Jeff Szekely's Statement on Clay Court Resignation

Many of you have asked me for information about the resignation of Boys 18s & 16s National Clay Court Tournament Director Jeff Szekely. I received his permission to pass along this statement:

First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who either called or sent an e-mail and expressed their concern, kind thoughts and appreciation. I did not expect such an outpouring, in either the volume of responses or the words of affection. It surely humbled me.

In reply to your e-mail request, Colette, as to why I am retiring from the USTA Clays, the following is a copy of an e-mail that I sent last week to friends associated with junior and collegiate tennis:

In a message dated 1/11/07 6:37:18 AM, jeff@ustaclay.com writes:


Dear Friends, fellow Tournament Directors and lovers of junior and
collegiate tennis,

After careful consideration and much reflection, I have tendered my
resignation to the USTA as the tournament director of the USTA National
Boys' 18 & 16 Clay Court Championships as of January 3, 2007.

It was a joyous 10 years, and Shelley and I met some terrific people
(starting with the recipients of this e-mail).

It was great fun, hard work and much more rewarding than Shelley and I ever expected.

At this time in my life, I would like to spend more time with Shelley in
Naples, Fl and New England where we will have homes and scale down my financial consulting practice in Maryland. There are also some health issues that I need to address.

I would especially like to thank the Wreges (Julie, Doug, Dallas and
Shannon), Rollie Shea, Dede Allen, Manuela and Jeff Davies for their many years of help with the Clays. I could never have done it without their support.

I wish everyone a great time on and off the court.

Take care-Jeff

Jeffrey W. Szekely
Tournament Director
USTA National Boys' 18 & 16 Clay Courts
1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 560
Rockville, MD 20852
Telephone: 301-309-2022
Facsimile: 301-309-2271
jeff@ustaclay.com
www.ustaclay.com

I always believed I was a "PLAYERS" Tournament Director meaning the PLAYERS came first even before parents, junior coaches, college coaches and the media . The four areas that I wanted to address in being a tournament director for the players were: (1) combining the Boys' 18 & 16 into one event, (2) the ATP wild cards ( for B-16 and B-18) to a $1,000,000 ATP Legg Mason event (which would bring the best players) (3) and the best players would then bring in the top college coaches, last year in excess of 140 college coaches came to see the best players (4) and have a certified umpire on each court, to level the playing field. I believed all the above would really benefit the players in their junior career.

Finally, the decision as to who will be the new Tournament Director and where it will be held will be totally up to the USTA and the Youth Competition and Training Comm. (YCTC). I know it will not be held at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

In conclusion, it was a very difficult decision for me and my family, but one that was necessary for me to make at this time.

I am sure the new home of the Clays and the new tournament director will be terrific.

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, USTA Clay Courts, Jeff Szekely

From Sand to Ice

About 18 hours after watching the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico at Clearwater Beach, we were treated to a different kind of beauty on our arrival in Michigan. The usually barren trees were sparkling like diamonds on mirrors, with the low-angle midwinter sun refracting through the glaze of ice coating every branch. When you are in a warm car driving on dry pavement, it's easy to appreciate the splendor of such a sight. But the power outages and accidents reveal an uglier side to what nature can bring.

Enough weather philosophy. When I was at the Florida sectional in Tampa, I spoke briefly to Sloane Stephens who is one of four girls representing the U.S. in the two big tournaments in Europe this winter--Teen Tennis and Les Petits As. She said the team was leaving on Wednesday and will be gone nearly three weeks, and told me who else would be going on the girls side.

There has already been discussion about the boys selections in a series of comments on this unrelated post.

I'm posting a slide show of the six players I have photographs of. Although I'll be busy keeping track of the Australian Open, I'm also going to track the progress of these younger players.

Create a Free Slideshow

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, Les Petits As

Burkhardt, Kambourelis win Florida Winter Sectional 18s titles

©Colette Lewis 2007--
Tampa, FL--

Two youngsters captured the David Barkesdale Junior Dixie Winter Sectional 18s tournament Sunday, when 16-year-old Joey Burkhardt and 15-year-old Kelly Kambourelis won semifinal and final matches on a warm and cloudless Monday.

Burkhardt lived up to his top seeding, defeating second seed Joseph Cadogan 6-4, 2-6, 4-1 ret. in the final, but Kambourelis, seeded No. 9, was something of a surprise winner, and she continued her run through the final, defeating No. 5 seed Rachel Saiontz 6-4, 6-1.

"I didn't have really anything to lose," said Kambourelis, who also took out No. 4 seed Jordan Jenkins in the quarterfinals on Saturday. "She was seeded higher than me, and I had to keep my head on straight, and make sure I wasn't intimidated."

