Smash Column, Eddie Herr Edition

I've wrapped up the 2006 Eddie Herr with my SMASH online column and a tournament summary for The Tennis Recruiting Network.

Will Upsets Top Seed Solovieva in Girls 16s at Orange Bowl

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Key Biscayne, FL--

Although no U.S. boys made it through to the third round in the 16s, there are plenty of American players still representing the Stars and Stripes at the Orange Bowl.

The girls 16s lead the way, with five of the eight quarterfinalists from the U.S.
No. 14 seed Allie Will of Boca Raton had the biggest win in Wednesday's round of 16, taking down No. 1 seed Valeriya Solovieva of Russia 6-2, 6-2. Joining Will in the quarterfinals is Kristie Ahn of New Jersey, who will play Brooke Bolender, a student at the Evert Academy. Both are unseeded.


The other All-American quarterfinal in the girls' 16s features No. 6 seed Sarah Guzick of South Carolina against the 2006 Girls 16s Hard Court Champion Lauren Embree of Florida. The unseeded Embree followed her upset of No. 2 seed Olivia Bennett of Trinidad & Tobago in the second round with a gritty 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Tatiana Bua of Argentina Wednesday.

In the girls 18s, there are five U.S. girls in the round of 16, including all three seeded ones. No. 4 Julia Cohen had little trouble with Texan Ashley Weinhold, winning 6-3, 6-3, and Madison Brengle, No. 12, lost only three games to Gail Brodsky of New York. Reka Zsilinszka, No. 10, produced a similar result in her win over Julia Glushko of Israel, but, as is her custom, it took a long time to get there. During an exceptionally lengthy game that opened the second set, Zsilinszka could be heard talking to herself and the umpire, requesting a prize for the longest game ever. When she finally won it, the floodgates opened, and she didn't lose another game in the match.

Two wild cards from the U.S. also advanced. Melanie Oudin easily defeated Romanian qualifier Irina Begu 6-2, 6-2, and fellow Georgian Mallory Burdette took out Sung-Hee Han of Korea 7-5, 6-3.

Perhaps the biggest news of the day was that Eddie Herr girls 18s champion Urszula Radwanska lost a set for the first time in the eight matches she has won during the Florida junior swing. Kristy Frilling of the U.S. took the first set 7-5, but Radwanska snapped back to take the next two 6-2, 6-1.

The boys 18s round of 16 has five Americans still standing too. With half of the players unseeded, identifying a favorite is difficult, but No. 1 seed Nicolas Santos and No. 2 Donald Young both picked up straight set wins on Wednesday.

Wild card qualifiers Brennan Boyajian and Jordan Rux are now both on five match winning streaks at the Orange Bowl Boyajian defeated Jarmere Jenkins 6-4, 6-1 and Rux upset No. 12 seed Roberto Maytin of Venezuela 6-4, 6-4. Wild card Wil Spencer, an Orange Bowl quarterfinalist in 2005, remains in the mix; he took a 6-3, 6-4 victory from Ivan Endara of Ecuador that wasn't as simple as the score might indicate.

"I played pretty well," said Spencer, who recently returned from Chile, where he played several Futures events on clay. "I'm working on being consistent. I've been up and down, going for too much or not enough. It's a fineline, but today I was moving him around well."

At 4-4 in the second set, Endara was serving and the game went to five or six deuces before Spencer broke through. It was a critical break for Spencer, who was optimistic he could finish it off, knowing he hadn't been broken in the match.

"Even if he had held there, I was pretty confident that I could hold the next game," said Spencer, who allowed Endara many break chances, only to snatch them away.

One of the most competitive matches of the day in the boys 18s was between Chase Buchanan and Mateusz Kecki, both of the U.S. When they had last played two months ago in the Tulsa ITF Closed, it was a three-set victory for Kecki, and he duplicated that outcome on Wednesday, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. (Despite what the draws say, that is the correct score.) But it was a long strange ride to get there.


Kecki was up 4-1 and two breaks in the third when Buchanan came back to level the match at 4-4. But he was immediately broken by Kecki in his next service game, and when it was critical, the 16-year-old from Sacramento held for the victory.

