darkhorses. Johnson lost to Nathan Pasha at clay courts 2 and 6 and Pham to Zach Leslie 7-6 in the third set.
In the 18s I'd say Steve Johnson is a strong darkhorse. I saw him and Klahn hitting a couple of weeks ago down here in San Diego. He is very solid
Ryan will win. He has great incentive and has been training very hard.
Emmett did not go downhill at Newk's--you are not correct there. Actually he was hardly regularly there anyway, always going in and out from Washington to tournaments. He is a great player and will do well. It is hard to transition from being a star at a younger age to continuing at an older age. He will do it though.
Poor Donald Young. I watched him play on the tennis channel the other night and he was so out of his game. I felt so so so sorry for him because we all know what that is like.
Egger was almost unbeatable a few years a go. The last 2 years is when he has been in Washington and Boca. Look at the record. The attacking game style is something all the Newk's kids seem to have. Maybe thats where he learned it because i don't see many other kids doing it besides the Harrisons very much.
To "Just the Facts," no one is writing Egger off but he doesn't have the unusually great hands or fast feet of a McEnroe (or even perhaps Donald Young) to compensate for his lack of groundstroke power.
Somewhat similar to Egger, Evan King doesn't have great groundstroke power either but unlike Egger, Evan King has unusually good hands and unusual foot speed and seems to have that intangible that makes him win almost all the time.
I think that King has a much better chance of getting away with this shortcoming than Egger.
18s: Thacher over Klahn
16s: King over Fowler
16's - Evan King
18's- Chase Buchanan
Dark Horse -
16's - Spencer Newman
18's - Rhyne Williams
In respons to love-tennis, Egger does have some advantages. He is one of the best strategists out there. He knows what to do, and he plays his role well. I agree with you in general, but Emmett is a smart guy. I have played against him, and have seen him play numerous times. He is impressive.
"tennis fan" good points about Egger, in regards to foot speed and hands. I guess there is always Justin Gimelstob to compare him with instead of Mac! I saw that he (Egger) lost first round again...close three setter..again, IMO he's just taking some lumps with his attacking style. Long term, (which is not always thought of as highly as it should) I think he will be fine, and perhaps even more than "fine". Hopefully the USTA and/or his family is not putting too much pressure on him with these recent defeats.
That is too bad that Emmett lost again so early. Ugh, if you play serious tennis and have played it a long time at a high level, you know what it is like to go through a slump. It is sad, depressing and you think you are never going to get out. But you do, at the oddest of times.
He will get over it though and soon he will have some good wins again.
One thing I wonder about too----should the younger ones play up in the 18's? It seems to almost be a prestige thing, rather than what group you think you fit in. The 18's are not only going to have the biggest, strongest, and oldest kids, but they also are going to have all the hotshots who only play ITF's and pro level tournaments. Is it better for a younger player's self-esteem to go a few rounds there and lose, or is it better to play at his own age level, and grind through his own age group in a mental battle?
You people really need to leave these kids alone and stop trash talking them. You are as bad as the USTA. You should all be ashamed and this stuff should not even be published.
Where is anybody getting bashed? I want Donald Young to win every match he plays, but that hasn't happened, not even close. If you are talking about the juniors, I wish them all the best of luck and hope as many of them as possible break through to future college and pro success. But, if you're suggesting that we're only allowed to congratulate successes and point out positive trends, while closing our eyes to anything else going on, that seems a little naive. If it gets mean-spirited, I totally agree with you, but not sure I've seen that here recently.
Yes, the tone is one of bashing. "the kid was great in the 12s and the 14s and now is basically a has-been. That's the tone of it all. Imagine yourself as a teen reading all this stuff about you. People writing all these things about you. Imagine yourself as a teenager and people telling you that you have reached your potential. No, I don't think that it should be all compliments but this forum often goes too far.
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