Shelton Falls in US Open Men's Final; More on Marcel Latak's Stunning US Open Boys Title

Ben Shelton was unable to end the major drought for American men in the US Open singles final this afternoon on Arthur Ashe, with the 2022 NCAA champion falling to Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2. So the streak of no American man winning a slam singles title, last done by Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open, continues.

But one such streak is over. Marcel Latak relieved Taylor Fritz of all the "since" questions by winning the US Open boys title, last done by an American boy in 2015, when Fritz defeated Tommy Paul.

I can't believe it was barely a month ago that I sat down next to Latak as he waited to be called for his back draw match after losing a 6-4, 5-2 lead to Andy Johnson in the round of 16. He was disappointed, and has made reference to that loss several times in interviews this week, but he obviously learned from it and got right back on the horse. After another tough loss, serving for the match at 5-3 in the third, against doubles partner Tanishk Konduri in the second round at College Park, Latak went to Canada. There he won his first J300 title and eight days after that he is a junior slam champion.

Chris Oddo has written about several US juniors for the USTA's Inside American Tennis Substack newsletter, and he was one of three reporters who got an extra 10 minutes with Latak in Interview Room 2 after his formal Interview Room 1 press conference.

His article on Latak is here.

The other reporter in Interview Room 2 , aside from Oddo and me was Michael Lewis, who contributed substantially to the Zootennis coverage at the US Open this year and also was providing articles about Latak to the Times of San Diego, where the Illinois native trains. 

Lewis's semifinal article is here; his article on the riveting final is here.

Latak Saves Three Match Points in Third-Set Tiebreaker to Win US Open Boys Title; Sun Reverses Wimbledon Final Result for First Junior Slam Title; Penickovas Claim Another Girls Doubles Title; Harrison and Skupski Win Men's Doubles

©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--
Flushing Meadows, NY--

Although the women's final between the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players was on the horizon, most of the buzz on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center an hour before that championship match was about the boys final.

For nearly three hours, unseeded American Marcel Latak and top seed Guto Miguel of Brazil battled to a draw, as the crowd around Court 12 swelled and the tension mounted. The Brazilians, famous for their chants and their passion, did all they could to get their player over the finish line, but Latak never wavered, closing out his 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(13) victory with three consecutive winners.

Latak had built a 7-2 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker, but lost four straight points to give Miguel's hundreds of fans, who had little to cheer about at that stage, some hope. Latak hit a good first serve to make it 8-6, following that with another first serve and a forehand winner to give himself three match points. 

Miguel then brought out his best serving of the match to swat away the first two, and when Latak double faulted at 9-8, the Brazilian fans celebrated loudly, sensing Miguel had turned the tide for good.

But Latak showed no sign of frustration or disappointment after sending that second serve long.

"I wasn't too upset," said the 17-year-old from Darien Illinois, who was No. 76 in the World Tennis junior rankings before he won the J300 in Canada last week. "I went for the second serve. I'd missed so many second serves not going for it, so if I'm going to miss it, at least I went for it."

Latak demonstrated that philosophy again in the next rally, with Miguel the first one to blink after Latak hit forehand after forehand to each corner to coax an error and earn a fourth match point.

Miguel saved that one with an ace, and hit another good first serve to earn his first match point, but Latak countered with a brave forehand into the corner that forced an error. Latak hit a backhand long to give Miguel a second match point, and he again made his first serve, got a weak return and missed the short forehand well wide.

"I could have had more courage," said Miguel, who dropped to his knees briefly after that unforced error. "Especially the forehand that I missed. I won't sleep for two days thinking about that."

Another good first serve gave Miguel his third match point at 13-12, but that's when Latak found another level. He pummeled a forehand winner off a short ball, with the chants of USA from the crowd growing louder and more confident. A first serve and two more big forehands, the second a clean winner, gave him his fifth match point as he gestured 'right now' to his player's box which held his mother Klaudia, traveling coach Maciej Rajski and Stanford head coach Paul Goldstein, where Latak is heading in 2027.

Latak said he guessed that Miguel would go up the T on match point No. 5, allowing him to handle yet another first serve by Miguel, then sent another forehand deep in the corner.

"I was just praying that he'd hit that forehand down the line, and he did," said Latak, the 2025 Kalamazoo 16s champion. "The second I saw that he hit it to my backhand, I knew I was going to win the point."

Latak had the whole court open and he didn't hesitate, crushing the backhand for a winner, dropping his racquet and collapsing on the baseline. As the cheers and applause of the enthralled fans  continued, Latak made his way over to his player's box to share with them the improbable conclusion to a stunning tournament.

Latak, who beat the Australian Open boys champion in the first round and the Roland Garros champion in the final, as well as the No. 10, No. 4 and No. 2 seeds in between, hadn't quite grasped what he'd accomplished, even after being introduced on Ashe as the US Open boys champion during the women's final.

"It hasn't really set in yet, like, hey, you really did this," said Latak, who is the first American boy to win the US Open since Taylor Fritz defeated Tommy Paul in 2015. "Maybe tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'll definitely feel it."

Latak said this run of 12 wins in two weeks taught him just how  much his mindset effects his game.

"Me, a year ago, wouldn't have been able to deal with all the bumps I've had every single match," Latak said. "I've really realized how, I guess, gritty, I can be on the court."

Latak, who will move into the junior Top 10 and is now in the running for the Junior Finals in Chengdu China next month, knows this changes how the rest of the junior circuit views him.

"Today was the last day I'll be an underdog," said Latak, who is expecting to play more on the USTA Pro Circuit this fall. "People are coming for me now."

Miguel had already announced that this would be his last junior tournament, and after reaching the semifinals of an ATP Challenger 75 in Jamaica last month, he is already at 660 in the ATP rankings.

"Now the real journey starts," Miguel said. "We didn't finish the way we wanted, but it still was positive. It escaped from my hands and I'm really sad about this part. I was so close to my second grand slam, but we're confident we're on the right way."

The celebration Latak is planning is a simple one: pizza.

"Any New York slice," Latak said. 

The expression “third time’s the charm” isn’t one that 16-year-old Chinese player Xinran Sun seemed to be familiar with.

But it applied in a big way to her in Saturday’s US Open girls singles final. After losing in the final at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, Sun was in her third straight championship match, here at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

And this time, Sun finished the job. After losing a one-set lead, she dominated the final set and captured her first slam singles title, beating No. 5 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 on Court 7.

“It was really big pressure, because you know I have been in the final for the third time, and I lost the first two times, so it's really such a big experience,” Sun said. “This time, I want to focus more on my tactic and don’t think about the result.”

Pushkareva had beaten Sun in the Wimbledon final in July, in the longest girls final in that tournament’s history.

Saturday’s match didn’t come close to approaching that drama, but was still competitive and compelling.

Sun came out strong at the start, breaking serve in the fourth game to snag a 3-1 lead. An ace on game point boosted her to a 4-1 edge, and after a slight wobble got Pushkareva back within 5-4, the 18-year-old Russian couldn’t get back on serve, double-faulting on set point.

