Five of Eight Australian Open Wild Card Matches Go to Underdogs
If I could be two places at once, I'd be in Atlanta, Ga. and Coral Gables, Fla., but I guess if I'm confined to one locale, it might as well be the one with beautiful weather in mid-December.
I missed a big day today at the Racquet Club of the South, however, where Jack Sock beat top seed Donald Young in the USTA men's wild card tournament for the Australian Open 7-6(3,) 3-6, 6-4. Sock will play Denis Kudla in a rematch of their US Open boys final this year after Kudla defeated No. 4 seed Cox 6-4, 6-3. No. 3 seed Ryan Harrison, the only seed to advance in the men's draw, avenged his recent Charlottesville Challenger defeat to Virginia's Michael Shabaz 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4 and will play Tennessee sophomore Rhyne Williams, who downed No. 2 seed Tim Smyczek 6-4, 6-0.
Women's top seed CoCo Vandeweghe avoided Young's fate, but it doesn't look like Madison Keys went quietly, with Vandeweghe, the defending AO wild card tournament champion (as is Harrison), winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. No. 4 seed Beatrice Capra got by 18s national champion Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-3, but there were two "upsets." Red-hot Orange Bowl champion Lauren Davis beat No. 2 seed Jamie Hampton 7-5, 7-5, and Krista Hardebeck, who lost in the first round at the Orange Bowl, surprised No. 3 seed Irina Falconi 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Vandeweghe will play Capra in the semifinals, and Davis and Hardebeck will meet for the first time since the Easter Bowl final in April, which Hardebeck won 7-5, 6-3.
The women will again lead off the action Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m., followed by the men.
Much thanks to @stephiesport for the scores via twitter.
1 comments:
Taking nothing away from Sock’s win over Donald Young, but its to be more a reflection of how Young’s game continues to stagnate than Sock taking a big leap. We all agree that Young was one of the most celebrated juniors of all time, number one junior at 15 (ITF) and seemed to almost effortlessly win some jr slam titles. I do think its unfair to blame his parents, as some in the USTA do, as almost every rising junior has a very tight knit family support system that continues into the pros. I am just clueless as to what happened.
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