"We just kept breaking back and forth, so it really wasn't much of an advantage to be serving," said Kecki, now sporting bright orange hair. "We both were returning better than we were serving. He's extremely talented, a year younger than I am, and I had to stay solid and consistent to beat him."

Due to the rain on Tuesday afternoon, the boys doubles first round wasn't played until Wednesday. For complete draws see usta.com.

TAGS: tennis, Allie Will, Lauren Embree, Reka Zsilinszka, Wil Spencer, Mateusz Kecki, Chase Buchanan

Boyajian Wins Matchup of Kalamazoo 16s Champions

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Key Biscayne, FL--

The reigning Kalamazoo 16s champion Brennan Boyajian defeated the 2005 Kalamazoo 16s winner Nate Schnugg 6-3, 7-6 (3) in first round action at the Orange Bowl at Crandon Park Tuesday.

Schnugg was seeded No. 8 in the tournament, Boyajian needed a wild card to get into qualifying, winning three matches over two days, all in three sets, to reach the main draw. But after a day of rest on Monday, Boyajian was ready.

"My strategy was to hit to his backhand," said Boyajian, who lives in nearby Weston, Florida. "I tried to keep him away from the net, because he can hit some amazing volleys. After all, he won the last two Grand Slam junior doubles titles."

As he did in winning the Easter Bowl, the Clay Courts and Kalamazoo this year, Boyajian used his anticipation, speed, variety and placement to keep Schnugg off balance, and when Schnugg did come to the net, Boyajian often greeted him with a deftly placed ball at his feet.

"I tried to keep it low," said Boyajian, 17. "And sometimes to go over him. But I tried never to go at him, his hands are too quick for that."

It didn't go exactly as he had planned at the beginning. Boyajian was broken first in the match, in the fifth game of the first set. He got the break back immediately however, and his serve, not the strongest part of his game, went unbroken the rest of the match.

The second set tiebreak was far from a classic, and when Schnugg lost both his serves at 3-4, he was doomed, although Boyajian admitted he wasn't comfortable either.

"We were both tight, I think, and the suspense built and the wind kicked up," said Boyajian. "I'm just glad to have won it."


Schnugg was disappointed, saying that he had come into the tournament playing well, having won matches in Futures events recently. But in a little over three weeks he'll be starting classes at the University of Georgia and preparing for the Bulldogs' dual match season, and anticipating that, he said he wouldn't dwell on the loss.

Boyajian wasn't the only qualifier from the U.S. to win on Tuesday. Jordan Rux also advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over wild card Ryan Lipman. Other U.S. boys winning on Tuesday were Adam El Mihdawy, Drew Daniel, Mateusz Kecki and Rhyne Williams. No. 3 seed Kellen Damico, who is recovering from mononucleosis, retired in his match with Peter Polansky down 6-2, 2-0. Dennis Lajola, seeded 13th, was also eliminated on Tuesday, dropping a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Fernando Romboli of Brazil.

The U.S. girls had a very successful day with Madison Brengle, Gail Brodsky, Julia Cohen, Ashley Weinhold, Melanie Oudin, Chelsea Preeg, Kristy Frilling and Kim Couts advancing to the second round.

For complete draws, see usta.com. A late afternoon shower may have complicated the scheduling.

TAGS: tennis, Orange Bowl, Brennan Boyajian, Nate Schnugg

Orange Bowl Starts with Huge Upset

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Key Biscayne, FL--

We drove from Bradenton to Miami this morning via US 41, avoiding Alligator Alley and the snarl of traffic where it empties, north of Miami. The drive was a perfect antidote to the "controlled chaos" of the Eddie Herr, which is how Tournament Director Rick Workman describes it. Once we finally got beyond the ever-expanding housing developments of Naples, there was nothing but wilderness, punctuated by an occasional airboat concession. There was no traffic to speak of (yes, in Florida!) and plenty of birds along with an alligator or two. After a lunch of a Cuban sandwich and black bean soup, we headed over the Rickenbacher Bridge to Key Biscayne--one of my favorite drives on the tennis circuit.

No sooner had we arrived than we saw Wil Spencer, very excited at having just upset No. 6 seed Roman Jebavy of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Spencer had lost in the final round of qualifying at the Eddie Herr, but was given a wild card into the Orange Bowl and certainly made good use of it. A quarterfinalist last year, Spencer seems comfortable on the Crandon Park courts.

