January Aces; Cecil, Tomic Reach Semis; Kudla vs. Querrey; McHale Replaces Perry

Because I wanted to get the Notre Dame vs. North Carolina article up on the Tennis Recruiting Network as soon as possible, the January aces are a day late. Because I need to limit the number to one I can manage, some excellent results often get left off. I hope your read about those who did not make the cut last month--two-time ITF Grade A and Grade 1 finalist Monica Puig and Les Petits As finalist Noah Rubin spring to mind--when I was posting about their successes during those tournaments. I didn't have any file photos of the Les Petits As champions this year, nor of Australian Open girls champion Karolina Pliskova, which is why they were not included in the January aces.

Following an excellent showing in Australia, Bernard Tomic is playing in a challenger this week in Burnie. Even though he was defending champion (correction: he was not defending champion in Burnie; he won another challenger in Melbourne last Feb., not this one.) Tomic was forced to qualify, and due to rain was also required to play two matches Friday. He beat No. 6 seed Nick Lindahl 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in a rematch of the Australian Open wild card tournament final, which Lindahl had won, and then topped No. 1 seed Grega Zemlja of Slovenia, ranked 169th, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3. Tomic will face unseeded Joseph Sirianni of Australia in the semifinals. For more on Tomic's two most recent wins, see this story from the Advocate. For complete draws, see the ATP Challenger results page.

2009 NCAA champion Mallory Cecil has also reached the semifinals this week after qualifying. Cecil, who has been struggling to break out of the 400s in the WTA rankings since turning pro in September, as won five matches at the $25,000 challenger in Sutton, England. She plays No. 5 seed Lina Stanicute of Lithuania in Saturday's semifinals. For the complete draw, see the ITF women's site.

Sam Querrey is playing in a charity exhibition this evening in Akron, Ohio to benefit Victory Gallop, a therapeutic riding school. John Isner was originally scheduled to appear, but in his absence, Denis Kudla will take the court against Querrey. For more on this weekend's fundraiser, click here.

And as I mentioned earlier in a tweet, Christina McHale is now officially a member of the US Fed Cup team for this weekend's tie in France. Although unlikely to see any action, McHale replaces an injured Shenay Perry on the active roster. Melanie Oudin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will play singles and Liezel Huber and Mattek-Sands are the doubles team. For McHale's reaction to her promotion, see her player blog on usta.com.

Tags: junior tennis, Tennis Recruiting Network, Bernard Tomic, Mallory Cecil, Sam Querrey, Denis Kudla, Christina McHale, Fed Cup, Colette Lewis