Penickova Advances to Semifinals at ITF WTT Junior Finals, Twin Sister Reaches Semifinals at W15 in Hilton Head; Forbes Beats Bigun at Norman M35; Stoiana Makes W100 Tyler Semifinals; Ghibaudo, Spizzirri Advance at Challenger 100s

The semifinals have been determined for the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu China, with Kristina Penickova reaching the Knockout stage and Jack Kennedy falling short, despite his victory today.

Round robin qualifications can be very wonky, and that was the case in two of the four groups. In Kennedy's Group B, Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain handed Max Schoenhaus of Germany his first loss and Kennedy beat fellow American Benjamin Willwerth, leaving Santamarta, Schoenhaus and Kennedy with 2-1 records. Since each had wins over another, the tiebreaker went to sets won with Santamarta and Schoenhaus 4-2 and Kennedy 4-3, after Kennedy dropped a set to Willwerth, while the other two did not. Because Santamarta beat Schoenhaus today, he ended up finishing first in the group, despite a straight-sets loss to Kennedy on Wednesday.

Jacopo Vasami of Itay was the only boy to advance to the semifinals without a loss.

Things were even crazier in the girls Group B, with three players finishing 1-2. Mia Pohankova, the Wimbledon girls champion, won a third-set tiebreaker over Jana Kovackova today to go 3-0 in group play, but Hannah Klugman's loss to Ruien Zhang meant she, Zhang and Kovackova were all 1-2. Klugman ended up advancing with her 3-4 record in sets won, while Zhang and Kovackova were 3-5 in that category. 

In addition to Pohankova, US Open girls champion Jeline Vandromme went undefeated in group play.

Results from Friday, Day Three of Round Robin Play:

Girls Group A

Kristina Penickova[1](USA) d. Charo Esquiva Banuls[7](ESP) 6-3, 6-2

Jeline Vandromme[4](BEL) d. Julia Stusek[5](GER) 7-5, 6-4

Girls Group B

Ruien Zhang[8](CHN) d. Hanna Klugman[2](GBR) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Mia Pohankova[3](SVK) d. Jana Kovackova[6](CZE) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)

Boys Group A

Jacopo Vasami[3](ITA) d. Aleksandar Vasilev[1](BUL) 6-4, 6-0

Yannick Alexandrescou[6](ROU) d. Oskari Paldanius[8](FIN) 6-3, 6-0

Boys Group B

Jack Kennedy[5](USA) d. Benjamin Willwerth[7](USA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Andres Santamarta Roig[2](ESP) d. Max Schoenhaus[4](GER) 7-5, 6-4

Saturday's Semifinals:

Jacopo Vasami[3](ITA) v Max Schoenhaus[4](GER)

Yannick Alexandrescou[6](ROU) v Andres Santamarta Roig[2](ESP)

Jeline Vandromme[4](BEL) v Hannah Klugman[2](GBR)

Kristina Penickova[1](USA) v Mia Pohankova[3](SVK)

The head-to-heads in Saturday's semifinals give a distinct advantage to three players, with Vasami and Schoenhaus the only pair who have not played on the ITF Junior Circuit.

Santamarta owns a 2-0 record over Alexandrescou, with both coming on clay this year.

Penickova has a 3-1 record against Pohankova, including a win in the Australian Open junior semifinals this year. 

Vandromme has beaten Klugman twice this year in junior slams: in the third round of the Australian Open and the semifinals of the US Open.

Placement matches for 5-8 positions are also on the schedule for Saturday for those who did not make the semifinals.

Live streaming, including replays, can be found here. Live scoring is here.

While Kristina was advancing to the semifinals in China, twin sister Annika reached the semifinals at the USTA Pro Circuit W15 in Hilton Head South Carolina. Annika is just one of the four juniors to make the semifinals, with 15-year-old wild card Janae Preston, playing in her first pro event, next for Penickova. Preston defeated former Old Dominion All-American Sofia Johnson of Great Britain, a qualifier, 6-3, 7-6(6), while Penickova beat NC State sophomore Mia Slama 6-2, 7-6(3). Sixteen-year-old Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann, playing in her first pro event, came through qualifying and today defeated former North Carolina standout Carson Tanguilig, a wild card, 7-6(4), 6-3. Dresner-Hagmann will face 18-year-old Carolina Bohrer Martins of Brazil, the No. 2 seed, who beat 16-year-old qualifier Jensen Diianni 7-5, 6-0. 

Rain sent play indoors at the men's M25 and women's W35 in Norman Oklahoma, but the semifinals are set for Saturday.

2024 Kalamazoo 18s champion Matt Forbes, a qualifier, defeated fellow 19-year-old Kaylan Bigun 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his first Pro Circuit semifinal. The Michigan State sophomore will play No. 7 seed Alex Martinez(Oklahoma) of Spain for a place in the final. No. 5 seed Raphael Perot(Texas A&M) of France, who has already won two M15 USTA Pro Circuit titles this fall, will play No. 6 seed Blaise Bicknell(Florida, Tennessee) in the semifinals.

Top seed Elvina Kalieva will play unseeded Francesa Pace in the top half semifinal in Norman, with No. 6 seed Jaeda Daniel(Auburn, NC State) facing unseeded Ekaterina Khayrutdinova(Florida International, Auburn) in the bottom half semifinal.

At the W100 in Tyler Texas, Mary Stoiana, the former Texas A&M All-American, is through to the semifinals after beating No. 7 seed Anastasia Gasanova of Russia 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.  She will play the winner of tonight's quarterfinal between No. 8 seed Olivia Gadecki of Australian and Kayla Day.

The string of current collegians finding success on the ATP Challenger Circuit continued today at the ATP Challenger 100 in Sioux Falls South Dakota, with University of Kentucky sophomore Antoine Ghibaudo of France beating Martin Damm 7-6(4), 6-4. The 20-year-old qualifier will face the only American remaining, No. 5 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M), who followed up his impressive second round win over Rafael Jodar of Spain yesterday with another near flawless performance today. Kypson defeated No. 3 seed Rinky Hijikata(North Carolina) of Australia 6-4, 6-4, facing no break points in either set.  The top half semifinal will feature Johannus Monday(Tennessee) of Great Britain, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Andres Martin(Georgia Tech), and qualifier Mats Rosenkranz of Germany, who advanced when top seed Jordan Thompson of Australia retired trailing 7-5, 1-0. 

At the ATP Challenger 100 in France, Eliot Spizzirri(Texas) is looking to keep his lead in the USTA Australian Open Wild Card race, although he is closing in on the Top 100 and may not need a wild card into the main draw. Spizzirri, the No. 5 seed, defeated Giulio Zeppieri of Italy 5-7, 7-6(8), 7-6(4), saving two match points, to reach the semifinals. He has dropped the first set in all three of his wins this week. Spizzirri will face No. 8 seed Francesco Passaro of Italy in the semifinals Saturday.