Tien Defeats Medvedev in Fifth Set Tiebreaker to Join Ten Other Americans in Australian Open Round Three; AO Junior Championships Begin Saturday with Jones, Kumstat Top Seeds; Seven Americans Reach ITF J300 Coffee Bowl Semifinals

Joao Fonseca of Brazil was the talk of the Australian Open after the 18-year-old Next Gen champion defeated No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the first round. Fonseca lost his second round match Thursday to Lorenzo Sonego of Italy, but Next Gen finalist Learner Tien(USC) kept the buzz on the teenagers in this first week with a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(7) win over three-time Australian Open finalist and No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia. 

It looked as if the 19-year-old Californian, a two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion, might have missed his opportunity when he didn't convert a match point in the third set tiebreaker, with the wear and tear of three qualifying matches and a nearly four-hour first round win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina likely to have an impact as the clock ticked past midnight. The fourth set seemed to confirm that supposition, but the fifth set upended the narrative, with Tien going up a break for a 3-1 lead, only to give it right back. When Medvedev broke Tien at 5-all, he appeared poised to end the valiant battle Tien had put up, but Tien broke back to force the deciding tiebreaker. After he missed an easy forehand wide to fall behind 7-6, Medvedev was in great position, but Tien hit two forehand winners, got an unforced error from a Medvedev for 9-7 and then slid a first serve up the T that Medvedev returned long to secure the improbable, nearly five-hour upset just shy of 3 a.m. Melbourne time.

David Kane has more on the match at tennis.com.

Thursday's second Australian Open results of Americans:

Emma Navarro[8] d. Xiyu Wang(CHN) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Madison Keys[19] d. Elena-Gabriela Ruse[Q](ROU) 7-6(1), 2-6, 7-5

Emma Raducanu(GBR) d. Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5 

Elena Rybakina[6](KAZ) d. Iva Jovic[WC] 6-0, 6-3

Danielle Collins[10] d. Destanee Aiava[Q](AUS) 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2

Elina Svitolina[28](UKR) d. Caroline Dolehide 6-1, 6-4

Alex de Minaur[8](AUS) d. Tristan Boyer[Q] 6-2, 6-4, 6-3

Taylor Fritz[4] d. Christian Garin[Q](CHI) 6-2 ,6-1, 6-0

Learner Tien[Q] v Daniil Medvedev[5](RUS) 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(7)

Ben Shelton[21] d. Pablo Carreno Busta(ESP) 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(4) 6-4

Fabian Marozsan(HUN) d. Frances Tiafoe[17] 6-7(3). 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 

Alex Michelsen d. James McCabe[WC](AUS) 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(4)

Corentin Moutet(FRA) d. Mitchell Kreuger[Q] 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4 

Marcos Giron d. Tomas Martin Etcheverry(ARG) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

Friday's third round Australian Open matches featuring Americans:
Coco Gauff[3] v Leylah Fernandez[30](CAN)
Jessica Pegula[7] v Olga Danilovic(SRB)

Tommy Paul[12] v Roberto Carballes Baena(ESP)

The draws for the Australian Open Junior Championships, which begin Saturday(Friday night in the US), have been released with the same 15 Americans that compete in the J300 in Traralgon in the main draw. Jacob Lee, the only American in qualifying, lost his final round qualifying match to Tom Sickenberger of Germany 6-1, 6-1.

The Americans competing are Kristina Penickova[6], Thea Frodin, Maya Iyengar, Claire An, Aspen Schuman, Shannon Lam, Annika Penickova, Jack Kennedy[4], Jagger Leach[5], Maxwell Exsted[10], Dominick Mosejczuk, Matisse Farzam, Noah Johnston, Benjamin Willwerth. Maximus Dussault.

The boys seeds are below, with no change from the Traralgon seeds except for No. 16.

