It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in both 16s and 18s singles on Sunday, which holds out a promise of two exciting matches to close the delightful week of tennis in Kalamazoo.
Donald Young will be trying to win back-to-back championships at Kalamazoo, while Brennan Boyajian is after his third consecutive National 16 singles title.
Details of Saturday's matches, including the doubles finals, are at ustaboys.com.
You never know when the tournament's defining match will be played, and even though there is an entire weekend of tennis remaining, that honor will almost certainly go to the match between Adam El Mihdawy and Jarmere Jenkins, in the 16s quarterfinals on Friday.
The best tennis weather imaginable provided the perfect backdrop to the guaranteed drama of a third set tiebreak.
My match account for ustaboys.com has the details here.
The huge upset in singles has yet to happen; the No. 1 seeds got through in straight sets Thursday; the No. 2s play on Friday. With only four main draw singles matches today, there were much greater opportunities for me to actually watch some matches from start to finish and to talk with parents, coaches and players. It's a relief to have a few moments to think (and sleep). The wrapup story for Thursday is here.
Wednesday is always a busy day at the Zoo, but the scheduling of the round of 16 throughout the day actually gives us an opportunity to pursue an ambitious goal--photographing, in action, all 32 players still playing in the main draw.
Please visit the photo archives for a shot and caption summary of all the day's matches.
For news of the big upset, see ustaboys.com.
The weather couldn't be better--sunny with temperatures in the mid 70s and no humidity. It's surprising how many matches featured cramps today; could it be more psychological than physiological at this stage in the tournament?
My story at ustaboys.com provides the details of Tuesday's fourth round matches.
Sometimes it's 7 p.m. before the day's story reveals itself, and that was the case on Monday, when Steve Forman saved five match points in his third round boys 18s match with Zachary Watson.
There was so much tennis on today's schedule that it would be understandable if the last match would have the biggest impact, but it was a great tennis whether it was at 7 a.m. or 7 p.m. See ustaboys.com for the details.