Chase Buchanan also pulled out a big win before we arrived, upsetting No. 7 seed Jose Roberto Velasco of Bolivia 7-6 in the third.

I did watch most of the second set between Jamie Hampton of the U.S. and No. 2 seed Ksenia Milevskaya of Belarus, and Hampton served very well during that set, giving the world's fourth-ranked player fits with her aggressive play. But Milevskaya showed how she earned that ranking in the third set, coming away with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 victory.


Milevskaya is now the favorite to win the girls 18s, as top seed Ayumi Morita of Japan was ousted by Kai-Chen Chang 6-2, 7-6 (2). Morita, ranked third in the ITF junior rankings and 182 in the WTA rankings, couldn't hold off the 15-year-old from Taipei, who is herself ranked 540 by the WTA.

On Tuesday, the first round in 18s singles will be completed, and the 16s second round will begin. For complete draws see usta.com.

Also, the current edition of the Inside Junior Tennis podcast is now available here.

TAGS: tennis, Orange Bowl, Wil Spencer, Chase Buchanan, Ayumi Morita, Kai-Chen Chang, Ksenia Milevskaya, Jamie Hampton

Radwanska and Santos Earn 18s Titles; Orlik and Dimitrov Return to Winner's Circle at Eddie Herr

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Bradenton FL--

18s
Urszula Radwanska of Poland and Brazil's Nicholas Santos captured straight set victories on a clear, calm and warm Sunday morning at the Eddie Herr International Championships at the IMG Bollettieri Academy. Radwanska defeated Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea of Romania 6-3, 6-1, while Santos claimed a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Philip Bester of Canada.


Several hundred fans packed the bleachers to support favorite son Bester, a student at the Academy the past four years. But the 18-year-old wild card wasn't at his best physically due to a calf muscle pull sustained in his semifinal victory over fourth seed Pavel Chekhov of Russia.

"Yesterday in the third set I was serving at 4-3 and I landed on a serve and pulled it," said Bester, who took the court with an elastic bandage on his left leg. "I wasn't able to play my game, coming into the net as I usually do, but in the second set it felt a little bit better. But all credit to Nicolas, he really made me do my best today."

The 18-year-old Santos, the tournament's top seed, was aware of the injury, according to his coach Luiz Faria, who served as an interpreter in the postmatch interview, but it didn't play a major role in their strategy.

"I tried to be very solid in the ground strokes from the baseline and to take his confidence, work on his mind," said Santos, who learned his tennis on a hard court, unusual for a South American.

Santos emoted through two three-set matches--in the round of 16 and in the semifinal--but in the final, he broke Bester the first time he served in each set, allowing the intense and emotional Brazilian to relax and fire away off the ground. But it wasn't his outstanding backhand that he credited for his championship. When asked the key to his title, he pointed to his temple.

"His mind," said Faria. "All the matches were very close, but his mind was focused."

In the girls 18s final, the 15-year-old Radwanska overwhelmed Cirstea, who was appearing in the her second consecutive 18s championship match at the Eddie Herr, while Radwanska lost in the first round of the 18s in 2005. But on Sunday, Radwanska demonstrated that her easy waltz through the 2006 draw was proof of her improvement in the past year. The match itself was almost eerily quiet, with no screaming, grunting or exhaling by either girl, and unlike the boys' final, the spectators had no clear favorite.

Cirstea, seeded second, had difficulty with her serve, and actually won as many games--two--on Radwanska's serve as she did her own. Radwanska was down a break at 2-3 in the first set, but collected the next four games, then started the second set by breaking Cirstea, and began serving better herself.

"I served very well," said Radwansa, who lost only 21 games in her six victories. "Maybe that's the key."

"She had a really strong game," said Cirstea, 16. "She was hitting well, I think she played really good tennis today, and me, I didn't have enough patience. I tried to go for the balls too early."

Radwanska attributes much of her recent success to working with her sister, Agnieszka, who at 17 has already beaten Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams, and is currently no. 61 in the WTA rankings. The elder Radwanska was in Bradenton this week, supporting her sister and working out herself with Bollettieri pros, such as Nicole Vaidisova.

"We are practicing together and doing everything together," said Urszula, who admits that she has never beaten her older sister. "I want to be like my sister and be in the top 100 in the WTA."