1. Jan Kumstsat(CZE)

2. Amir Omarkhanov(KAZ)

3. Andres Santamarta Roig(ESP)

4. Jack Kennedy(USA)

5. Jagger Leach(USA)

6. Oliver Bonding(GBR)

7. Oskari Paldanius(FIN)

8. Henry Bernet(SUI)

9. Timofei Derepasko(RUS)

10. Maxwell Exsted(USA)

11. Flynn Thomas(SUI)

12. Andrea De Marchi(ITA

13. Moise Kouame(FRA)

14. William Rejchtman Vinciguerra(SWE)

15. Alan Wazny(POL)

16. Alexander Vasilev(BUL)

The girls seeds are quite different, with three of the top four seeds not playing Traralgon: top seed Emerson Jones of Australia, No. 2 seed and US Open girls champion Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain, and US Open girls finalist Wakana Sonobe of Japan. Two other girls seeds also did not play Traralgon: No. 9 Mingge Xu of Great Britain and No. 12 seed Alena Kovackova of the Czech Republic. Those five additions bumped Americans Thea Frodin and Maya Iyengar, who were seeds in Traralgon, out of seeding territory.

Girls seeds:

1. Emerson Jones(AUS)

2. Mika Stojsavljevic(GBR)

3. Jeline Vandromme(BEL)

4. Wakana Sonobe(JPN)

5. Teodora Kostovic(SRB)

6. Kristina Penickova(USA)

7. Tereza Krejcova(CZE)

8. Elizara Yaneva(BUL)

9. Mingge Xu(GBR)

10. Rositsa Dencheva(BUL)

11. Jana Kovackova(CZE)

12. Alena Kovackova(CZE)

13. Vendula Valdmannova(CZE)

14. Hannah Klugman(GBR)

15. Mika Buchnik(ISR)

16. Julia Stusek(GER)

Henry Bernet of Switzerland and Jeline Vandromme of Belgium won the Traralgon singles titles.

The ITF J300 in Costa Rica will have an American boy as the singles champion for the third time in the last four years, with all Friday's semifinalists from the United States.  

Last week's J100 champion Ryan Cozad continued his run, beating No. 5 seed Calvin Baierl 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, his eighth straight win this month in Costa Rica. He will face 15-year-old qualifier Michael Antonius in the first J300 semifinal for both. Antonius defeated No. 7 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico 7-6, 6-4.  No. 8 seed Jack Satterfield, who beat wild card Keaton Hance 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, will play the winner of tonight's match between No. 6 seed Lachlan Gaskell and Yubel Ubri.

Three of the four girls in the semifinals are from the United States, with top seed Katie Rolls advancing via a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ligaya Murray and No. 2 seed Capucine Jauffret defeating Carrie-Anne Hoo 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Rolls will face unseeded Ava Rodriguez, who beat qualifier Lucy Oyebog Atang 6-3, 6-3; Jauffret takes on the only non-American semifinalist in No. 4 seed Mariella Thamm of Germany. Thamm defeated No. 5 seed Julieta Pareja, her doubles partner, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

The draws on the ITF Junior Circuit website have not been updated, but the draws on the Coffee Bowl tournament site are current.

Fourteen of 16 Quarterfinalists at ITF J300 Coffee Bowl from US; Vandromme and Bernet Claim Traralgon J300 Titles, Americans Win Doubles; Australian Open Second Round Singles Concludes with 14 Americans in Action Thursday

Although there are two night matches Wednesday at the Coffee Bowl, the ITF J300 in Costa Rica, the number of all-US quarterfinals Thursday is six, with just two non-Americans advancing in today's second round action.

Tonight's two night matches, which are played outdoors in contrast to the day matches held indoors this year, feature Jack Satterfield[8] and qualifier Gray Kelley and No. 2 seed Jack Secord and wild card Keaton Hance. Hance and Secord were members of November's USA Junior Davis Cup team that won the title; both played No. 2, behind Jack Kennedy, with Hance at that spot throughout the knockout round. 

Ryan Cozad defeated top seed Dante Pagani of Argentina 7-5, 6-4 last night and took out Andrew Johnson 6-4, 6-1 today. Cozad won the J100 in Costa Rica last week.

