My Article on Blue Chip Braswell Committing to National Champions Texas; Black Advances to Semifinals at ITF Junior Finals; Four Unseeded Americans Reach Semifinals at Macon $80K

When I spoke to Micah Braswell at the ITF College Park Grade 1 back in August, he had announced a verbal commitment to Florida State, where his father Ty played and coached. But the 17-year-old blue chip had begun to rethink that decision, and after taking an official visit to Austin recently, he changed his commitment to Texas, the 2019 NCAA team champions. I spoke with Micah and his father about what led him to that choice and what the next year of competition holds for him as he prepares to enter college next fall in this article for the Tennis Recruiting Network.

The semifinals are set for Saturday at the ITF's World Junior Finals, with Hurricane Tyra Black advancing through the round robin phase with a 7-5, 7-6(1) win over Natsumi Kawaguchi of Japan. Black finished second in her group, having beaten Kawaguchi and Qinwen Zheng of China, while losing to France's Diane Parry, who advanced with a 3-0 record in round robin play.

The other two girls finalists are Wimbledon champion Dara Snigur of Ukraine, who finished 3-0 in her round robin group, and Elsa Jacquemot of France, who beat Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia to finish 2-1 and in second place.  Jacquemot faces Parry, assuring a French girls finalist, while Black takes on Snigur.

The boys qualification scenario in one round robin group was that  maddening math problem that the format devolves to occasionally. Jonas Forejtek of the Czech Republic beat Holger Rune of Denmark 6-4, 7-6(1) to leave both of their records at 2-1, but based not on sets won, which were the same for both, but on games won over the course of the three round robin matches, Rune advanced, finishing second in the group to Harold Mayot of France, who went 3-0. Forejtek had lost to Mayot on the first day by the surprising score of 6-1, 6-3 and that turned out to be more than he could overcome. Two walkovers, given by Canada's Liam Draxl and China's Bu Yunchaokete, who were no longer in contention, simplified things for Mayot and Valentin Royer of France, who won the other round robin group. Wimbledon champion Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan finished second in that group, beating Thiago Tirante of Argentina 6-4, 6-7(0), 6-4.  Mochizuki will play Mayot in one semifinal, with Rune and Royer meeting in the other. For more on Friday's matches, see the ITF Juniors website.

Links to the live scoring, live streaming, plus Friday's results and Saturday's order of play are on the ITF Juniors home page.

At the $80,000 women's USTA Pro Circuit event in Macon Georgia, four unseeded Americans are through to the semifinals.  Shelby Rogers defeated Coco Vandeweghe by the eyebrow-raising score of 6-0, 6-0 to advance to a meeting with Grace Min, who beat No. 2 seed Whitney Osuigwe 6-1, 6-3.  In the other semifinal, Danielle Lao(USC) will face wild card Katarina Stewart. Lao took out No. 3 seed Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland by a 6-1, 6-2 score, while Stewart beat qualifier Irina Falconi(Georgia Tech) 6-4, 7-6(2). No matter which of the four takes the title, she will lead USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge after the first week.

Jamie Loeb, the 2015 NCAA singles champion while at North Carolina, is the sole American remaining in the hunt for the $25,000 Dallas title. Loeb, the No. 7 seed, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 win over unseeded Monika Kilnarova of the Czech Republic. She will play No. 3 seed Katie Swan of Great Britain, who beat No. 8 seed Kayla Day 6-2, 6-3. Top seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine and unseeded Marcela Zacarias of Mexico will meet in the other semifinal.

Unseeded 17-year-old Charlotte Chavatipon, who recently gave Texas a verbal commitment, has advanced to the semifinals of the $15,000 tournament in Austin. She will face one of the Turati twins, top seed Bianca, who is a senior at Texas. The other Turati sister, No. 2 seed Anna, also a senior at Texas, will play Baylor junior Melany Krywoj, seeded No. 4, in the other semifinal.

In men's USTA Pro Circuit play, rain has been a problem in Fort Worth, so the semifinals are not yet set there, but at the $25,000 tournament in Fayetteville Arkansas, two American will face off in the semifinals, with No. 2 seed Michael Redlicki(Duke/Arkansas) playing unseeded Illinois senior Aleks Kovacevic. Top seed Roberto Cid(South Florida) of the Dominican Republic will play No. 3 seed Nicolas Mejia of Colombia in the top-half semifinal.