Saiontz had upset top seed Monica Arguello in a semifinal match that took an inordinately long time to play given the 7-6 (5), 6-1 score. Arguello's counter-punching style produced many lengthy points, and the clay courts also were a contributing factor. Less than two hours later, Saiontz faced another such player in Kambourelis, who had survived a grueling three set win over 15th seed Alexandra Cercone in the semifinals.

"I like to just get a lot of balls back," said Melbourne's Kambourelis, who plays a two-handed forehand and backhand. "Sometimes I can disguise where I'm going on short balls more, because they can't tell where I'm pointing to. But you have to be a little faster on the forehand to get to the shots, because you don't have the wide reach."

The quiet Kambourelis displayed that speed, deception and accuracy throughout the final, much to the dismay of the 17-year-old Saiontz, who could be heard shrieking and talking to herself several courts away.

While Kambourelis and Saiontz had not played since the 10 and unders, according to Kambourelis, Burkhardt and Cadogan are frequent foes, having played three times in 2006 alone.


"I've always had close matches with him," said Burkhardt. "It's never really been just two sets."

Burkhardt, from St. Augustine, had not dropped a set in the tournament; in fact, he hadn't lost more than three games in any set in his first five wins. Cadogan, on the other hand, had dropped the first set in his quarterfinal and semifinal victories, the latter a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Bryan Swartz earlier Monday morning.

The first set featured only three holds of serve, and Burkhardt got two of them to take it 6-4. In the second set, Cadogan picked up the pace on his shots, and using the one-handed backhand that he decided to go with exclusively during the past few months, he streaked out to a 5-1 lead before Burkhardt finally held his serve for the first and only time in the 6-2 set.

The toll of the five sets of tennis Cadogan had played on Monday began to show early in the third set, however, and after Burkhardt took a 2-1 lead, Cadogan asked for a medical timeout. After several minutes, play resumed, but Cadogan was broken, Burkhardt held and Cadogan retired with a sore left arm.

"He usually gets tired near the end of matches," said Burkhardt, "and I was just able to hang in there."

Burkhardt came out with a specific strategy which kept him from being troubled by all the service breaks. "I wanted to start out the point a certain way, so I could work it to his backhand," he said. "He has a heavy and good forehand, and I just didn't want to take a big chance on the serve."

Winning a tournament as the top seed was a new experience for Burkhardt.

"In the 14s, I was never really near the top, then in the 16s I was starting to get there," he said. "By the time I started doing well in the 16s, I started playing up in the 18s. I was a top four seed in my last couple of tournaments, so I'm starting to get used to it."

With two years left in the 18s for him and three years remaining for Kambourelis, there's plenty of time for both to keep winning from any position.

In the third place matches, Alexandra Cercone (15) defeated Monica Arguello 6-2, 6-0 and Bryan Swartz won over Billy Federhofer 4-6, 5-1, ret. injury.

For complete draws, including consolation tournaments, see

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, Joey Burkhardt, Kelly Kambourelis

Lammer, Jidkova Win Tampa Futures

©Colette Lewis 2007--
Tampa, FL--

Switzerland's Michael Lammer and Alina Jidkova of Russia took 2007's first Pro Circuit titles on a summer-like day at the City of Tampa courts at Hillsborough Community College.

Lammer engineered a remarkable turnaround to defeat 17-year-old Donald Young, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, while Jidkova was never threatened in her 6-2, 6-2 victory over Olga Blahotova of the Czech Republic.

Young began the finals as he had finished his semifinal victory on Saturday--confident and consistent. Although he was broken in the match's opening game, he reeled off the next six games to the take the set, and when he broke Lammer to open the second set, prospects looked bleak for the 24-year-old Swiss.

But Young, the No. 8 seed, began to show signs of fatigue after winning that multi-deuce game, and was quickly broken himself in the next game; he managed to hold serve only once the rest of the match.

"In the second set I was hitting the ball a little bit harder," said the third-seeded Lammer, who also eliminated the unforced errors that plagued him in the first set. "The rallies were tougher, but I felt in good physical condition. It was a tough set, but in the third set he got a little tired, and I kept up the level, and it was the difference."

Young admitted that he was unable to sustain the focus that he had demonstrated in his four previous wins.

"I got tired in the middle of the second set and he didn't," said Young, who was playing in his first professional singles final. "He made me hit a lot of shots and he didn't miss anything. I was really tired and I didn't have enough energy to do what I was doing in the first set."

Lammer had a small cheering section consisting of his aunt, who lives in both Switzerland and Naples, Florida, and his grandmother, who was visiting her daughter. He also has a new coach, which explains why Lammer is in Florida instead of Australia, where last year he qualified for the Australian Open.

"I changed coaches, and came to practice here in Miami in December and we decided to start the season with the Futures here and play more tournaments in the U.S., get a lot of matches, and build up the season like that."