The boys quarterfinals:

Ryan Cozad v Calvin Baierl[5]

Michael Antonius[Q] v Yannik Alvarez[7](PUR)

Lachlan Gaskell[6] v Yubel Ubri

Satterfield/Kelley v Hance/Secord

The girls quarterfinals:

Katie Rolls[1] v Ligaya Murray

Lucy Oyebog Atang[Q] v Ava Rodriguez

Julieta Pareja[5] v Mariella Thamm[4](GER)

Carrie-Anne Hoo v Capucine Jauffret[2]

The ITF J300 in Traralgon Australia finished Wednesday, with top seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium and No. 8 seed Henry Bernet of Switzerland taking the singles titles. Vandromme defeated unseeded Ksenia Efremova of France 6-3, 6-1 in the final, while Bernet defeated unseeded Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia 6-2, 6-3.

Kristina and Annika Penickova won their eighth ITF Junior Circuit doubles title, with the No. 3 seeds beating Teodora Kostovic of Serbia and Anamaria Federica Oana of Romania 6-3, 6-2 in the final. 

Top seeds Jagger Leach and Great Britain's Oliver Bonding won the boys doubles title, beating No. 2 seeds Max Exsted and the Czech Republic's Jan Kumstat 6-3, 5-7, 10-4 in the final.

Jacob Lee, the only American in the Australian Open Junior Championships qualifying, won his first round match Wednesday, beating No. 13 seed Kohshi Ishibashi of Japan 7-6(5), 6-3. He will face No. 4 seed Tom Sickenberger of Germany for a place in the main draw Thursday (tonight in the US).  

Again, much respect for Tennis Australia electing to play a full third set in these qualifying matches, which Roland Garros also does. Sadly, that is not the case at Wimbledon or the US Open, where a match tiebreaker often decides who qualifies for the main draw.

Three of the five Americans in Australian Open second round action Wednesday advanced in men's and women's singles, but No. 22 seed Sebastian Korda lost to former University of Illinois All-American Aleks Vukic of Australia. Korda is the first seeded American to lose in the Australian Open this year. Fourteen Americans are on Thursday's schedule:

Wednesday's second round Australian Open results of Americans:

Jessica Pegula[7] d. Elise Mertens(BEL) 6-4 6-2

Coco Gauff[3] v Jodi Burrage(GBR) 6-3, 7-5

Aleks Vukic(AUS) d. Sebastian Korda[22] 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5

Tomas Machac[26](CZE) d. Reilly Opelka 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 

Tommy Paul[12] d. Kei Nishikori(JPN) 6-7(3), 6-0, 6-3, 6-1

Thursday's second Australian Open matches featuring Americans:

Emma Navarro[8] v Xiyu Wang(CHN)

Madison Keys[19] v Elena-Gabriela Ruse[Q](ROU)

Amanda Anisimova v Emma Raducanu(GBR)

Iva Jovic[WC] v Elena Rybakina[6](KAZ)

Danielle Collins[10] v Destanee Aiava[Q](AUS)

Caroline Dolehide v Elina Svitolina[28](UKR)

Tristan Boyer[Q] v Alex de Minaur[8](AUS)

Taylor Fritz[4] v Christian Garin[Q](CHI)

Learner Tien[Q] v Daniil Medvedev[5](RUS)

Ben Shelton[21] v Pablo Carreno Busta(ESP)

Frances Tiafoe[17] v Fabian Marozsan(HUN)

Alex Michelsen v James McCabe[WC](AUS)

Mitchell Krueger[Q] v Corentin Moutet(FRA)

Marcos Giron v Tomas Martin Etcheverry(ARG)

Jovic Advances, Eleven US Men, Including All Three Qualifiers, Reach Australian Open Second Round; AO Junior Qualifying Begins; W35 in Palm Coast Sole USTA Pro Circuit Event This Week

Seventeen-year-old Iva Jovic had not played any warm-up events this year prior making use of her Australian Open wild card, but the ITF Junior No. 2 showed absolutely no signs of rust in her first round match Tuesday, beating 33-year-old Nuria Parrizas-Diaz of Spain 6-2, 6-1. The match was closer than the score would indicate, but Jovic, who lost in the first round of the Australian Open Junior Championships the last time she played in Melbourne, was in control throughout. She will face No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan next, after the 2022 Wimbledon champion breezed past ITF Junior No. 1 Emerson Jones of Australia 6-1, 6-1 in the first round.