But Pushkareva came back strongly in the second set, breaking Sun at 1-all and maintaining the lead throughout the set.

“I always say I try not to think too much, so after the second set I didn’t want to think about the third,” said Pushkareva, a 17-year-old from Moscow.

“I congratulate her; it’s already her third (slam) final and I’m so happy for her. She really, really deserves this,” Pushkareva graciously added.

Sun came out on fire in third set, holding serve, then breaking, then holding serve again to go up 3-0 trying to win her first Grand Slam title.

“I was thinking in that moment (after the second set), because in the second set I think I played so soft, and I think in the third set I need change something,” Sun said. “So I tried to play more aggressive.”

Sun said she even took some fan’s advice during the match.

“They were saying my name and saying, Come on, come on, you can do it,” Sun said of the crowd. “And I heard some guy said some tactic for me. Yeah, it really works. I tried it.”

When Pushkareva’s final slice backhand fell harmlessly into the net, Sun immediately dropped her racket and started crying, as she brought her hands up to her face. These tears, however, were of a different variety than those she shed after losing the Wimbledon final from a set up.

Sun shook the chair umpire’s hand and continued sobbing while going to embrace her team.

Sun, who has been training in Serbia for the past five years, said she will play the year-end World Tennis Junior Finals in China in October, but isn’t sure she’ll play any further junior tournaments.

\

While Latak and Sun were collecting their first junior slam titles,  Annika and Kristina Penickova were adding to their collection, with the 17-year-old twins defeating the unseeded Russian team of Polina Berezina and Alisa Terentyeva 7-6(11), 6-3.

The Penickovas, who won the Australian Open girls doubles title in 2025, began to figure out how to counteract the aggressive game of their opponents.

"We definitely got them scared a little bit," said Annika, the left-hander. "When they were serving they were looking to poach a little more, so having a good return when they hit a weak serve kind of takes that option away from them. At the end we had good returns, were serving well and got them to back off, back up a little."

"It's absolutely amazing to win another slam with Annika," said Kristina, who won Wimbledon last year with Vendula Valdmannova of Czechia when Annika was out with an injury. "Especially at the US Open, the home slam, it always adds an extra cherry on top."

The Penickovas played women's qualifying and women's doubles so they have been in New York for over three weeks, and are eager to get back to Orlando.

"It was a challenge to keep our minds focused and stay engaged the whole way through," Kristina said. "But we did a really good job of that, relaxing when we weren't here, having a good dinner in the city, we went to Brooklyn Bridge, so we had that time, but we stayed locked in when we had to and kept that momentum going."

There are very few doubles teams as longstanding as the Penickova sisters, and boys doubles champions Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain and Aaron Gabet of France are on the other end of the spectrum.

This week, Gonzalez-Galino and Gabet were playing in their second tournament as a pair, having reached the semifinals of the J300 in Canada last week before withdrawing so that Gabet could play qualifying for the US Open Juniors. 

Against Latak and Tanishk Konduri in the final, which followed the boys singles final after about an hour of rest for Latak, the two left-handers squeezed by the Americans 7-6(5), 2-6, 11-9.

"We were friends, best friends, but we didn't get to play with each other," said Gonzalez-Galino, 17. "One was in qualifying, one in main draw. But this week we went for it and we won the tournament."

Up 7-2 in the match tiebreaker, Gonzalez-Galino and Gabet saw that lead evaporate, but Gonzalez-Galino did not attribute it to their nerves.

"They played really good from 7-2," said Bonzalez-Galino, "made some good decisions, and we missed some returns, but I returned insane at 9-all, backhand cross, and match point was a relief."

Konduri netted a forehand on that match point, and said his play was subpar given the fatigue Latak was no doubt feeling, mentally, more than physically, after his final.

"I missed returns, I didn't make first serves, I was just really disappointed with the way I played," said the 17-year-old from Northern California. "Me and Marcel have been super good in breakers for a while. But his (singles) match was brutal and I didn't feel I executed at all, in anything today."

Gabet, 18, who has won five J200 doubles titles this year alone and 17 overall, including today's title, has one explanation for their unexpected win.

"We are best friends and have that connection on the court," Gabet said. "We fit together and that's why we play very good together."

In the men's doubles final this afternoon, 2026 Australian Open champions Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski added another major title on hard courts to their resumes, with the No. 5 seeds defeating No. 6 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz(Auburn) of Germany 6-4, 7-6(6). For more on today's championship match, see this article from usopen.org.

Unseeded Latak Reaches Both US Open Boys Finals; Sun and Pushkareva Rerun Wimbledon Girls Final; Townsend Completes Career Slam with Women's Doubles Title; Shelton to Face Zverev for US Open Men's Title

©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--

Flushing Meadows NY--

Marcel Latak's surprise at reaching the boys final at the US Open Junior Championships is exceeded only by his surprise at how he's done it. After defeating No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany 6-3, 7-6(2) Saturday afternoon, Latak was still struggling to comprehend that he hasn't dropped a set this week at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center, beating the No. 6, No. 10, No. 4 and No. 2 seeds.

"It's not getting to the finals that I'm shocked about, it's the way I did it." said the 17-year-old from Darien Illinois, who played his first and only main draw slam match last year at the US Open as the Kalamazoo 16s champion wild card. "Honestly that's the part for me that I can't believe. If I'd split every match and got to the finals, yeah, but to think how I've won these matches, haven't really had to dig them out."

Latak helped his case against the powerful Mackenzie by getting 71 percent of his first serves in and hitting six aces, complementing that with his strategy of first-strike tennis that has been so effective all week.

Mackenzie got his only break of the Latak serve to go up 3-1 in the second set, but Latak immediately got it back.

"Whenever I break, I have a hard time holding," Latak said. "So I knew that was the same for him. That was my best chance to get it back."

With no more breaks, the set went to the tiebreaker and Latak was determined to pounce early.

"The only thing in my head was 'good start', I needed to win first point or two," said Latak, who has now won 11 consecutive matches after taking the J300 title in Canada last Friday. "When he gets his momentum after winning one or two points, he starts playing really well. So if I could get the first break of the tiebreak, or something like that, it would be smooth sailing."

Latak again exceeded his expectations, winning the first four points, then extended his lead to 6-1 with a service winner and an ace. On his second match point, Latak was on defense, but hit a good defensive lob that resulted in a netted overhead by Mackenzie.

"Everyone loves an underdog story," Latak said. "In a way I have an advantage--no one thinks I'm going to do well, no one thinks I'm going to play well, so I can just take that pressure off myself and just go for it, every single match."

Latak is the fourth different American boy to reach a junior slam singles final this year, joining Keaton Hance(Australian Open), Michael Antonius(Roland Garros) and Jordan Lee(Wimbledon). 

Latak will of course be the underdog again in the final, against top seed and World Tennis junior No. 1 Guto Miguel of Brazil. Although Miguel posted a routine 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 7 seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria today, he has saved match points in two of his wins over Americans: one in the first round against wild card Daniel Malacek, and in three in yesterday's quarterfinal against Jordan Lee, in a match that lasted nearly three hours and ended in a 13-11 third-set tiebreaker.

