My Tucson ITF J300 Recap; Qualifier Jalbert, Lucky Loser Krishnakumar Reach San Diego ITF J300 Quarterfinals; Easter Bowl Wild Cards; Antonius Beats Bigun at Bakersfield M25
©Colette Lewis 2026--
San Diego CA--
Before I get to today's third round singles and quarterfinal doubles action at the ITF J300 North American Regional Championships at the sizzling Barnes Tennis Center, here is a link to my Tennis Recruiting Network's recap of last week's ITF J300 Tucson, with Andy Johnson and Camille Allegre earning their first titles at that level.
Although Allegre lost in the first round here on Tuesday, No. 1 seed Johnson is still in the running for the junior version of the sunshine double, defeating No. 15 seed Izyan Ahmad 6-2, 6-1 this morning to reach the quarterfinals. Johnson will play unseeded Teodor Davidov, famous for his only-forehands playing style, after Davidov defeated wild card David Wu 6-3, 7-6(2). It will be the first meeting on the ITF Junior Circuit.
In the other quarterfinal in the top half, Tucson finalist Ryan Cozad, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 11 seed Roshan Santhosh for the second time on the ITF Junior Circuit. Cozad, who beat unseeded Gurjot Singh 7-6(4), 6-1 defeated Santhosh, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over No. 8 seed Agassi Rusher, 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the ITF J300 in Indian Wells last year.
No. 2 seed Gavin Goode needed two and a half hours to get past No. 13 seed and fellow lefthander Ford McCollum 7-6(3), 7-6(1) and will face lucky loser Yashwin Krishnakumar, who continued his impressive play with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 7 seed Safir Azam.
Krishnakumar, playing in just his second ITF J300 tournament, said he changed his strategy since losing to Azam twice in USTA events in the 14s in 2023 and the 16s in 2024.
"This is the first time I've beaten him," said the 17-year-old from Dublin California, who is headed to UC-Irvine this fall. "He doesn't really rush you that much, and before when I played him I would try to overplay and make a lot of mistakes. This time, I tried to construct the points and rally smart. I did a good job of coming in after long rallies and finish points off, and any time he tried to be aggressive and come to the net, my passing shots were pretty good."
The fourth quarterfinal will feature doubles partners Tanishk Konduri, the No. 4 seed, and Marcel Latak, the No. 9 seed.
Konduri defeated No. 14 seed Zavier Augustin 6-3, 6-2, while Latak downed unseeded Kamil Stolarczyk 6-1, 7-6(6).
Konduri and Latak, the No. 2 seeds this week in doubles and through to Thursday's doubles semifinals, began playing doubles together late last year in Florida, and they met in the quarterfinals in singles at the Orange Bowl, where they also reached the doubles final.
"We warm up together every day and I've hit with him like twenty times in the last two weeks," said Konduri, who won their Orange Bowl quarterfinal 6-4, 6-3. "I can't speak for Marcel, but to me, it's just part of the sport. Honestly, almost everybody here you know and you've seen many times."
"I don't think it really affects how you perform," Latak said of their time spent together off the court. "We probably won't warm up with each other tomorrow, but if we don't find anyone else, maybe."
"It's going to be a good match," Konduri said. "Even when we play practice matches, it's always good quality. I'm just looking forward to enjoying playing good tennis."
The girls quarterfinals features six seeds, all of whom play each other, with Tucson finalist Allison Wang and qualifier Sylvana Jalbert meeting in the quarterfinal between unseeded players.
Wang defeated unseeded Aarini Bhattacharya 6-4, 6-2, while Jalbert fought back to eliminate No. 4 seed Lani Chang 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.
After a quick first set, Jalbert knew that she had to make some changes in her approach.
"I just decided I was going to play more consistent," said the 15-year-old from Maryland, who is No. 1 in the USTA 16s rankings. "Just grind out points instead of trying to finish it quick and early. I felt like I was getting too desperate in the first set, so I decided to slow things down a little bit."
Jalbert said she is feeling fine physically after five matches in five days, and felt comfortable from her first match in the main draw.