American men continued their impressive results, with the two who lost Tuesday going out to compatriots. Over the three days of the first round the US men had 11-3 record.

All three qualifiers made it through the first round on Tuesday, with Learner Tien(USC) and Tristan Boyer(Stanford) getting their first slam victories by coming through in five-set battles with Argentinians. Mitchell Krueger won his first slam match outside of the United States, with the 31-year-old beating former UNC star Rinky Hijikata of Australia in straight sets.

The US women have had much less success, going 8-11, although all five seeds have made the second round. No. 8 seed Emma Navarro(Virginia) barely escaped the upset against fellow NCAA singles champion Peyton Stearns(Texas) who led 5-3 in the third set before falling 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5 in three hours and 20 minutes. Two other American NCAA champions advanced, Ben Shelton(Florida, 2022) in another all-US battle against Brandon Nakashima, and Marcos Giron(UCLA, 2014).

ATP Next Gen champion Joao Fonseca of Brazil, the 2023 US Open boys champion, continued his surge, with the 18-year-old qualifier defeating No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-6(5).

Only five Americans are on Wednesday's schedule, although that's just in singles, as the schedule is full of first round doubles matches.

Qualifying for the Australian Open Junior Championships begins Wednesday(tonight in the United States), with only one American making the trip who did not receive entry into the main draw: Jacob Lee. The 17-year-old from Georgia, with an ITF ranking of 355 when the acceptances were announced, was one out of qualifying at the freeze, but did get in.  

The top seed in boys qualifying is Michele Mecarelli of Italy and
the top seed in girls qualifying is Ada Kumru of Turkey.

The finals are set for Wednesday at the AO junior warmnup, the ITF J300 in Traralgon Australia, with an American champion guaranteed in boys doubles. Top seeds Jagger Leach and Great Britain's Oliver Bonding will face No. 2 seeds Maxwell Exsted and Czech Republic's Jan Kumstat after both teams won two matches Tuesday. The tenth-seeded Exsted lost 7-5, 7-5 in his singles semifinal to unseeded Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia, who will face No. 8 seed Henry Bernet of Switzerland for the title. Top seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium will play Ksenia Efremova of France in the girls singles championship match.

Kristina and Annika Penickova are through to the girls doubles final, where the No. 3 seeds will play unseeded Teodora Kostovic of Serbia and Anamaria Federica Oana of Romania.

With all eyes on Australia (and Costa Rica's Coffee Bowl, at least for me) this week, it's not too surprising that the USTA Pro Circuit features just one tournament: a W35 in Palm Harbor Florida. Qualifying concluded today, with three Americans advancing to the main draw: 18-year-old NC State recruit Tori Osuigwe, 2015 NCAA singles champion Jamie Loeb(UNC) and 2021 NCAA doubles champion Makenna Jones(UNC).

Wild cards were awarded to Malaika Rapolu(Texas), UCLA freshman Kate Fakih, USTA 18s Winter Nationals champion Chukwumelije Clarke and 32-year-old Christina McHale, who had retired in 2022, but has been back competing in USTA events since last November.

Marie Benoit of Belgium is the top seed, with No. 3 seed Sophie Chang the top American. Texas A&M senior Mary Stoiana is in the main draw and won her first round match today against Eva Vedder of the Netherlands 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2.

Michelsen Beats Tsitsipas in Australian Open First Round, 17 Americans Play Openers Tuesday; Exsted Advances to ITF Traralgon J300 Semifinals; US Juniors Flood ITF J300 Coffee Bowl Draws

The second of three days of first round action at the Australian Open ended with eight more Americans advancing to the second round, joining Reilly Opelka, who won on Sunday.  The only US man to lose so far is 19-year-old wild card Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford), who impressed in his slam debut with a 4-6,  6-3, 6-4, 6-2 loss to 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, the No. 7 seed this year. 