Miguel cramped toward the end of that thriller, and then withdrew from his doubles match later that day and left the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds.

Friday, he battled through "feeling really tired," to play some of his best tennis of the week, with Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo making a surprise visit to his watch the semifinal on Court 7.

“I had no idea; I was shocked when I saw him at the court,” said Miguel, who had never met Ronaldo prior to today. “I know he’s a big tennis fan. When I saw him, I told him what a pleasure it was to have him there, and thank you for coming.”

The match with Lee yesterday, Miguel admitted, was emotionally and physically draining. If he had lost, after reaching the semifinals here last year, Miguel would have surrendered his No. 1 world ranking. Adding to the pressure was Lee's status as the Wimbledon boys champion, and a younger rival to boot.

"It was a bit tense and there was a lot of things around, so nobody wanted to lose,” Miguel said. "In the end I was just thinking how to find a way to win the match.”

Against Behrmann, Miguel broke early in the first set to snare a 3-1 lead and didn’t face a break point on his way to grabbing the lead.

In the second set Berhmann double-faulted to hand Miguel a break in the opening game, but the Austrian broke back for 2-all. Still, Miguel immediately broke again and held serve the rest of the way.

“I was really tired before the match, but when you step onto the field, you feel the fire, you know?” Miguel said.

Miguel and Latak have played once before, three years ago at the Wimbledon 14 and Under event, a match played on indoor hard courts due to rain, which Miguel won.

“I know he’s doing amazing this week, he hasn’t lost a set, right?” Miguel said. “I’ll have to be very careful.”

Latak compared Miguel's game to that of Mackenzie. 

"They play somewhat similarly," Latak said, after mentioning Miguel's explosiveness and his ups and downs. "Guto is definitely a way more physical player, but in a sense I feel it's somewhat similar. But if I go for it, at all times, 24/7, I feel I'll give myself a pretty good chance."

While the boys finalists haven't played since the Wimbledon 14s in 2023, Xiran Sun and Anna Pushkareva's meeting came at the All England Lawn Tennis Club just two months ago.

Pushkareva, who came back to beat Sun 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in front of thousands of fans on Court One, eliminated No. 2 seed Jana Kovackova of Czechia 6-1, 7-5 in today's semifinal on Court 10. 

Pushkareva, seeded fifth, dominated the first set, and went up a break to start the second, but Kovackova steadied herself, with a fourth straight break making it 2-all. Kovackova countered Pushkareva's more powerful game with more point construction and fewer errors in the second set, but Pushkareva kept playing aggressively, and found herself serving for match at 5-4. 

Pushkareva fell behind 0-30, got it to 30-all but Kovackova forced an error and converted the break point when Pushkareva sent a backhand long. Only momentarily frustrated, Pushkareva got her fourth break of the set, with Kovackova double faulting on the second break point, with a second chance, Pushkareva made the most of it, serving well and hitting her ground strokes confidently to close it out.

Pushkareva is at peace with the errors that she know are part of the game style she's chosen.

"A bit of mistakes, it's ok," said the ebullient 17-year-old from Moscow. "You can't play the whole match the best match of your life. You can't play without mistakes in my tennis, my game. So I can't not do the mistakes, but of course, I was really stressed. I won today, because my dominant game was not bad."

Pushkareva, is looking forward to meeting Sun again as she tries to become the first girl to win Wimbledon and US Open titles in the same year since Kirsten Flipkens in 2003.

"If I lose to her, I know it will be a great battle," Pushkareva said. "When I play against her, I need to think a lot, every time she knows what to do to win. To play against her is really interesting, it's really curious, and that's why I love tennis, actually."

Pushkareva's run to the final has been one straight-sets win after another; Sun's 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 win over American Melije Clarke was impressive for her resilience, a quality she displayed regularly throughout the week.

The 16-year-old from China has had an absolutely spectacular year, reaching two junior slam singles finals: at Roland Garros and at Wimbledon, falling in the finals both times.

But Sun did what she nearly always does: rebound and win. She broke Clarke in the fourth game of the third set and pulled away for a 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 win.

“I just told myself, whatever, lose or win, you just focus on the point and focus on your tactics,” Sun said.

Sun and Clarke had a ferocious battle in the first set, staying even with each other until Clarke broke serve to go up 5-4.

But she was unable to close out the set, with three forehand errors in succession when she reached set point.  Sun, the more experienced player, then held serve and broke again to claim the lead.

Clarke admitted that she was thinking about that missed opportunity in the first set, but it freed her to just swing away.

"I think I just started playing like 'I don't care,'" said the 17-year-old from Houston, who was playing in her first junior slam semifinal. "I have nothing to lose at that point, and I just started thinking about small things I wanted to improve from the first set, and not thinking too much about the outcome."

In the third set, Sun said she also tried to stay focused and not think about what was at stake, and now that it’s here, she believes she’ll feel less pressure.

"Last time (at Wimbledon), I really didn’t rest good and I had so much pressure on me, because I wanted it a lot," Sun said. "This time, I will sleep well, and there’s less pressure on me."

While Sun lost her doubles semifinal with partner Mariia Makarova of Russia today, with the top seeds falling to the unseeded Russian team of Polina Berezina and Alisa Terentyeva 6-2, 6-1, Latak will be competing for a second title after his singles final.

Latak and Tanishk Konduri will face unseeded Aaron Gabet of France and Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain for the boys doubles title, who defeated the unseeded British team of Mark Ceban and Rhys Lawlor 6-4, 6-4.

Latak and Konduri, who have been playing together since the J300 in Bradenton last December, squandered three match points in the second set tiebreaker, but came back to defeat unseeded Safir Azam of the United States and Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-5.

"I knew Marcel, of course he's riding so much momentum, but after playing so many matches in so many days, I knew he'd be a little bit tired," said Konduri, a 17-year-old from Northern California. "I just took it upon myself to bring up the energy, get his adrenaline running; I was just loud, yelling, and I feel I did a pretty good job of that, and Marcel fell for my plan."

The girls doubles final tomorrow will not feature the ever-present Jana Kovackova for the first time in a junior slam since Wimbledon 2025, but it will feature junior slam champions: Kristina and Annika Penickova.

On their 17th birthday Friday the duo rolled to another junior slam doubles final with a 7-6(3), 6-2 semifinal win over Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi of India and Antonina Sushkova of Ukraine.

The win advances the Penickova twins to their second Slam doubles final after their championship at the 2025 Australian Open.

"It’s so special to make it to the finals here, doing it together here at the U.S. Open,” Annika Penickova said. “It makes it so much more exciting that it’s here."

Kristina Penickova said the sisters’ singles losses in three-setters earlier in the week provided extra motivation as they look toward another slam doubles title.

"Definitely not how we wanted it to go, but lots to learn from it and lots to take away from it," said Kristina, who won the 2025 Wimbledon girls doubles title with Czechia's Vendula Valdmannova, with Annika out due to injury. "[It] motivated us to do even better in doubles."

The boys and girls singles finals are unfortunately scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday and at the same time, with the boys playing on Court 12 and the girls on Court 7, which are not near each other. The girls doubles final is also at 11 a.m., on Court 14. The boys doubles final will be on Court 12 after Latak's singles match.

