Korda, Bolton and Hewitt Join Noel and Baird in Australian Open Juniors Third Round; Six Americans Advance at Les Petits As; Grade 1 in Colombia Underway; Osuigwe Qualifies at Wesley Chapel $25K

Five Americans will play in the third round Wednesday at the Australian Open Junior Championships, after the second round concluded Tuesday with wins by No. 7 seed Sebastian Korda, No. 12 seed Elysia Bolton and unseeded Dalayna Hewitt. 

Korda had no trouble at all with Eddie Herr champion Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 win 51 minutes. Hewitt, who reached the semifinals of the Grade 1 in Traralgon the previous week before withdrawing, continued her excellent play with a 6-3, 6-3 win over qualifier Moyuka Uichijima of Japan. Bolton fell behind Himari Sato of Japan 3-1 in the opening set, but served well the remainder of the match to close out the victory.  Qualifier Jaycer Lyeons had three set points to force Orange Bowl and Traralgon champion Hugo Gaston of France to a third set, but the fifth-seeded Gaston saved them all serving at 5-6. Lyeons also had a 4-2 lead in the tiebreaker before Gaston won the last five points of the match. Peyton Stearns gave top seed Xinyu Wang of China a tough battle, but she was unable to hold serving at 4-5 in the third set.

No. 7 seed Alexa Noel is the only one of the five Americans remaining who is facing a seed in the third round; she plays No. 9 seed Xiyu Wang of China.

Stearns and Hewitt have advanced to Wednesday's doubles quarterfinals, as has Sebastian Korda, who is playing with frequent partner Nicolas Mejia of Colombia.

American juniors in second round action Tuesday(Monday night in US):

Hugo Gaston[5](FRA) def. Jaycer Lyeons 6-3, 7-6(4)
Sebastian Korda[7] def. Adrian Andreev(BUL) 6-2, 6-1
Dalayna Hewitt def. Moyuka Uchijima(JPN) 6-3, 6-3
Xinyu Wang[1](CHN) def. Peyton Stearns 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Elysia Bolton[12] def. Himari Sato(JPN) 6-4, 6-1


Americans juniors in third round action Wednesday (Tuesday night in US):

Sebastian Korda[7] v Philip Henning(RSA)
Dalayna Hewitt v Amber Marshall(AUS)
Drew Baird v Rinky Hijikata(AUS)
Alexa Noel[7] v Xiyu Wang[9](CHN)
Elysia Bolton[12] v Clara Burel(FRA)

Madison Keys and Tennys Sandgren are in action Wednesday in the quarterfinals, with both matches early enough to be viewed in prime time in the United States tonight. Keys plays Angelique Kerber of Germany and Sandgren faces Hyeon Chung of Korea.

The first round is complete at Les Petits As in Tarbes France, with six of the eight Americans in the draw advancing to the second round.  Katja Wiersholm[5], Katrina Scott[8] and Robin Montgomery won, with Eddie Herr champion Vivian Ovrootsky going out in the opening round.  Victor Lilov[5], Evan Wen[8] and Jonah Braswell won their first round matches, with John Kim losing his opener. The top two seeds in both the boys and girls draws, all of whom are from Russia, also advanced to the second round.  The Tennis Europe tournament page also has draws and the schedule for Wednesday. Streaming is available at the tournament's website.

Many of the Americans who played last week's Grade 1 Coffee Bowl in Costa Rica have moved on to the Grade 1 in Barranquilla Colombia.  The seeded US boys are Tyler Zink[6], Coffee Bowl finalist Keenan Mayo[7], Emilio Nava[8], Eliot Spizzirri[9], Will Grant[10], Tomas Kopczynski[12], Nathan Han[13] and Ronan Jachuck[14].  The top seed withdrew, so Mateus Alves of Brazil, the No. 2 seed, is the highest remaining seed in the boys draw. 

Coffee Bowl champion Maria Osorio Serrano of Colombia took a wild card into the tournament and is the No. 1 seed.  US girls seeded are Vanessa Ong[2], Sabina Dadaciu[5], Coffee Bowl finalist Lea Ma[6], Shelly Yaloz[11], Sanyukta Gawande[13], Kacie Harvey[15] and Addison Guevara[16].  The girls draw is 48, with all the seeds receiving first round byes, while the boys draw is 64.

ITF World Junior Champion Whitney Osuigwe qualified for the main draw of the $25,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit event in Wesley Chapel today, by beating Ohio State recruit Isabelle Boulais of Canada 6-2, 7-5. The 15-year-old, who is playing her first tournament since winning the Orange Bowl last month, defeated Mayuka Aikawa of Japan and Catherine Harrison(UCLA) in straight sets in the first two rounds of qualifying.  Sanaz Marand(North Carolina) is the only other American to reach the main draw.  Daytona Beach and Orlando $25K champion Anhelina Kalinina is again the No. 1 seed this week.