Alex Michelsen, who lost to Basavareddy last week in Auckland, took out No. 11 seed and 2023 Australian Open men's singles finalist Stefano Tsitsipas of Greece 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, with the other American men, all seeded, getting through their opening matches. Eight more US men play Tuesday; nine American women play Tuesday, including 2024 USTA Girls 18s champion Iva Jovic.

First Round Australian Open results featuring Americans:

Monday (Sunday night in US)

Danielle Collins[10] d. Daria Snigur[Q](UKR) 7-6(4), 6-3

Caroline Dolehide d. Sara Bejlek[Q](CZE) 7-6(5), 6-2

Ajla Tomljanovic[WC](AUS) d. Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

Laura Siegemund(GER) d. Hailey Baptiste 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

Coco Gauff[3] d. Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-3

Jessica Pegula[7] d. Maya Joint[WC](AUS) 6-3, 6-0

Rebecca Sramkova(SVK) d. Katie Volynets 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 

Alex Michelsen d. Stefanos Tsitsipas[11](GRE) 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4

Frances Tiafoe[17] d. Arthur Rinderknech(FRA) 7-6(2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-3

Novak Djokovic[7](SRB)d. Nishesh Basavareddy[WC] 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Sebastian Korda[22] d. Lukas Klein[Q](SVK) 6-3, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)

Tommy Paul[12] d. Christopher O'Connell(AUS) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-5

Tuesday first round matches featuring Americans(Monday night in US):

Marcos Giron v Yannick Hanfmann(GER)

Tristan Boyer[Q] v Federico Coria(ARG)

Taylor Fritz[4] v Jenson Brooksby

Ben Shelton[21] v Brandon Nakashima

Mitchell Krueger[Q] v Rinky Hijikata (AUS)

Learner Tien[Q] v Camilo Ugo Carabelli(ARG)

Emma Navarro[8] v Peyton Stearns

Madison Keys[19] v Ann Li

McCartney Kessler v Shuai Zhang[WC] (CHN)

Caty McNally v Varvara Gracheva(FRA)

Amanda Anisimova v Maria Lourdes Carle (ARG)

Taylor Townsend v Renata Zarazua (MEX)

Iva Jovic[WC] v Nuria Parrizas-Diaz(ESP)

Tristan Boyer(Stanford) is playing his first main draw match at a slam, but it's not under the best of circumstances, as the Los Angeles area city where he grew up, Altadena, was one of the areas hardest hit by the devastating wildfires. Boyer spoke to KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, with Randy Walker at World Tennis Magazine putting together this article about the Boyers, a prominent tennis family in the Southern Californian section.

The semifinals are set at the ITF J300 in Traralgon, with No. 10 seed Maxwell Exsted the sole American to advance out of the quarterfinals. Exsted, the No. 10 seed, defeated No. 16 seed Ognjen Milic of Serbia 6-3, 6-2 to reach a semifinal against unseeded Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia, who is having a breakout tournament this week. He prevented an all-US semifinal with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3) win over No. 5 seed Jagger Leach. Henry Bernet of Switzerland will face No. 7 seed Oskari Paldanius of Finland in the other boys semifinal.

Top seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium will play qualifier Yihan Qu of China in the girls top half semifinal. No. 9 seed Hannah Klugman of Great Britain will play unseeded Ksenia Efremova of France, who beat Annika Penickova 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

The Penickova twins and four US boys on three different teams are in the doubles quarterfinals, which are behind schedule due to rain earlier in the tournament.

The ITF J300 Coffee Bowl in Costa Rica is underway, and, as usual, the draws are full of Americans. Eighteen of the 32 boys in the main draw are from the United States, and 18 of the 32 girls in the main draw are Americans, meaning that two first round matches in each draw are all-US contests. New this year is the designation of the event as an indoor tournament, and perhaps because of that change, live streaming is available on five courts.