She also admitted that they both have hopes of emulating another pair of tennis-playing sisters--Serena and Venus Williams.

"We want to be in the final of a Grand Slam or be No. 1 and No. 2 in the world. It would be great."

In the boys 18s doubles final, No. 6 seeds Mateusz Kecki and Bassam Beidas captured their first Grade 1 ITF event, defeating No. 5 seeds Roberto Maytin of Venezuela and American Dennis Lajola. 6-3, 7-5.

The American Kecki and Beidas, who plays for Lebanon but lives in Eygpt, began their partnership in auspicious fashion back in January, when they reached the semifinals of the Australian Open Junior Championships, and they have been playing together regularly in ITF events since, although the Eddie Herr title was their first as a team.

"It's the first time I've won a doubles tournament in my life," said Kecki, 16.

After defeating the top seeded team of Santos and Fernando Romboli of Brazil Saturday evening, Beidas and Kecki were sharp from the outset and when they broke Maytin to take the title, indulged in a Bryan brothers chest bump in celebration.

"We returned well, and he was passing well, hit a couple of good passes on important points," said Beidas, who will be playing for Pepperdine beginning in January. "And we were holding our serve more than in other days."

The girls doubles champions were No. 2 seeds Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia and Katerina Vankova of the Czech Republic, who defeated unseeded Maria Mokh of the U.S. and Ksenia Pervak of Russia 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-4.

16s


Grigor Dimitrov had never been to the U.S. until last year, when he prepared for the Eddie Herr and the Junior Orange Bowl at the Weil Academy in Ojai California. He won the Eddie Herr 14s title and was a finalist at the Junior Orange Bowl, so his return to Florida brought back many pleasant memories that he's now added to, with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over No. 10 seed Devin Britton of the U.S.

"That was my court," said the 15-year-old Bulgarian of Court 17, where he defeated Alex Domijan in the final in 2005. "I played on it last year, so it felt pretty good."

Britton, also 15, had served and volleyed throughout his tense semifinal victory over Domijan, but in the final neither of those two shots--crucial to his game's success--was working.

"I definitely could have served a lot better," said Britton, who didn't drop his serve in his semifinal win, but was broken the first time he served in the final. "It's about holding serve for me. I wasn't making any first serves and I wasn't getting into any of the points, establishing any rhythm."

Dimitrov, seeded second, admitted that he liked his chances against a net-rusher like Britton.

"I like to play against guys like this that go to the net," said Dimitrov. "I have more confidence. I know what to do."

"Even when I did get my first serve in, I wasn't putting away the volley," said Britton, "and he would get there, and come up with an angle, or a lob or something. There wasn't much I could do."

"I just played good today," agreed Dimitrov. "I don't know what else to say. To play so in the finals, it's just amazing."

Also amazing was the Bulgaria's perfect record in the 16s, as Tanya Raykova, also from that country, joined Dimitrov as an Eddie Herr champion in the girls 16s, downing No. 14 seed Yasmin Clarke of Great Britain 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

"I feel really happy about both of us," said Raykova, a longtime friend of Dimitrov's who also trains at the Weil Academy. "He was cheering me on a lot, and I appreciate it."

Raykova, 15, had a difficult three-set semifinal match Saturday followed by the doubles final, which she and partner Jaklin Alawi, also of Bulgaria, won. She admitted to being tired and wanting to "play less" on Sunday, but Clarke, who also had a three-set semifinal, wouldn't accommodate her. Raykova righted herself quickly in the third set however, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, and she coasted from there.

"I just concentrated more and more, found a way back," said Raykova. "I think I'm mentally good."

14s


Like Dimitrov in the boys 16s, the girls 14s featured a back-to-back winner, as Hanna Orlik of Belarus, the 2005 12s winner, defeated No. 9 seed Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia 6-4, 6-1. Orlik, the 2006 recipient of the tournament's prestigious "Rising Star" award, had beaten Tomljanovic in that final too, but despite her history, she wasn't totally comfortable.

"First set, I was little bit nervous," said No. 3 seed Orlik, who trains in Minsk most of the year. "But second set, no errors, nothing. I play good I think."