Latak is attempting to be the first American to sweep the singles and doubles at a slam since Robin Montgomery won the girls titles at the US Open in 2021, and Montgomery came close to another title today in the women's doubles final with partner Ashlyn Krueger.

The 22-year-olds, who received a wild card from the USTA,
threw a huge scare into world No. 1 team Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and American Taylor Townsend.

The USTA 18s and US Open girls doubles champions in 2021 grabbed the first set 7-5 before Siniakova and Townsend rallied for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 win.

Montgomery and Krueger were looking to replicate the feat of Siniakova and Barbora Krejickova, who won the girls doubles crown in 2013 and the women’s title in 2022.

"I think what we've just done has been amazing,” Montgomery said. “I think we did forget that we were offered a wild card, so I'm just glad we made good use of it, and I'm glad we were able to come back together and continue playing here, especially with our success in juniors."

"I'm really proud of us," Krueger said. "I think the last two weeks have been amazing for both of us, and really happy that I got to do it with Robin."

Townsend and Siniakova have now completed a career slam in women's doubles, with the US Open the last of the four they need for that feat. Siniakova has now made history by doing it twice with a different partner; she won all four majors the first time with fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova.

For more on the women's doubles final, see this article from usopen.org.

Ben Shelton is through to the US Open men's final Sunday, winning tonight's all-American semifinal over Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. Shelton, the No. 8 seed, will play top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany in an attempt to end the 23-year-old major singles title drought for an American man. Roland Garros champion Zverev reached his second major final of the year with a 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6) win over unseeded Karen Khachanov of Russia.

Unseeded Clarke and Latak Reach US Open Singles Semifinals; Top Seed Miguel Saves Three Match Points in Third Set Tiebreaker to Win Battle of Junior Slam Champions; Top Two Seeds Advance in Girls Singles

©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--
Flushing Meadows NY--

Marcel Latak and Melije Clarke, two unseeded 17-year-olds from the United States, are relatively inexperienced at the highest level of the World Tennis junior circuit compared to the other competitors this week at the US Open Junior Championships. But that hasn't kept them from reaching their first junior slam semifinals with impressive wins today at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Latak is playing in just his second main draw in a junior slam, with his first last year here in New York courtesy of the wild card the Kalamazoo 16s champion receives. After a lackluster summer, Latak has caught fire the past two weeks, winning the J300 in Repentigny Canada last week and beating both 2026 Australian Open boys finalists this week New York.

His tenth consecutive win came today against No. 4 seed Keaton Hance, with Latak earning his second straight victory, this one by a 6-4, 6-4 score, in the confines of Louis Armstrong Stadium.

"It's been crazy", Latak said. "If you told me before coming into this tournament that you're going to play on Armstrong twice, I would not be able to sleep, at all. But I've got to stop looking at the big board, because when I look at a point, I say 'wow', I'm playing so good."

Hance no doubt would agree, with Latak hitting his inside in forehand, a shot he said he's been working on with coach Christian Groh at his San Diego training base, consistently for winners, complementing his widely admired backhand. 

The only wobble Latak showed came serving for the match at 5-4 40-0, when several unforced errors gave Hance a chance to claw his way back in the match. But Latak hit a forehand winner to earn a fourth match point, only to make another unforced error, but an ace to reach a fifth match point allowed him to relax.

"I didn't really feel nervous until 40-0," said Chicago area resident, who had suffered a couple of painful losses when serving for the match last month. "Then I shanked a few balls and it didn't look good. The goal was to just go body to make some first serves, but I said 'I'm just going to go for it' and I ended up hitting an ace. That really helped me, because I could breathe for a second."

Latak made his first serve on match point No. 5 and when Hance's return sailed long, Latak tossed his racquet aside and raised his arms in triumph.

"It's hard to say something, just shock a little bit," Latak said of the prospect of playing in the semifinals of a junior slam after never winning a match at that level before this week. "But I feel proud that I was able to stick in."

Latak will face No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany, who trailed No. 5 seed Jack Kennedy 6-4, 3-1 before winning nine straight games and holding on for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory, his first in three meetings with the 18-year-old New Yorker.

"The match changed as soon as he realized I started playing a different way," said the TCU freshman, who moved to Germany from New Zealand at age 12 to improve his tennis prospects. "And he started thinking, started making a lot of mistakes for his level."

Kennedy, with the crowd solidly behind him, got one of the breaks back for 4-2, but Mackenzie kept calm, broke Kennedy again with a sizzling backhand winner and relied on his serve in the final game. Although he faced a break point, Mackenzie came up with big serves when he needed them, including two aces, one on match point.

"Thank God I served well there," said the 2026 Roland Garros doubles champion, who has reached his first junior slam semifinal in singles with the win. "Break point down, to hit an ace and two unreturnables was important for me. I didn't want to have to serve that one out again."

Surviving three match points against him, and a bout of cramps that struck during the final points of the nearly-three hour match, No.1 seed Guto Miguel outlasted American and No. 6 seed Jordan, Lee, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (13-11).

The final set had more twists and turns than San Francisco’s Lombard Street. Miguel, the Roland Garros champ, broke serve in the second game and jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Lee, the Wimbledon champion, went down 5-2 and it looked like the match was just about over.

But the Florida 16-year-old staged a stirring rally, breaking serve at 5-3 and then holding to 5-all, throwing his fist in the air and exhorting the crowd after his last service point.

Both players then held to set up a dramatic 10-point tiebreak. Lee blasted a beautiful backhand down the line to get to 7-all in the tiebreak, and after Lee took the lead with a backhand volley winner, Guto came up limping and was hopping around in the backcourt with what looked like cramps.

Lee got to match point at 9-8, but Guto blasted a forehand crosscourt winner to save it. At 9-10, Guto saved another match point when his serve ticked the tape and induced a Lee error.
A third match point for Lee was erased by a Guto net charge and overheard smash. Finally at 12-11, Guto had his first chance to win, and a Lee backhand sailed into the net.

The Brazilian collapsed in relief and shook his arms in joy while lying on his back before getting up to hug his opponent.

Miguel was requested for required post-match interviews by both U.S. and Brazilian media, and US Open officials told the press that he would do his interviews after his doubles match later, which is often the case.

However, possibly due to fatigue, Miguel and partner Ziga Sesko withdrew from their doubles match, giving a walkover to Latak and partner Tanishk Konduri. US Open and World Tennis officials did not make any arrangements to have him fulfill his media obligations, saying he had left the tournament grounds.

Miguel’s opponent in Friday’s semifinal is seventh-seeded Austrian Thilo Behrmann, a soft-spoken 18-year-old who makes plenty of noise on the court. Behrmann, who said his body was still fatigued from a tough third-round win over American No. 12 seed Andy Johnson, battled through Italy’s unseeded Simone Massellani, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

“I was feeling a bit from the match yesterday, a bit tired, but I just kept fighting and then in the second and third sets I started playing better, and then he gave me some things.”