Lammer is off to an excellent start in the new year, as is Young. Although disappointed with the finals result, Young cited several reasons for optimism.

"I got to my first final," Young said. "I would have liked to win it, but I went three sets. I went a round further than I have before, so it's an improvement and a good to start 2007."


The women's final started the action on Sunday, and it didn't produce much suspense, as Jidkova, a former Top 60 WTA player, dominated throughout. As a qualifier, Jidkova needed three victories to reach the main draw, but until she lost the second set in the semifinals against Julie Ditty, the 29-year-old righthander had barely been tested. Blahotova, 30, could not keep pace with Jidkova and failed to capitalize on the few opportunities she had to draw even.

JUNIORS
The round of 16 and the quarterfinals were played Sunday in the boys and girls 18s sectional tournament at HCC, and the No. 1 seeds in both divisions advanced to Monday's semifinals with a pair of straight set victories.

Top seed Monica Arguello bested No. 11 seed Lindsay Dvorak 6-4, 7-6 (1) and unseeded Malika Rose 6-3, 6-2 on the green clay courts. Arguello will meet No. 5 seed Rachel Saiontz in the semifinals. The other semifinal features Kelly Kambourelis (9) against No. 15 Alexandra Cercone. Cercone defeated unseeded Maria Belaya, who in the round of 16 had upset second seed Jamie Mera in a third-set tiebreak.

Joey Burkhardt, the No. 1 boys' seed, took out Evan Bernstein (16) 6-2, 6-2 and Dashiel Neimark (12) 6-2, 6-3. Burkhardt's opponent in the semifinals will be unseeded Billy Federhofer. Federhofer easily defeated No. 6 seed Robert Pietrucha and No. 11 seed Erik Hannah to earn his spot in the semis.


Another unseeded semifinalist is Bryan Swartz, who had no trouble with unseeded Chris Reiman and ninth seed Michael Anders, defeating both in two quick sets. He will face No. 2 seed Joe Cadogan, who played only one match on Sunday due to a walkover in the round of 16, but that one match was a three-hour marathon. Cadogan won the final four games of the match to survive his battle with No. 5 seed Luke Mojica 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
For complete draws, including consolation draws, see the TennisLink tournament page.

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, Pro Circuit Tampa Futures, Michael Lammer, Alina Jidkova, Billy Federhofer

Young and Lammer meet for Tampa Futures title Sunday

©Colette Lewis 2007--
Tampa, FL--

Seventeen-year-old Donald Young reached his first professional singles final on Saturday with a dominating 6-1, 6-2 performance against Conor Niland of Ireland. The women's finalists were also decided under Saturday's balmy skies, with Olga Blahotova and Alina Jidova earning a chance at the year's first Pro Circuit title.

Young, whose previous best result in a Pro Circuit event was the semifinals at last January's Futures in Boca Raton, has yet to drop a set in his four victories this week.

"I've been playing really well all week," said Young, the tournament's No. 8 seed. "A lot of good wins. First time I ever beat Kryvonos was yesterday, and Ruben Gonzales (in the first round), I got revenge on him. He beat me when I was like 13, my first ever ITF. I qualified into Kentucky and he beat me 1 and 1, so it was good to get him."

Niland, who was unseeded, had taken out top seed Benedict Dorsch of Germany in the first round, but he had no answer on Saturday for the consistency of Young.

"He missed a lot of shots, but I think he felt because I wasn't missing a lot, he had to go for more," Young said. "The first tournament of the year, to make the finals is pretty good, especially when I lost here in the first round last year, to (Marcus) Fugate."


Young's opponent in Sunday's final will be No. 3 seed Michael Lammer of Switzerland. Lammer once again required nearly an hour per set to complete his victory over unseeded Adriano Biasella, eliminating the Italian 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a battle of the one-handed backhands. At this time last year Lammer, 24, was in Australia, having qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open, where he lost in the first round to Andy Roddick. He has one Futures title to his credit, in 2005, and reached the finals of another in October of 2006.

Less than two years ago, Jidkova was No. 51 on the WTA tour, but her ranking had fallen so dramatically that she was forced to qualify for this Futures event. The 29-year-old Russian displayed some of the grit required to start that climb, when she overcame a 4-1 deficit in the third set to defeat No. 7 seed Julie Ditty of the U.S. 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

In Sunday's final Jidkova will face fellow unseeded veteran Olga Blahotova, who won her fourth consecutive three-set match with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 decision over No. 6 seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany. The 30-year-old from the Czech Republic also reached the women's doubles final, but she and partner Andrea Hlavackova fell to Angelika Bachmann of Germany and Tetiana Luzhanska of the Ukraine 7-5, 6-2.