"It took me a little bit to get used to the courts and the conditions, but by the first round of the main draw, I had adjusted pretty well," said Jalbert, who trains with Vince Pulupa at OSSA Tennis Academy. "The courts are slower than in Tucson and I just felt like I had to ready myself for longer points, not get frustrated when I try to put away a shot and it doesn't go."
Top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada had her hands full with unseeded Carlota Moreno on Stadium Court this morning, but emerged with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory. She will face No. 5 seed Sarah Ye, who beat No. 9 seed Adla Lopez 7-5, 6-3. Lagaev, 18, and Ye, 16, met last year the second round of a J200 in Canada, with Lagaev winning 6-0, 6-1.
A second Canadian advanced to the quarterfinals, with No. 14 seed Avery Alexander beating No. 3 seed Olivia Traynor 6-4, 6-2. Alexander will play No. 11 seed Isabelle DeLuccia, who beat No. 6 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-1, 6-3.
In the bottom quarter, No. 2 seed Jordyn Hazelitt defeated No. 16 seed Brooke Wallman 7-5, 6-2 and will play No. 12 seed Hannah Ayrault, who beat No. 8 seed Thara Gowda 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Ayrault and Hazelitt have one head-to-head meeting on the ITF Junior Circuit, back in July of 2024, with Ayrault beating Hazelitt 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of a J60 in Orlando on clay.
The doubles semifinals are set for Thursday, with the top four boys seeds all advancing.
Tucson champions and No. 1 seeds Gavin Goode and Ryan Cozad barely escaped in their quarterfinal match with Felix Roussel of Canada and Mason Vaughan. Down 6-3 and 2-1 with Vaughan serving, Goode and Cozad won five straight games to force a match tiebreaker, but couldn't sustain their momentum. Up 9-7 in the tiebreaker, they lost both points and when Vaughan knocked off a volley winner, Goode had to hold serve in the next point to stay alive. A good first serve and a Cozad putaway saved the match point, and they closed out the match with a Cozad volley winner and Goode forehand up the middle.
They will play No. 4 seeds Xavier Augustin and Vihaan Reddy, who beat the fifth-seeded Canadian team of Joshua Adamson and Dani Szabo 7-6(5), 6-2.
No. 2 seeds Konduri and Latak defeated No. 7 seeds Izyan Ahmad and Canada's Quincy Yao 6-3, 6-1 and will play No. 3 seeds Xavier Massotte of Canada and Roshan Santhosh. Massotte and Santhosh came back to defaeted No. 6 seeds Safir Azam and Mason Taube 5-7, 6-3, 10-5.
Girls No. 1 seeds Carrie-Anne Hoo and Sarah Ye reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over unseeded Kylie Liu and Elena Zhao. They will play No. 7 seeds Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Karlin Schock, who defeated No. 3 seeds Lani Chang and Brooke Wallman 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.
No. 6 seeds Nadia Lagaev and Clemence Mercier of Canada defeated unseeded Ellery Mendell and Carlota Moreno 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 and will play No. 5 seeds Emery Combs and Jordyn Hazelitt. Combs and Hazelitt beat No. 2 seeds Hannah Ayrault and Capucine Jauffret 6-0, 6-2.
The Easter Bowl wild cards are below, with action beginning Saturday for the 12s and 14s divisions. The 16s and 18s begin Tuesday and run through next Sunday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 100s throughout the event.
Boys 14s: Davidson Jackson, Keita Iida
Boys 16s: Anay Kulkarni, Indra Vergne, Smyan Thuta, Kensho Ford
Boys 18s: Arin Pallegar, Wesley Cotton, Rishvanth Krishna, Colin McPeek
Girls 12s: Malee Coupal
Girls 14s: Jacqueline Nick, Danielle Han, Cataleya Brown
Girls 16s: Tanvi Pandey, Blake Chang, Alexandra Grilliot, Emery June Martin
Girls 18s: Abigail Haile, Olivia de Los Reyes, Kalista Papadopoulos, Sophie Suh
At the M25 in Bakersfield California, 16-year-old wild card Michael Antonius is through to the second round after defeating No. 7 seed and 2024 Roland Garros boys champion Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) 7-5, 6-4. Antonius will play 30-year-old Jonathan Mridha of Sweden in the second round Thursday.
0 comments:
Post a Comment