Behrmann said he attacked Massellani’s forehand more and more as the match went on, “and that’s what gave me a lot of points.”

Behrmann and Miguel met in the Roland Garros quarterfinals this year, with Miguel managing a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory.

“It was very close, so it’s definitely going to be very tough tomorrow,” Behrmann said.

Behrmann said he’s been coached in Austria for several years by Wolfgang Thiem, father of 2020 U.S. Open men’s singles winner Dominic Thiem.

Clarke also has a famous name on her coaching team, with US Open and Wimbledon semifinalist Lori McNeil mentoring her. Clarke, who defeated No. 8 seed Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil 6-3, 5-6, 6-3 today in her first junior slam quarterfinal, said McNeil has been emphasizing the process of improving.

"It's mainly keep your head down, keep working, no matter what's happening," Clarke said. "If you continue to work hard every day, it will eventually translate, even if you don't see it right in the moment. Just keep doing what you're doing, keep being disciplined and it will all come when it's ready."

Clarke was up a set and 4-2 before Leme Da Silva began to connect more regularly on her big groundstrokes.

"She definitely rushed me a lot," Clarke said of the latter stages of the second set. "She takes advantage of her serve plus-one, so it was just about digging out the first couple of balls and assert my dominance later in the rally. But she started playing a little bit more confidently and I started being a little bit more passive."

Most players dodge the expectations question, but Clarke admitted she had a goal as she approached her fourth junior slam.

"I was like, I'm going to do better than I've done at the other ones," said Clarke, who reached the third round at Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Anna Pushkareva in three sets. "I'm going to improve and show that I can do this. Not only to myself, but to everyone else, that I deserve to be in a spot like this."

That spot will be against World Junior No. 1 and finalist in the last two junior slams, Xinran Sun of China, who defeated No. 7 seed Mariia Makarova of Russia 7-6(2), 6-1 in today's first match on Court 17. Sun, the only girl still alive in both singles and doubles, had to rally from a 5-2 first-set deficit to defeat No. 7 Mariia Makarova in straight sets, saving six set points in the 66-minute opening set.

After a medical timeout at 5-2, Sun's rally began.

“A week before the tournament started I had some right knee pain, from changing from clay to hardcourt so quickly,” said Sun, who did not play a hardcourt warmup event. “But after I was down 2-5, I just said, ‘okay, we just focus on each point. I cannot think about the pain.'’’

Sun and Clarke will be playing for the first time Friday.

One of the girls quarterfinals was much shorter than the others. No. 2 seed Jana Kovackova, of Czechia, won the first set over American No. 6 seed Janae Preston, 6-2.

At the end of the set, Preston took a bathroom break and saw a trainer between sets.

After four minutes, the trainer, not Preston, returned to the court and told the chair umpire that Preston couldn’t continue.

Yesterday, during her win over Polina Skliar, Preston got sick on the court at the end of the first set tiebreaker, but after a medical timeout, was able to recover and win the set, and the match.

“I didn’t know there was anything wrong with her, I couldn’t tell,” Kovackova said.

The Czech teen said she was “so mad” after her doubles loss on Wednesday, but played well on Thursday to advance to her second Slam singles semifinal of the year.

“I think I played better than the matches before,” Kovackova said.

Still, much like she did on Wednesday, she downplayed her chances of winning the U.S. Open singles title.

“I’m not going to win,” she repeated with a laugh on Thursday. “But we will see.”

Kovackova will play in the semis against Wimbledon champion Anna Pushkareva, who turned back 14-year-old fellow Russian Ekaterina Dotsenko, 6-4, 6-0 to reach her second semi of the slam year.

After Pushkareva lost her doubles match, she was all smiles and giddy enthusiasm about playing in another junior slam semifinal.

“I have such special feelings to play here because New York is a really beautiful city and there’s a really special energy and it’s my first time ever here and I’m so excited to be here,” Pushkareva said, all in one breath. “Today I played good and just tried to focus on the ball and do what I do every day, I know she’s a really good player and I was able to do really good.”

Pushkareva had a very funny reaction when asked if her life had changed since winning Wimbledon.

“Before I won Wimbledon I think, yeah, if I will win Wimbledon I will wake up every morning and I will think about how I’m Wimbledon champion, and I don’t need to get out of bed, I don’t need to have practices, I’m already the Wimbledon champion,” she said. “And the reality was, you’re still just a tennis player. Maybe a little more attention, more cameras, but it’s not really changed much in my life.”

Pushkareva and Kovackova have not played on the World Tennis junior circuit, but Kovackova posted a win over Pushkareva at the Tennis Europe Masters 14s in 2023.

The boys doubles final Saturday will feature at least one American, with Latak and Konduri facing Safir Azam and Kazakhstan's Damir Zhalgasbay in Friday's semifinal. Latak and Konduri received the walkover from Wimbledon champions Sesko and Miguel and Zhalgasbay and Azam defeated Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Ryan Cozad despite losing an epic second set tiebreaker, 6-3, 6-7(14), 10-6.

The other semifinal features two more unseeded teams: Aaron Gabet of France and Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain against Mark Ceban and Rhys Lawlor of Great Britain. Gabet and Gonzalez-Galino defeated wild cards Daniel Malacek and Kamil Stolarczyk of the United States 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 and Ceban and Lawlor beat Ameicans Vihaan Reddy and Mason Vaughan 6-3, 6-3.

Unseeded wild cards Kristina and Annika Penickova defeated No. 8 seeds Alyssa James of Jamaica and Polina Skliar of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4 in today's quarterfinals and will face giant-killers Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi and Antonina Sushkova of Ukraine in the semifinals. Rajeshwaran and Sushkova, who dealt Kovackova her first junior slam doubles defeat of the year yesterday, beat No. 4 seeds Pushkareva and Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas of Russia 6-4, 6-4.

Top seeds Makarova and Sun ended the run of singles qualifiers Natalie Kha of the United States and Kokona Ishii of Japan 6-4, 6-3 and will play unseeded Polina Berezina and Alisa Terentyeva of Russia, who beat Renee Alame of Australia and American Thea Frodin 6-0, 7-6(3).

Makarova and Sun are the only seeded doubles team both doubles semifinals.

In the US Open men's doubles semfinals today,  No. 5 seeds Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski(LSU) of Great Britain defeated top seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten(UNC-Asheville) of Great Britain 7-6(4), 6-2. Tim Puetz(Auburn) and Kevin Krawietz of Germany defeated Rajeev Ram(Illinois) and Great Britain's Joe Salisbury(Memphis) 6-3, 6-4.

The women's doubles final, which, like three of the four junior semifinals, is at noon Friday, will feature top seeds Taylor Townsend and Czechia's Katerina Siniakova against the wild card team of Robin Montgomery and Ashlyn Krueger. 

The women's final will not feature an American, as top seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 and Elena Rybakina beat Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Four US Boys, Two US Girls Reach US Open Junior Championships Quarterfinals; Last Two Boys Junior Slam Champions Face Off Thursday; Kovackova's Historic Doubles Run Ends; Gauff Advances to Semifinals; Montgomery and Krueger Storm Back to Make Women's Doubles Final

©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--
Flushing Meadows NY--

Marcel Latak had no trouble exceeding his own expectations at this U.S. Open.

