Evans Upsets Nahimana at ITF Grade A in Merida; Three Americans Reach Main Draw at Santa Domingo $15K ITF World Tennis Tour Event

The first round of singles is now complete at this week's ITF Grade A in Merida Mexico, with one big upset. Sixteen-year-old Kailey Evans defeated No. 2 seed Sada Nahimana of Burundi 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the second round of a Grade A tournament for the third time. Evans is one of 12 US girls to reach the second round, and all four of the American seeds--Charlotte Chavatipon[16], Alexandra Yepifanova[3], Robin Montgomery[4] and Savannah Broadus[8]--posted wins.

The US boys were less successful in their opening round matches, with only four of the 18 managing to post a first round win: Cash Hanzlik, Alexander Kiefer, and qualifiers Colton Smith and Nate Bonetto. The only two US boys lost, with No. 3 Zane Khan falling to Great Britain's Derrick Chen 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and No. 11 seed Dali Blanch losing to Herman Hoeyeraal of Norway 7-6(2), 7-5.

Wednesday's order of play can be found at the tournament website.

There are no USTA Pro Circuit events scheduled this week, with the only ITF World Tennis Tour tournament with a substantial American presence the men's $15,000 event in the Dominican Republic. Three Americans advanced to the main draw with wins today: AJ Catanzariti(Texas A&M), Matthew Mendez(Ohio State) and Fletcher Scott(Illinois).

Toby Kodat won his second match on the ITF World Tennis Tour today in the first round, with the 16-year-old Floridian, using his junior exemption for entry, defeating No. 3 seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Other Americans playing in Santo Domingo this week are No. 4 seed Gage Brymer(UCLA) and wild card Quinton Vega(Wisconsin).  Jan Choinski of Great Britain is the top seed, and last week's East Lansing $15K champion Daniel Altmaier of Germany is the No. 2 seed.