Ganesan Wins ITF J200 in Japan; Penickova Twins Claim Back-to-Back J100 Titles; Frodin Sweeps J100 Titles in Mexico; Atlanta J60 Underway; Bektas Retains AO Wild Card Challenge Lead

Adhithya Ganesan gave himself an early 18th birthday present, taking the singles title at last week's J200 in Nagoya Japan to reach a new career-high in the ITF junior rankings.

The third-seeded Ganesan, who turns 18 tomorrow, defeated top seed Jangjun Kim of Korea 6-4, 6-2 in the final; those six games were the most he lost in any of his five victories. The Cornell freshman, who will begin his college career in January, is now up to 57 in the ITF junior rankings.

Fourteen-year-olds from the United States also claimed titles at the J100s in Mexico and Ghana, with Thea Frodin earning her second title this year at that level with a 4-1 retired decision in the final over doubles partner Nancy Lee in Mexico.  

Frodin and Lee, the No. 4 seeds, won the doubles title over No. 3 seeds Natalia Castaneda Guerrero of Mexico and Sophie Stanton of Canada 6-3, 6-2.

Fifteen-year-old Jack Kennedy, seeded No. 2, reached the boys final in Mexico, falling to top seed Cesar Cruz of El Salvador 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-1. Kennedy and Keaton Hance, the top seeds in the boys doubles, lost in the all-USA final to No. 5 seeds Abhinav Chunduru and Prathinav Chunduru 6-4, 6-3.

The Chundurus were not the only pair of twins to capture a doubles title at a J100 last week, with the Penickova sisters winning their second straight title at a J100 in Ghana. Annika and Kristina, the top seeds, defeated No. 2 seeds Joody Elkady of Egypt and Nicole Lukesova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-1 in the championship match.

Two weeks ago at the J100 in Ghana, Kristina had beaten Annika for the girls singles title. Last week, it was Annika, the No. 2 seed, who prevailed over her top-seeded sister, 6-4, 6-3. Both are now in the Top 200 of the ITF junior rankings.

I covered the results of the J60 in Lexington South Carolina on Saturday; this week the ITF Junior Circuit in the United States moves west to the Atlanta area, with a J60 in Peachtree Corners.

Top seed Humza Noor has already been eliminated, with William Secord posting a 7-6(7), 6-2 win in today's first round action. No. 2 seed Nathan Blokhin is through to the second round as is Lexington finalist Jack Satterfield, who received a wild card into the main draw. Lexington champion Andrew Ena is not in the field.

The girls top seed is Anita Tu, who is through to the second round, as is No. 2 seed Savannah Webster. Addison Bowman, the Lexington girls champion, is the No. 8 seed again this week. Last month's Corpus Christi J60 champion Christina Lyutova, the No. 12 seed, has extended her winning streak to 30 matches with a win in today's first round.

Two weeks remain in the USTA women's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge with former University of Michigan All-American Emina Bektas in the lead by a mere one point over Claire Liu. 

The current standings, with WTA rankings in parentheses:

1. Emina Bektas (104) -- 111

2. Claire Liu (93) -- 110

3. McCartney Kessler (237) -- 90

4. Jennifer Brady (222) -- 65

5. Iva Jovic (646) -- 55

6. Fiona Crawley (430) -- 50

There's still two WTA 125s, this week's in Tampico and next week's in Midland, plus this week's USTA Pro Circuit $80,000 tournament in Tyler Texas, so someone not on this list still has a shot with some good results in these high level events.

The men's version of the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge begins this week and runs through the week of November 13th.