That’s because he had none.

The 17-year-old Chicago native who has verbally committed to Stanford for 2027, is thrilled to be in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open boys singles draw, but he didn’t expect to be here.

“It’s surreal. I can’t even find the right words right now. It’s so… wow,” Latak said, an enormous grin spreading across his face. Coming into this tournament, I had zero expectations. Maybe just like, go one round further than last year (where he lost in the first round). It was just about putting up a fight.”

Latak has played exceptionally well so far this week; the No. 41 ranked junior has won all six sets of singles he’s played and knocked off two Top 10 seeds, including No. 10 Dimitar Kisimov, whom he defeated 6-3, 6-3 in 53 minutes to reach his first junior slam quarterfinal.

He also got to play on Armstrong Stadium Wednesday, which he found less intimidating than he might have after hitting with Tommy Paul on Ashe before Paul faced Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round Sunday.

"It helped me so much, because I'd already hit in a huge stadium, so going into another stadium, I felt like that's normal," said Latak, who has now won nine straight matches after taking his first J300 title in Canada last week. And it's not even as big (as Ashe), so I felt pretty good about it."

And one of the perks of playing on Armstrong was a chance to relive several of the 19 winners he recorded today. "I would see a good point and I’d look up at the giant screens to see the replay," Latak said.

No. 5 seed Jack Kennedy also has been able to see a dream come true. Having played on Armstrong the past two days, he has twice been asked to perform the winner's task of hitting balls into the crowd after his on-court interview.

"This is something I visualized in my living room as a four-year-old kid, trying to do that," said Kennedy, who defeated unseeded Jack Secord for the second time in a month, this time by a 6-0, 6-4 score. "To be able to have that experience, to be able to do that on a big stage in front of crowd, it's really, really special and a dream come true."

Kennedy had beaten Secord in the 18s semifinals of Kalamazoo last month 6-3, 6-1, so there was some deja vu despite a vastly different atmosphere.

"It did feel a little bit similar," said the 18-year-old from Long Island, who has the advantage of staying at home while he commutes to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for his three-week stretch here. "I felt my game and my level was steadily there and I think he had a good amount more unforced errors than I did, which was part of the game plan. Just stay solid, not force the issue too much, but if you have the shot go for it. But I had to stay disciplined, play physical out of the corners and just dictate the points."

Kennedy's opponent in the quarterfinal is No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany, who defeated unseeded Connor Doig of South Africa 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday.

Kennedy knows the TCU freshman won't have forgotten their last meeting, also in a quarterfinal, at the Orange Bowl in December.

"I came back from a set, 3-1 and 15-40," Kennedy recalled. "I was about to go down double break in the second. I still, to this day, don't know how I came back, to be honest. He was hitting his kick serves out of the court and was hitting his forehand like an absolute rocket. We've known each other for years, played in the Junior Orange Bowl 14s one year, and he's a really great kid and has a big game."

Latak's opponent Thursday will be No. 4 seed Keaton Hance, who has reached the Australian Open final and the Roland Garros semifinals this year. But despite both being among the top juniors in the country for years, they have never met.

"I don't know how I've never played him," said the 18-year-old from Southern California."I've seen him in a lot of terms but I've never seen him near me in a draw."

Hance's 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over unseeded Kirill Filaretov of Russia today was highlighted by a momentum changing tweener winner at a crucial stage of the second set.

"It was huge point at 4-3 (Filaretov serving) at 15-all," Hance said. "It was a tough one, because I came to the net and he was at the net. It was a really fast volley that came at me, at my feet. I didn't have any time to really get out of the way, so I kind jumped up." with the racquet between his legs, Hance guided it past Filaretov and rode that momentum to a break and hold for the set.

"There's a lot of luck involved, for sure, but pretty much the whole court was open, so if I can just make it over I have a chance," Hance said. "But I'll take it."

Hance went up 2-0 in the third and with 14 more conventional winners in that set, didn't give Filaretov any hope of a comeback.

The fourth American boy to reach the quarterfinals is No. 8 seed Jordan Lee, who defeated unseeded Daniel Jade of France 6-3, 6-4 in the last singles match of the day.

When draws come out before a tournament, certain matchups look tantalizing but you never know if they’re going to happen.

Fortunately in the boys draw, a matchup many were anticipating is happening: A meeting of the last two Grand Slam singles winners. Roland Garros champ and No.1 seed here Guto Miguel and Wimbledon champ Jordan Lee will face off with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

The two have played once before, in Roehampton on grass in July, with the Brazilian coming out on top, 6-4, 6-4.

“It's gonna be a fun match,” Lee said Wednesday evening,. “We know each other pretty well. I think it's a match we both have been looking forward to.”

Lee, asked what he learned from playing Miguel several weeks ago, made a pretty revealing statement.

“It was the first match I’ve played where I was genuinely under pressure, pretty much ever,” Lee said, clarifying that he meant ball pressure, not expectations pressure.

The winner of the Miguel-Lee match will face the winner of Thilo Behrmann-Simone Massellani match, the other quarterfinal on that side of the draw.

The seventh-seeded Behrmann came back to defeat No. 12 seed Andy Johnson 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, while Massellani beat unseeded Tanishk Konduri 7-6(1), 6-2, his second win over the American in the past two weeks.

Two US girls have advanced, with unseeded Melije Clarke reaching her first junior slam quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-3 win over unseeded Ruien Zhang of China, who had beaten No. 3 seed and Australian Open girls champion Ksenia Efremova of France in the second round.

Clarke had struggled to close out No. 13 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain in the second round yesterday, failing to serve it out at 5-4, and 6-5 in her 6-4, 7-6(3) victory.

Today on Grandstand, Clarke had no such trouble, hitting an ace on her first match point serving at 5-3.

"I had to trust myself and just have a little more belief in my game," said the 17-year-old from Texas. "In my last match I was frantic, playing a little unsure, making a lot of unforced errors. Today I was just focused on keeping it simple and not overthinking it. Sealing it with an ace and not a double fault is nice."

Clarke, who made the round of 16 at Wimbledon, said the fast courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center suit her game.

"I like the fast courts," Clarke said. "I think it helps carry my serve and my plus-one is really effective. I've always liked playing on faster courts, I did well at Wimbledon, so yeah, I like these courts a lot.

Clarke will face No. 8 seed Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil, who defeated No. 11 seed Felisata Dorofeeva-Rybas of Russia 6-2, 6-4.

The other American girl in the quarterfinals is No. 6 seed and Wimbledon semifinalist Janae Preston, who survived a bout of on-court sickness at a most inopportune time. Preston, a 16-year-old from Nevada, was having an intense first set battle with No. 9 seed Polina Skliar of Ukraine, lasting 75 minutes. After winning a long rally at 10-all in the tiebreak, Preston suffered an upset stomach on a humid day in New York and vomited in the back of the court.

