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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Uriguen Drops No. 3 Seed Rufin in Orange Bowl First Round; Gavrilova Saves Match Points in Win Over Cako



©Colette Lewis 2008--
Key Biscayne, FL--

Having watched Daria Gavrilova of Russia cruise through the 14s draw at the Eddie Herr, I was eager to see her play in the 18s at the Orange Bowl, and No. 15 seed Jacqueline Cako of the U.S. was a stern first round test for the 14-year-old. Cako had the match on her racquet at 5-4 in the third set, at 40-15. The first match point was controlled by Gavrilova and Cako sliced a defensive forehand into the net. The second one is every player's nightmare miss; Cako had an simple forehand volley with Gavrilova completely off the court and she missed it wide.

Cako never recovered from that error, and although she brought the score to deuce with Gavrilova serving in the next game, the Russian hit a backhand winner down the line to earn a 6-5 lead, and Cako didn't win another point, dropping her serve at love to lose 6-7(7), 6-2, 7-5.

Eddie Herr 18s finalist Julen Uriguen of Guatemala continued his fine play, taking out No. 3 seed and Yucatan Cup champion Guillaume Rufin of France 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-2. Uriguen broke Rufin at 2-3 and never gave the lanky Frenchman any shot in his strike zone the rest of the way.

U.S. Open junior finalist Devin Britton squeezed past Mikhail Birykov of Russia 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(5). Britton had two match points with Birykov serving at 4-5 in the third, but couldn't convert those, and in the tiebreaker was up 6-3 before finally closing out the Russian with an overhead winner.

Unseeded Jordan Cox had an even tougher match with Alessandro Bega of Italy, looking out of sorts after losing the first set 6-2. Cox took the second set 6-1, and the final set tiebreaker 11-9.

In the boys 16s, No. 1 seed Denis Kudla and No. 2 seed Raymond Sarmiento cruised into the round of 16, but No. 4 seed Junior Ore was eliminated by fellow American Shane Vinsant. All told, the U.S. has nine of the 16 players remaining in the boys 16s draw, including wild card Marcos Giron. Giron was up 5-0, 40-0 in the final set of his match with No. 8 seed Diego Acosta of Ecuador, when the wheels came off, and he lost four straight games. Acosta had a game point to even the match, but didn't win it, and Giron escaped with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win.



Qualifier Alexander Petrone of New York took out No. 16 seed Christian Harrison in a seesaw match that ended right before the sun set on a balmy tropical day at Crandon Park. Petrone took the first set 7-5 and held a 5-2 lead in the second before Harrison reeled off five straight games to even the match. In the third set Petrone again took a big lead, but this time he held on to it for a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory.

The top seeds in the girls 16s, Eddie Herr finalists Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and Cristina Dinu of Romania, both advanced to the round of 16 in straight sets. U.S. girls are nine of the 16 remaining players, including Grace Min, Lauren Herring and Caitlyn Williams, all of whom defeated seeds on Tuesday.

In girls 18s, wild cards Nicole Gibbs and Christinia McHale posted easy wins, and wild card Asia Muhammad defeated No. 8 seed Heather Watson, the Eddie Herr finalist, 6-4, 6-3. U.S. qualifiers Allie Will, Hanna Mar, Courtney Dolehide and ChiChi Scholl also reached the second round. Eddie Herr champion Lauren Embree, seeded 11th, advanced in straight sets, as did No. 2 seed Laura Robson of Great Britain, who still has a chance to finish the year as the ITF World Junior champion.

For complete results see the Dunlop Orange Bowl page at usta.com.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is Junior Ore still injured? That must be the case for such a lopsided loss. I know he's a better player than his match results indicate.

Anonymous said...

I see where Christian Harrison hasn't been winning any matches since moving to Boleterrie's. This is yet another example of a player signing an IMG contract before they should have. Now we won't have an alternate option should he elect to attend college.

Anonymous said...

"Christian Harrison hasnt been winning any matches since moving to Boleterries"
This has got to be "ridiculous post of the year", if indeed such a distinction is given!

Anonymous said...

I see the Dutch Eleveld today,he is very talented and have an amazing forehand.

Also i think Christian Harrison become a PRO before 18, his brother Ryan become a PRO last year.

Anonymous said...

to rajun cajun, christian lost to the number 9 guy in the world 11-9 in the third set breaker last week. He played 16s this week and lost 2nd round in a very strong 16s field, These are the only 2 tournaments he's played, and clearly you havent watched him play. So please think before you speak.

Tennis101 said...

Uriguen from Guatemala is a very solid player. hes having the results he deserves.....he needs to keep working on his mental game so he can keep up his good results!

love-tennis said...

Christian did sign with an agent with IMG, just like Ryan; he is technically a pro.

I tell you, wait until he has his growth spurt. He not only has talent, but he has a very strong work ethic.

Anonymous said...

The Harrison work ethic instilled by their great coach (and Dad), Pat Harrison.

Anonymous said...

Christian Harrison is an unbelievable player and will succeed in tennis after his growth spurt. You have to give him credit for doing what he has done already. He had two match points against one of the best kids in the world and for that, you should congragulate him 'rajun cajun.' Pat has done an amazing job with him and Ryan.