Uriguen Upsets Buchanan in 18s, Domijan, Kudla and Embree Reach 18s Semifinals at Eddie Herr
©Colette Lewis 2008--
Bradenton FL--
In 2007, there was a U.S. player in every division final at the Eddie Herr. Although this year, the girls 12s did not produce an American finalist, the other seven singles tournaments can still feature U.S. interest after Friday's quarterfinal action.
Julen Uriguen of Guatemala has had a breakout tournament at this year's Eddie Herr, defeating No. 5 seed Borut Puc, U.S. Open Junior finalist Devin Britton and on Friday, No. 4 seed Chase Buchanan to reach his first Grade 1 semifinal. The 17-year-old Uriguen, who beat Buchanan 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, will face 16-year-old Denis Kudla in Saturday's semifinal. Kudla, the 16th seed, downed Matt Kandath 6-4, 6-3 Friday afternoon, to collect his first straight set victory of the week. The other semifinal will feature 2007 Eddie Herr finalist and No. 14 seed Alex Domijan, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Jordan Cox, against top seed Yuki Bhambri, who put an end to German qualifer Sebastian Fanselow's win streak 6-3, 6-4.
In the girls 18s, No. 9 seed Lauren Embree won the battle of the two remaining Americans, downing Nicole Bartnik 6-1, 6-3 to set up an encounter with unseeded Sophie Oyen of Belgium. Embree has yet to lose more than five games in a match, while Oyen has endured three consecutive three setters, including her 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win Friday over Monika Tumova of the Czech Republic. The other semifinal has 2007 Eddie Herr 16s winner and No. 3 seed Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan going against unseeded Heather Watson of Great Britain. Diyas eliminated unseeded Iveta Dapkute of Lithuania 6-3, 6-1, while Watson posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 6 seed Yana Buchina of Russia.
Top seed Raymond Sarmiento of the U.S. will try to hold off the trio of British boys who have reached the 16s semifinals. Sarmiento claimed a 7-5, 6-2 decision from No. 5 seed Nicholas Jones and will face his third straight British opponent Saturday, when he meets unseeded Ben Davis, who downed No. 9 seed Spencer Newman of the U.S. 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Unseeded Lewis Burton defeated No. 8 seed Arturs Kazijevs of Latvia 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and will face unseeded Jack Carpenter for a spot in the final. Carpenter took out Shane Vinsant of the U.S. 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
In the girls 16s, U.S. hopes ride on Elizabeth Begley, the No. 7 seed, who took out No. 13 seed Ingrid Radu of Romania 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Begley's semifinal opponent is top seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over lucky loser Giuliana Olmos of the U.S. Canada's Marianne Jodoin kept alive the prospect of an all-Canadian final when she defeated American Breaunna Addison 6-2, 6-4. Standing in her way is the formidable Christina Dinu of Romania, who once again cruised to victory, defeating Emi Mutaguchi of Japan 6-2, 6-1.
Two Americans, Victoria Duval, the fifth seed, and qualifier Nadia Echeverria Alam, will face off Saturday for a spot in the final. Duval advanced over Ilona Kremen, when the No. 14 seed from Belarus retired after Duval had won the first set 7-6(5). Echeverria Alam breezed past No. 6 seed Maria Paula Deheza of Bolivia 6-1, 6-1. Top seed Daria Gavrilova of Russia, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Nadia Ravita of Indonesia, will meet No. 9 seed Patricia Martins of Portugal who beat Viktoriya Lavrentyeva of Russia 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
The American finalist in the boys 14s will emerge from the Alex Halebian - John Harrison Richmond contest. The unseeded Halebian got past Robert Livi of the U.S. 7-6(3), 6-3, while No. 5 seeded Richmond turned the tables on No. 2 seed Daniel Santos of Peru 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. No. 14 seed Nikola Milojevic of Serbia has been impressive all week and posted another straight set win Friday, defeating Yuki Muramatsu of Japan 6-4, 6-0. His semifinal opponent will be No. 4 seed Pedro Guimaraes of Brazil, who ended Canadian qualifier Filip Peliwo's run 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(6).
For more photos, see eddieherr.com. For complete draws, including the doubles semifinal matchups, visit the tennisinformation site.
1 comments:
Anyone see the Kudla-Kandath match and can comment on it?
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