On tap next for Orlik is the Junior Orange Bowl, where she won the 12s last year, but for 2007, she has her sights set on bigger things.

"After my birthday in March (when she turns 14), I can play some money tournaments, ten thousand, maybe twenty-five thousand (dollar)," she said. "Octagon is my sponsor, so maybe they give me some wild cards."


The boys 14s winner was also a No. 3 seed, Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan, who defeated No. 8 seed Ashot Khacharyan of Russia 6-1, 6-4.

"I want to play good from start," said Uchiyama, who has been training at the IMG Bollettieri Academy for a year. "But he play better in second set. My serve and forehand, they help me."

Despite the late hour in Japan when his match finished, Uchiyama, 14, phoned his parents in Sapporo tell them the good news. After the Junior Orange Bowl, he will return home while on break from Bradenton Academy.

Marcia Frost at collegeandjuniortennis.com is also covering the tournament this weekend and then will be at the Little Mo International in Dallas next weekend. I'm on to the Orange Bowl at Crandon Park.

For complete draws, see eddierherr.com.

TAGS: tennis, Eddie Herr, Urszula Radwanska, Nicolas Santos, Grigor Dimitrov, Tanya Raykova, Hanna Orlik, Yasutaka Uchiyama

Britton Defeats Domijan, Meets Dimitrov for Boys 16s Title

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Bradenton, FL--

The seventh time was the charm for Devin Britton. Losing all six of his previous contests with fellow 15-year-old Alex Domijan, Britton finally broke through on his home turf, defeating the unseeded Domijan 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in an all-American boys 16s semifinal at the Eddie Herr International.

There wasn't a single service break in the entire match, rare enough in junior tennis, practically unheard of in the 16s. Britton, a relentless serve-and-volleyer, made his way to the net at every opportunity.

"I've started chipping and charging a lot more than I used to," said Britton, who has been training at the IMG Bollettieri Academy for fifteen months. "And I've been closing really tight to the net, and it's been working."

In such a close match, there are many big points, but the biggest were the three set points Britton saved serving at 5-6 in the second set. Each time Domijan had the advantage, Britton came up with a service winner, although his concentration was such that he wasn't even aware that he was avoiding a third set.

"I didn't even realize it at the time," said Britton, the No. 10 seed from Jackson, Mississippi. "I was just thinking I was down break points and I didn't want to get broken."

Many in the crowd of spectators surrounding the court on a warm and sunny Saturday morning expressed amazement at both Britton's net game and Domijan's passing shots. If Britton didn't hit a perfectly executed volley, Domijan would pass him, but undeterred, Britton continued to approach the net. In the second set tiebreak, the 6-foot-3 right hander took at 5-2 lead, but when Domijan, who is at least that tall, held while serving the next two points, the tension mounted. A perfect drop volley gave Britton two match points, and although he missed a volley on his first, he made no mistake on the second.

With a reserved c'mon and a fist pump, he celebrated reaching the final-- and breaking into the win column against Domijan.

"It was definitely in my head," said Britton of the losing streak, "but I couldn't have played much better today."

Domijan acknowledged the difference in Britton's game.

"Usually he plays really well for a set and then he starts playing worse," said Domijan, who trains at Saddlebrook. "But today he played best for two sets."


Domijan fell just short of producing a replay of last year's 14s final, where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Dimitrov, playing in the 16s division despite being ranked 233 in the ITF 18s rankings, advanced to the final with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 over third seed Ilija Vucic of Serbia.

"He was a tough player," said No. 2 seed Dimitrov, who lost his first set in the tournament to Vucic. "I got up early in the second set and then I slowed down, and the guy just came back."

Dimitrov, 15, reached the Junior Orange Bowl 14s final last year, and expects to be playing his last two 16s events with the 2006 Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl.

"I think if I play my best tennis, I expect to win."


Another player with special memories of Eddie Herr is Philip Bester, who reached the boys 18s final by defeating No. 4 seed Pavel Chekhov Saturday afternoon 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Fans packed the stadium court bleachers to watch two of the Bollettieri Academy's top juniors slug it out--again.

"Today's match was very special, because I lost to Pavel in the under 14 finals a few years ago (2002)," said Bester, a wild card entry this year, as he was then. "That ended 7-6 in the third. It's special because everybody who's seen me grow up during my four years here was able to see me play."