The American boys competing in the main draw are: Ryan Cozad(who won last week's J100 in Costa Rica), Andrew Johnson, Nischal Spurling, Calvin Baierl[5], Ronit Karki[4], Michael Antonius[Q], Gavin Goode, Mason Taube[Q], Jacob Olar, Lachlan Gaskell[6], Simon Caldwell, Zachary Cohen, Yubel Ubri, Jack Satterfield[8], Jordan Lee, Gray Kelley[Q], Keaton Hance[WC] and Jack Secord[2]. Dante Pagani of Argentina is the top seed.

The tournament website updates scores during the day, and the draw is showing that Ubri defeated No. 3 seed Fumin Jiang of China 6-3, 6-3 today.

The American girls are led by top seed Kaitlyn Rolls, with the other 17 girls in the draw Kori Montoya, Sabrina Lin, Ligaya Murray, Hannah Ayrault[WC], Leena Friedman[3], Lucy Oyego Atang[Q], Ava Rodriguez, Kayla Chung, Julieta Pareja[5], Ireland O'Brien[Q], Ishika Ashar, Kaya Moe, Nancy Lee[7], Carrie-Anne Hoo, Raya Kotseva[WC], Sara Shumate[Q] and Capucine Jauffret[2].

Chung defeated No. 8 seed Pietra Rivoli of Brazil 6-3, 6-2 in the first round today.

Three Americans Reach ITF J300 Traralgon Quarterfinals; Opelka Advances at Australian Open; Maloney Sweeps Ithaca $25K Titles, College Seniors Milavsky, Vives Win $15Ks

Three Americans have advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITF J300 in Traralgon Australia, the warm-up tournament for the Australian Open Junior Championships, which begin Saturday(Friday night in the United States). The rain that resulted in a six-hour delay completing first round matches at the Australian Open in Melbourne have also had an impact on the Traralgon tournament, with the first round of doubles not yet complete. But the singles have stayed on schedule, with upsets definitely a trend in the first three rounds. 

Boys top seed Jan Kumstat of the Czech Republic, the 2024 Australian Open boys finalist, lost to No. 14 seed William Rejchtman Vinciguerra of Sweden 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16,  and No. 3 seed Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain, the Bradenton J300 and Orange Bowl champion, lost to Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-1 in the second round. With No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy losing to Jacopo Vasami of Italy in the second round, that leaves No. 5 seed Jagger Leach as the highest seed remaining in the boys quarterfinals. He defeated No. 11 seed Flynn Thomas of Switzerland 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and will play unseeded Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia, who beat Amir Omarkhanov of Kazakhstan 6-4, 6-1 in the first round.

No. 10 seed Maxwell Exsted beat No. 6 seed Oliver Bonding of Great Britain 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-4 and will face No. 16 seed Ognjen Milic of Serbia in the quarterfinals. Exsted and Leach will meet in the semifinals if they win.

Girls top seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium is through to the quarterfinals, but she and No. 9 Hannah Klugman of Great Britain are the only two seeds remaining, with two qualifiers--Brooke Black of Great Britain and Yihan Qu of China--also still in contention for the singles title. Unseeded Annika Penickova will play unseeded Ksenia Efremova of France for the second time in a month, with Efremova beating Penickova in the first round at the Orange Bowl. Efremova defeated No. 12 seed Thea Frodin 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the third round.

Reilly Opelka was the only American to advance on the first day of the Australian Open, with 14 more on Monday's schedule.

