Champions Crowned at First USTA National L1 of 2021; Qualifier Epps Ousts Banana Bowl Finalist in Santa Domingo Grade 2; Rune Claims First ATP Main Draw Win in Chile

The first USTA National Championships of 2021 concluded today  in Mobile Alabama and Rome Georgia, at the Individual Spring Championships, held in lieu of the usual Spring Team Championships. The controversies surrounding the national rankings and the necessity of moving the tournament administration software back to TennisLink indicates that the USTA still has a long way to go to reestablish the prestige of these events, but at the very least, some of the country's top juniors did get an opportunity to compete against their counterparts over the past five days.  

Below are the results from today's finals; clicking on the champion's name will take you to the player's Tennis Recruiting Network profile.  Eleana Yu and Gavin Young, both coincidentally No. 5 seeds, won the 18s titles in Mobile without losing a set in their six victories. The 14s and 16s were also played in Mobile, while the 12s took place in Rome.

Just one top seed claimed a title, Cooper Woestendick in the boys 14s.

B12s

Trenton Kanchanakomtorn[7] d. Yannik Alvarez[2] 7-6(0), 6-1

G12s

Kayla Moore[2] d. Nicole Okhtenberg[1] 6-3, 6-0

B14s

Cooper Woestendick[1] d. Nicolas Iantosca[6] 6-0, 6-2

G14s

Katie Rolls[9] d. Jessica Bernales[9] 7-6(2), 6-3

B16s

Emon von Loben Sels[9] d. Mitchell Lee[9] 7-5, 6-4

G16s

Natalie Block[2] d. Karolina Jacobson 6-2, 6-3

B18s

Gavin Young[5] d. Colton Smith[6] 6-4, 6-1

G18s

Eleana Yu[5] d. Daria Smetannikov 6-3, 6-1

The first round of singles at the ITF Grade 2 in the Dominican Republic was completed today, with two unseeded American girls ousting seeds.  Qualifier Gracie Epps defeated last week's finalist at the Grade A Banana Bowl, Bianca Behulova of Slovakia, 7-5, 6-3. Epps is 366 in the ITF junior rankings, while Behulova had moved up to 28 after her showing last week in Brazil. UCLA recruit Elise Wagle defeated No. 4 seed Amelia Bissett of Great Britain 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. Lucky loser Madeleine Jessup also got a win today, defeating Vanessa Popa Teiusanu of Romania 6-2, 7-5. Six US girls and three US boys have advanced to the round of 16.

Former ITF World No. 1 junior Holger Rune of Denmark collected his first ATP win today at the 250-level tournament in Santiago Chile. The 2019 French Open boys champion, who turns 18 next month, got a wild card into last week's Argentina Open and fell in three sets in the first round, but this week Rune won three three-set qualifying matches to earn his entry, and defeated fellow qualifier Sebastian Baez of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 today. Rune will face No. 2 seed Benoit Paire of France in the round of 16.  The only American competing in Chile is Frances Tiafoe, who is the No. 5 seed. Tiafoe defeated wild card Nicolas Jarry, 7-6(7), 6-7(7), 7-6(7) yesterday.

The only American in the singles draw at ATP 250 in Marseille France is Mackenzie McDonald, who advanced to the round of 16 with a 7-6(2), 7-6(1) win over Stefano Travaglia of Italy. Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz are the two US men playing at the ATP 250 in Doha, with Opelka falling in the first round to No. 5 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and Fritz advancing with a win over Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. 

There are two WTA events this week, the big 1000 in Dubai and the 250 in Guadalajara Mexico. Coco Gauff won her seventh straight three-setter in main draw WTA matches today, defeating No. 12 seed Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-0, 6-4. She will play qualifier Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic next. Jessica Pegula has continued her outstanding play this year, beating Kiki Mladenovic of France 6-1, 6-2 today. She gets No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the round of 16. 

In Mexico, qualifier Lauren Davis is through to the second round; qualifier Caroline Dolehide plays wild card Eugenie Bouchard of Canada later tonight, with Caty McNally and wild card Katie Volynets meeting in another late match tonight.