After breaking Chekhov in the eighth game of the first set and serving it out, Bester's aggressive volleying wasn't quite as accurate in the second , and the hard-serving Russian evened the match. In the third game of the final set, Bester broke, but it was anything but smooth sailing after that. Chekhov had break points in Bester's next two service games, but the Canadian didn't falter, saving them all.

"Because I've been in a lot of situations like that throughout my career, being down, I'm able to put myself in an extra gear," said Bester. "I'm able to step it up when I do get down in those situations. But the way I want to improve is not let myself get into situations like that."


Bester's next challenge is No. 1 seed Nicolas Santos of Brazil, who overcame a determined Rasid Winklaar 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Santos, whose fondness for "vamos" is evident on practically every point, spent nearly two and a half hours subduing the lefthander from Curacao, but his enthusiasm never waivered. The final will contrast the cool Canadian and the emotional South American, and Bester is looking forward to it.

"I like it when guys get fired up," said Bester. "It motivates me to go for it more and not give the guy any hope on the court."

Second seed Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea of Romania earned her second consecutive trip to the 18s finals by defeating unseeded Tammy Hendler of Belgium 6-4, 7-5. Last year Cirstea dropped a three-set decision to Dominika Cibulkova in the finals, having pulled off the tournament's biggest upset when she eliminated top seed and Wimbledon Junior champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

On Sunday, she will face Radwanska's younger sister Urszula, the No. 4 seed, who rolled past No. 8 seed Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia 6-1, 6-2.

Radwanska hasn't lost more than four games in any set she's played this week, and she owns a win over Cirstea at this year's Wimbledon Junior Championships.

"But that was grass, this is hard court," said Radwanska, who turns 16 in a few days. "It will be much more difficult."

Radwanska credits her serve as the reason for her dominance, especially in Saturday's match against Pivovarova, who struggled in that department.

"I did everything well, I'm playing very well, especially my serve," she said.

The 16-year-old Cirstea was the veteran in her match with the 14-year-old Hendler, who won the 14s in 2005, and the tall Romanian understands the dynamics of that situation.

"When I play seniors (pro events), I have much less pressure, since I am young, and I play relaxed. But in juniors, the younger girls play like they have nothing to lose, and I am expected to win."

Down 4-2 in the second set after what she described as "a loss of focus," Cirstea identified a technical change as well.

"My arm wasn't going through and I was going back," she said. "And my serve worked really well at the end."

The girls 14s champion in 2003, Cirstea admits to a fondness for the tournament.

"I have a very good feeling about this tournament," she said. "It's a nice feeling to be in the final for the second year."

Hanna Orlik, the 2005 12s champion, has reached her second consecutive Eddie Herr final as well, this time in the 14s. Orlik, from Belarus, the third seed, defeated top seed Katarena Paliivets of Canada 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday morning. She will meet a familiar foe, Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia; Tomljanovic was the other 12s finalists last year. The No. 9 seed, Tomljanovic took out unseeded Alina Jerjomina of Latvia 7-5, 6-0..

The boys 14s finalists are No. 3 seed Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan and No. 5 seed Ashot Khacharyan of Russia. Uchiyama defeated No. 9 seed Federico Gaio of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (1), while Khacharyan eliminated No. 11 seed Dominik Schulz of Germany 6-3, 7-5.

In girls 16s, unseeded 13-year-old Ester Goldfeld of Brooklyn New York forced top seed Tanya Raykova of Bulgaria into a third set before falling 7-6 (3), 6-7(3), 6-1. Raykova's opponent on Sunday will be no. 14 seed Yasmin Clarke of Great Britain, who defeated U.S. wild card Nicole Bartnik 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

On Friday, No. 2 seeds Jason Zafiros of the U.S. and Matt Reid of Australia teamed to win the boys 16s doubles title, when their opponents, No. 3 seed Ty Trombetta of the U.S. and Andres Bucaro of Guatemala, couldn't play the match due to scheduling conflicts.

For complete draws, see eddierherr.com.

Marcia Frost from collegeandjuniortennis.com is also here in Bradenton this weekend.

TAGS: tennis, Eddie Herr, Devin Britton, Alex Domijan, Grigor Dimitrov, Philip Bester, Nicolas Santos