After a 10-minute medical timeout and a court cleanup, Preston won the set on her eighth set point. She then had a much easier time in the second set, winning 7-6(10), 6-3 to advance to a meeting with No. 2 seed Jana Kovackova of Czechia, who beat qualifier Arina Malygina of Russia 6-3, 6-4.

Kovackova has the consolation of a quarterfinal appearance in singles, but her unprecedented run in doubles came to an end today when she and partner Katerina Zajickova lost to Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi of India and Antonina Sushkova of Ukraine came back to post a 2-6, 6-4, 10-7 victory.

Kovackova is the only junior girl to ever win all four junior slam titles, a streak that began last September here at the Open with older sister Alena, and extended through the sisters' title at the Australian Open, and Jana's Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles with Zajickova.

Sushkova and Rajeshwaran Revathi had played only one tournament as a team before this one, losing their first match at last month's J300 in College Park. But they have already seen, in their two matches in New York, how they complement one another.

"She's brings a great energy on court and that is something I haven't seen with a lot of players I've played with," said Rajeshwaran Revathi. "Same for me, same for me," Sushkova said. "Sometimes I just need to breathe and Maaya's coming to me saying 'take some time, ok we have to get this one right now.' When she says it, we win the point, so there is magic."

Sushkova and Rajeshwaran Revathi said they were not intimidated by all the history Kovackova has made.

"We were not afraid, not afraid at all," Rajeshwaran Revathi said. "We just wanted to play our best and see how it goes." "Just because they are grand slam champions, there is nothing to be afraid about," Sushkova said. "All girls here play the same level. We just had the right energy at the right time and got the win."

It was a rough day in singles Wednesday for the Penickova twins, who turn 17 years old on Friday.

First, Kristina Penickova had top seed Xinran Sun of China battling into a third set on Court 5, before Sun, the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist in singles, steadied herself and pulled away for a 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory. Sun will face doubles partner and No. 7 seed Mariia Makarova of Russia, a 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4 winner over No. 12 seed Larraya Guidi of Argentina.

Then Annika Penickova also was locked in a tight battle with 14-year-old Russian Ekaterina Dotsenko, and was just two games away from clinching a quarterfinal spot.

But Dotsenko, who reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, showed poise beyond her years in taking the second set in a tiebreaker, before getting an early break in the third en route to a 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 win.

“It was such a difficult match,” said Dotsenko, who will play Wimbledon champion and No. 5 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over No. 10 seed Paola Pinera Celorio, next. “It was not my best tennis, and she’s a really good opponent, but I think I won because of my character, and never giving up on any point. I didn’t want to fall down on this opportunity, because I’m so excited to be here in New York at the U.S. Open, it’s been my dream.”

The Penickovas are still alive in doubles, advancing to the quarterfinals with a resounding 6-0, 6-0 win over No. 2 seeds and Wimbledon finalists Nana Leme Da Silva and Victoria Luiza Barros of Brazil. The Penickovas lost only 21 points in the match.

In addition to the Penickovas, there are two other American girls in the doubles quarterfinals, with Natalie Kha and Japanese partner Kokona Ishii playing top seeds Makarova and Sun. Thea Frodin and her Australian partner Renee Alame will play unseeded Polina Berezina and Alisa Terentyeva of Russia Thursday.

There will be at least two US boys in every doubles quarterfinal Thursday, with Latak and Konduri facing top seeds Miguel and Slovenia's Ziga Sesko; Safir Azam and his partner Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan playing Ryan Cozad and Puerto Rico's Yannik Alvarez; wild cards and Kalamazoo 16s champions Daniel Malacek and Kamil Stolarczyk face Aaron Gabet of France and Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain, and Vihaan Reddy and Mason Vaughan taking on the British team of Mark Ceban and Rhys Lawlor.

Miguel and Sesko are the only seeds boys doubles team remaining.

Five years after they won the US Open girls doubles title, Robin Montgomery and Ashlyn Krueger are through to the women's doubles final, beating No. 2 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Luisa Stefani of Brazil 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8). After getting a break with Dabrowski and Stefani serving at 6-5 in the third, Montgomery and Krueger fell behind 8-2 in the tiebreaker, but won the last eight points to advance to the final against top seeds Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and American Taylor Townsend. 

Coco Gauff saved two match points in her 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 win over Mirra Andreeva of Russia and will face No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the  second semifinal tomorrow night. Jessica Pegula will play Aryna Sabalenka in the evening's first match.

From a USTA press release today:

The US Open will offer free grounds admission to the public on Thursday, September 10, as part of its annual 'Open for All Day' celebration. No ticket or Fan Access Pass is required to come to the US Open from the time gates open at 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., when tickets for the women's singles semifinals will start being scanned.

Nearly 50 US Open matches will be played throughout the day that are free to attend, including:

Men's Doubles Semifinals

Junior Singles and Doubles Quarterfinals

Wheelchair Singles Quarterfinals and Doubles Semifinals
Quad Wheelchair Singles Quarterfinals and Doubles Semifinals
Junior Wheelchair Singles and Doubles Semifinals

Para-Standing Invitational

*Entry is granted on a rolling basis subject to real-time capacity.

Secord Sets Up Rematch with Kennedy in US Open Junior Championships Third Round; Preston Posts Comeback Win; Filin and Carpico Fall Just Short in Men's Doubles

©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--
Flushing Meadows NY--

Two Jacks who know each other well will play for the second time in a month tomorrow on Louis Armstrong Stadium, where they both picked up straight-sets win in the second round of the US Open Junior Championships on yet another sunny day at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Kalamazoo 18s champion and No. 5 seed Jack Kennedy made short work of Canadian qualifier Benjamin Azar, a freshman at Michigan, needing a little over an hour to post a 6-0, 6-4 victory.

Unseeded Jack Secord followed Kennedy on Armstrong, beating No. 9 seed and Duke freshman Yannick Alexandrescou of France 6-2, 6-4 to give himself an opportunity to avenge his 6-3, 6-1 loss to Kennedy in the Kalamazoo semifinals.

"I was super flat in that match," said Secord, who turns 18 on Friday. "I just wasn't moving well, a couple minor things bothering me. I looked back on some points and I was going super slow, like what am I doing? Tomorrow I should be a little bit more physically and mentally there."

Against Alexandrescou today, Secord wasn't happy with his serving, getting only 53% of his first serves in, but he didn't panic when he went down a break 3-2, knowing Alexandrescou's serve is not formidable.

"It's tricky, I didn't want to be down a break, obviously, and he played a really good game on my serve," said Secord, who has committed to Stanford for 2027. "He hit a forehand bomb down the line on the last point and it was just too good. But I knew I could break him, I broke him twice. It's trickier when someone has a really big serve, like my first round against Damir (Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan), you have to be more mentally there on your serve."

Secord is the son of Linda Harvey Wild, a former WTA No. 23 who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in doubles in 1996 and the singles quarterfinals at the US Open in that same, year but his coach from the time he was three years old has been Wild's stepfather, Steve Wild, who did most of the coaching from the Armstrong player's box today.

"He's coached my mom, so obviously he's a great coach, and I couldn't ask for a better grandpa," said Secord, from Lake Forest Illinois. "I know he would like me to listen to him a little bit more, but I know he's right most of the time, but he's great to have by me."