First Round Australian Open results of Americans:
Sunday (Saturday night in US)

Aryna Sabalenka[1] d. Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2
Tatjana Maria(GER) d.  Bernarda Pera 7-6(3), 6-4

Reilly Opelka d. Gauthier Onclin[Q](BEL) 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2

First Round Australian Open matches featuring Americans:

Monday (Sunday night in US)

Danielle Collins[10] v Daria Snigur[Q](UKR)

Caroline Dolehide v Sara Bejlek[Q](CZE)

Ashlyn Krueger v Ajla Tomljanovic[WC](AUS)

Hailey Baptiste v Laura Siegemund(GER)

Coco Gauff[3] v Sofia Kenin

Jessica Pegula[7] v Maya Joint[WC](AUS)

Katie Volynets v Rebecca Sramkova (SVK)

Alex Michelsen v Stefanos Tsitsipas[11](GRE)

Frances Tiafoe[17] v Arthur Rinderknech(FRA)

Nishesh Basavareddy[WC] v Novak Djokovic[7](SRB)

Sebastian Korda[22] v Lukas Klein[Q](SVK)

Tommy Paul[12] v Christopher O'Connell(AUS)

Tuesday (Monday night in US)

Marcos Giron v Yannick Hanfmann(GER)

Tristan Boyer[Q] v Federico Coria(ARG)

Taylor Fritz[4] v Jenson Brooksby

Ben Shelton[21] v Brandon Nakashima

Mitchell Krueger[Q] v Rinky Hijikata(AUS)

Learner Tien[Q] v Camilo Ugo Carabelli(ARG)

Emma Navarro[8] v Peyton Stearns

Madison Keys[19] v Ann Li

McCartney Kessler v Shuai Zhang[WC](CHN)

Caty McNally v Varvara Gracheva(FRA)

Amanda Anisimova v Maria Lourdes Carle(ARG)

Taylor Townsend v Renata Zarazua(MEX)

Iva Jovic[WC] v Nuria Parrizas-Diaz(ESP)

Former Michigan standout Patrick Maloney captured his second USTA Pro Circuit singles title today in Ithaca New York, with the No. 4 seed defeating unseeded Theo Papamalamis of France 7-6(5), 6-4 in the $25,000 tournament's final. The 24-year-old Maloney, who won the doubles title yesterday, claimed his first title at the $15K in Los Angeles last June.

Unseeded Katherine Sebov of Canada won the W35 in Naples, beating Jessica Pieri of Italy 6-2, 6-0.

Victoria Mboko gave Canada another ITF World Tennis Tour women's champion today at the W35 in Martinique, with the No. 4 seed beating No. 2 seed and fellow 18-year-old Clervie Ngounoue 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Mboko also beat Ngounoue in the doubles final Saturday night, partnering with Cadence Brace of Canada to defeat top seeds Ngounoue and Olivia Lincer(Central Florida) of Poland 6-2, 7-6(2).

Two 23-year-old college seniors collected titles today at $15,000 ITF men's World Tennis Tour tournaments, with TCU's Pedro Vives earning his first pro singles title in his home country of Spain and Harvard's Daniel Milavsky posting his second career title, both in the past two months, in Jamaica.

The unseeded Vives, who won the NCAA doubles title in November, defeated unseeded Georgii Savchenko of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4 in the final. 

The unseeded Milavsky, who won the $15K in Tallahassee in November, now has run his Pro Circuit winning streak to 12(including qualifying) with a marathon victory in the final. Milavsky defeated No. 8 seed Guillaume Dalmasso of France 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5 in a three-hour and 13-minute final. 

Kessler, Keys Win WTA Titles; Ngounoue Reaches W35 Final in Martinique; Cozad, Reddy Claim ITF J100 Titles

McCartney Kessler won her first WTA title the week before the US Open last year in Cleveland. The former University of Florida All-American won her second WTA title Saturday, on the eve of the Australian Open, at the 250 in Hobart, a result that boosted her ranking into the Top 50 for the first time.

The 25-year-old from Georgia, who played her last collegiate match in 2022, defeated the top two seeds en route to the title in Hobart, taking out No. 1 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and No. 2 seed and 2018 Hobart champion Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 in the final. Kessler was not shy about going for lines throughout the match, and once she broke to go up 2-0 in the third set, the winners came in bunches.

Kessler lost in the first round of the US Open last year to Marta Kostyuk, who was the No. 19 seed; this year at the Australian Open, she plays Shuai Zhang of China, who won the Asia-Pacific wild card tournament to earn a place in the main draw.