The men's doubles final saw amateurs Somdev Devvarman of India and Treat Huey of the U.S. take the title with a 6-0, 7-6 (6) victory over James Cerretani of the U.S and Antonio Ruiz-Rosales of Mexico. The University of Virginia teammates saved four set points in the second set--two at 4-5 and two in the tiebreak; down 4-6 in the tiebreak, they swept the final four points of the match.

JUNIORS

The Florida Designated 18s tournament's first two rounds were also played on the City of Tampa courts at the Hillsborough Community College Saturday, and the top three seeds in both boys and girls divisions reached the round of 16.

Joey Burkhardt (1) and Joseph Cadogan (2) each lost only five games in two matches, and No. 3 seed Zach Hunter also advanced in straight sets. No. 4 seed Jeffrey Morris fell to Dilip Kamath in the first round.

Top seed Monica Arguello dropped only one game in her two matches, but second seed Jamie Mera struggled in her second round match against Kaysara Mandry before pulling out a 0-6, 6-0, 6-3 win. No. 3 seed Holly Johnson and No. 4 seed Jordan Jenkins advanced in straight sets. Olivia Janowicz (6) was ousted by Kendra Higgins and Cassandra Herzberg (7) fell to Malika Rose in first round action.

For complete draws, see the TennisLink website.

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, Pro Circuit Futures, Florida Designated

Young, Ditty Reach Tampa Futures Semis

Tampa, FL--

Friday was another perfect day for tennis at the first Pro Circuit event of January, with temperatures reaching the mid-70s and no threat of rain, or even any humidity.

The day's first four quarterfinal matches provided most of the drama, with the two women's matches three-setters. Andrea Petkovic of Germany, the sixth seed, defeated unseeded Lina Stanciute of Lithuania 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4. She will face Olga Blahotova of the Czech Republic, who eliminated Christina Schiechtl of Austria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

While those two matches were being played, I concentrated on the men's quarterfinal between third seed Michael Lammer of Switzerland and sixth seed Michael Yani of the U.S., on the "show court", court nine. Lammer took the first set 6-3, but fell behind 5-2 in the second set. Yani failed to capitalize on his many chances to even the match, and Lammer got the break back when the former Duke Blue Devil couldn't hold serving for the second set at 5-3. The tiebreak that ensued seemed to take at least 30 minutes to play, with Yani saving a couple of match points, and Lammer several set points. The match ended with a Lammer ace at 9-8, although Yani, a reserved sort, did not believe the serve was good and was still debating it as he left the court.

Lammer's semifinal opponent will be unseeded Adriano Biasella of Italy, who wasn't threatened by Pierrick Ysern of France, cruising to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the 2005 NCAA finalist from the University of San Diego.

The match between Donald Young and Nikita Kryvonos drew a large crowd, and with Kryvonos the higher seed, No. 4 to Young's No. 8, and winner of their last meeting in a Futures early in 2006, he was the favorite. But Kryvonos found himself down a break early in both sets, and Young didn't falter, taking a 6-4, 6-3 decision over the 20-year-old from New York. Young's ability to protect his serve was the difference. The 17-year-old from Atlanta was broken only once, serving at 3-2 in the second, while Kryvonos lost his serve four times.

This is the second time in his career that Young has reached the semifinals of a Pro Circuit event and he will face unseeded Conor Niland of Ireland on Saturday. Niland overcame a slow start to defeat University of Virginia junior Somdev Devvarman of India 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. Niland's strategy to close the net against the consistent baseliner paid dividends later rather than sooner. When Niland, 25, squandered a 3-0 lead in the second set, a third set seemed unlikely, but at 4-4, he held his serve despite facing numerous break points then quickly broke Devvarman to even the match. Devvarman began to make uncharacteristic errors while Niland rarely missed and the third set was over much more quickly than the first two.


In the late matches on the women's side, Julie Ditty, who is second all-time on the Pro Circuit with 25 titles in both singles and doubles, defeated University of Miami junior Audra Cohen 6-1, 6-4. Last year alone, the 27-year-old Vanderbilt graduate won eight titles, and her experience showed against Cohen. While the 20-year-old Cohen struggled with her serve and her forehand in the first set, Ditty played flawless tennis from the first point. The left-hander from Kentucky then patiently waited for her chance in the second set, a set that produced no breaks until the last game, when Cohen played a few loose points and Ditty pounced. In the semifinals however, Ditty will face a much more seasoned competitor in
Russian Alina Jidkova, who only two years ago held a WTA ranking in the 50s. Jidkova, an unseeded qualifier, had no trouble with No. 5 seed Sunitha Rao of the U.S., taking a quick 6-0, 6-1 decision. Jidkova, who turns 30 next week, has yet to lose a set in her six matches this week.

For full draws, including results of the women's doubles, see the Pro Circuit page.

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, Pro Circuit Futures Tampa, Donald Young, Julie Ditty