Madison Keys won her ninth WTA title at the 500 in Adelaide, beating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in Saturday's final. Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada won the ATP 250 in Adelaide with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Sebastian Korda.

Clervie Ngounoue has reached the final of the W35 in Martinique this week, with the 2023 Wimbledon girls champion set to face fellow 18-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada in the final. Ngounoue, the No. 2 seed, advanced when No. 3 seed Harmony Tan of France retired trailing 6-2, 1-0; The fourth-seeded Mboko defeated No. 5 seed Cadence Brace of Canada 7-6(4), 6-2.

Unseeded Theo Papamalamis of France will face No. 4 seed Patrick Maloney(Michigan) in the final of the men's $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Ithaca New York Sunday. Papamalamis defeated Alex Rybakov(TCU) 6-4, 6-4, while Maloney beat No. 5 seed Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-0.  Maloney has already secured one title, winning the doubles today with Joshua Sheehy(Abilene Christian). The No. 2 seeds defated top seeds Noah Schachter(Texas A&M) and Pranav Kumar(Texas A&M, SMU) 6-4, 7-6(6). 

Sunday's final at the women's W35 in Naples Florida will feature two unseeded players, with Jessica Pieri of Italy taking on Katherine Sebov of Canada. Pieri beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Osuigwe 6-3, 6-1, while Sebov survived a three-hour and 28 minute battle with No. 4 seed Eli Mandlik to post a 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 victory. 

Maribella and Allura Zamarripa(Texas) won their eighth Pro Circuit doubles title, with the No. 4 seeds beating No. 3 seeds Julie Belgraver of France and Jasmijn Gimbrere of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-1.

The Australian Open, starting in less than an hour, will be my main focus for the next two weeks, so I want to cover the American titles in this week's ITF Junior Circuit tournaments a few days early.

Sixteen-year-old Ryan Cozad swept the titles at the ITF Junior Circuit J100 in Costa Rica, the warm-up tournament to the J300 Coffee Bowl next week. Cozad, the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 3 seed and Kalamazoo 16s doubles champion partner Yannick Alvarez of Puerto Rico 6-3, 6-4 in today's final. Cozad did not play with Alvarez in doubles and in fact was on the other side of the net from Alvarez in the doubles final, with Cozad and Keaton Hance, the top seeds, defeating No. 2 seeds Alvarez and Mason Taube 4-2, 4-2 in the final. Alvarez played four matches Friday, which explains the abbreviated scoring in the doubles final that day.

No. 2 seed and San Diego 16s champion Ishika Ashar lost in the girls singles final to Sarina Schnyder of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4. Ashar also lost in the doubles final, with unseeded Ireland O'Brien and Lucy Oyebog Atang beating No. 2 seeds Ashar and Raya Kotseva 2-4, 5-4(5), 12-10 in the all-USA final. 

At the J100 in the United Arab Emirates, 15-year-old Vihaan Reddy won his biggest ITF Junior Circuit title and his first representing the United States, with the No. 5 seed beating No. 7 seed Mustafa Ege Sik of Turkey 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the final. No. 8 seed Sebastian Bielen made the singles semifinals and the doubles final.

Roshan Santhosh lost 6-1, 6-1 to No. 4 seed Donghyun Hwang of Korean in the ITF J300 final in New Delhi India today.

At the J30 in Claremont California, Andre Alcantara and Natalie Kha won the singles titles, with the unseeded 16-year-old Kha winning her first ITF Junior Circuit title and the 17-year-old Alcantara his second singles title, although he has won seven doubles titles. Kha defeated unseeded Alisa Lansky of Israel 7-5, 6-2 in the final; No. 2 seed Alcantara beat unseeded Rishvanth Krishna 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the all-USA final.  

No. 3 seeds Tyler Lee and Justin Riley Anson won the boys doubles title, beating top seeds Alcantara and Adrien Abarca 6-3, 3-6, 10-2 in the final. Unseeded Lily Bazemore and Olivia Lewis won the girls doubles title, beating No. 4 seeds Cassie Blakey and Tayler Conway 6-4, 6-3 in the final.