Secord and Kennedy are among the seven American boys in the round of 16, with unseeded Marcel Latak and No. 4 seed Keaton Hance also winning today to join No. 8 seed Jordan Lee, No. 12 seed Andy Johnson and unseeded Tanishk Konduri in the Wednesday's third round. 

Latak saved two set points in the first set of his 7-6(7), 6-4 win over University of Oklahoma freshman Tito Chavez, one with Chavez serving for the set at 6-5 and one at 5-6 in the tiebreaker. But with his confidence high from seven straight wins, including the J300 title last week in Repentigny, Latak proved too good on those big points.

Hance won a 6-0 set again today, after posting one in his first round win over Pedro Chabalgoity of Brazil yesterday, only this time it was in the second set, not the first. The Australian Open finalist won an astounding 21 of 22 net points, and hit 32 winners and just 15 unforced errors in his 7-5, 6-0 win over Oliver Majdandzic of Germany.

Hance followed No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie onto Grandstand court, with both junior slam doubles champions looking to add a singles title in their final shot in New York.

Mackenzie may be one of the more well-known redheads on the juniors circuit, but he knows who the most famous tennis ginger is, and he’s met him.

"I got to meet Sinner, that was very cool," Mackenzie said Tuesday, after winning his second round singles match over Kanta Watanabe of Japan 6-2, 6-4. "There’s a special bond," he laughed.

“No, I didn’t talk to him for that long, just a few minutes, but he’s a great guy, really genuine,” Mackenzie said.

Mackenzie said playing on Grandstand, even with a sparse crowd, was a big adjustment compared to the outer courts assigned to most juniors matches.

“It definitely makes a difference, because you have huge TV’s in the background, maybe playing other matches, or your score is scrolling, or you have people moving around," said the German by way of New Zealand (he moved to Dusseldorf when he was 12). 

"If you throw the ball up on a smaller court (to serve), there’s no stands there, but today there was. It’s a lot more difficult."

Mackenzie has just started college life at Texas Christian University, which has been a springboard for many current pros. Mackenzie cited his longtime relationship with former Horned Frog Cameron Norrie as a big reason why he chose the school.

“I’ve known him since I was 10, because my Dad coached him when he was a young boy," Mackenzie said of the 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist. “He’s been a great mentor for me. The things he’s managed to do are unbelievable.”

Mackenzie will next play fellow redhead Connor Doig of South Africa, who defeated qualifier Peter Ogunsakin of Nigeria 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

"He's a tricky opponent because, you know, you don't quite know what to expect with him,” said Doig, a freshman at Baylor. “His level goes up and down a lot. In the third set, I just did better with my footwork, and I got more intense, and I was able to play better.”

Americans Melije Clarke and No. 6 seed Janae Preston joined the Penickova sisters, who won yesterday, in the third round, with Clarke defeating No. 13 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain 6-4, 7-6(3), and Preston coming back to defeat Avery Alexander of Canada 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Clarke served for the match twice, at 5-4 and 6-5 and played poor games each time, failing to earn a match point. But it was Esquiva who couldn't keep the errors at bay in the tiebreaker, after taking a 3-1 lead, as Clarke took the final six points of the match.

Preston is convinced that her recent losses, to Thea Frodin in the  18s Nationals final, and to Nao Hibino of Japan in the women's qualifying helped her find her way through today on Court 17.

"Yeah it hurt alot," said the 16-year-old from Henderson Nevada of her 6-1, 6-0 loss to Frodin in San Diego last month. "It's always the what ifs, but learn from it, move on, know it can happen. The thing I was most scared to happen, happened and now I can move on."

Preston said she's learned from her 30 wins and three losses this year on the World Tennis junior circuit that she doesn't have to play a perfect match to advance.

"It's all a different mindset now," Preston said. "I know I really want this and getting more experience in when I don't play well, like today, finding little mental shifts, findings ways to win, and that's been a really big change for me in a positive way."

Jana Kovackova hasn't lost a girls junior slam doubles match since the semifinals of 2024 Wimbledon, and her streak continued today, with she and partner Katerina Zajikova of Czechia, seeded No. 5, beating Jordyn Hazelitt of the United States and Marija Lauva of Latvia 7-5, 6-4.

Jana Kovackova has won four consecutive Grand Slam girls doubles titles, which is unprecedented, and is going for a calendar year Grand Slam here at the U.S. Open, partnering with fellow Czech Katerina Zajikova, with whom Kovackova has won both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

But when asked about the possible achievement, Kovackova shrugged.

“It’s not like winning in singles, that would be better,” she said.

Kovackova, who said this US Open would be her last junior tournament, was asked about the possibility of winning her first singles Slam this week, as she’s the No. 2 seed. 

“Sorry, it’s not going to happen.”

Kovackova plays qualifier and Oklahoma State freshman Arina Malygina of Russia in the third round on Wednesday. Malygina defeated No. 15 seed Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi of India 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.

No. 3 seed and Australian Open girls champion Ksenia Efremova of France has struggled in slams since her title in January, winning just two matches in the final three junior slams of the year. Today she lost to Ruien Zhang of China 7-6(6), 6-2.

Tuesday's second round results of American juniors:
Melije Clarke d. Charo Esquiva Banuls[13](ESP) 6-4, 7-6(3)
Janae Preston[6] d. Avery Alexander(CAN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Polina Skliar[9](UKR) d. Isha Manchala[WC] 6-3, 6-2
Jana Kovackova[2](CZE) d. Hannah Ayrault[WC] 6-3, 6-3

Marcel Latak[SE] d. Tito Chavez(ESP) 7-6(7), 6-4
Keaton Hance[4] v Oliver Majdandzic(GER) 7-5, 6-0
Jack Kennedy[5] d. Benjamin Azar[Q](CAN) 6-0, 6-4
Jack Secord d. Yannick Alexandescou[9](ROU) 6-2, 6-4

Wednesday's third round matches featuring American juniors:

Marcel Latak[SE] v Dimitar Kisimov[10](BUL)
Tanishk Konduri v Simone Massellani(ITA)
Jack Kennedy[5] v Jack Secord
Andy Johnson[12] v Thilo Behrmann[7](AUT)
Keaton Hance[4] v Kirill Filaretov(RUS)
Jordan Lee[8] v Daniel Jade(FRA)

Kristina Penickova[WC][14] v Xinran Sun[1](CHN)
Annika Penickova[WC] v Ekaterina Dotsenko(RUS)
Janae Preston[6] v Polina Skliar[9](UKR)
Melija Clarke v Ruien Zhang(CHN)

While most of tennis fans at the US Open were focused on the Ashe quarterfinal between Alex Michelsen and No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe on Ashe, several hundred surrounded Court 5 to see two generations clash in men's doubles. Each team won 140 points, but it was three-time US Open champions Rajeev Ram of the United States and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain defeating Ohio State's NCAA wild cards Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Filin served for the first set at 5-3, but two double faults gave the momentum back to Ram and Salisbury. The veterans, 42 and 34 respectively, took a 6-2 lead in the first set tiebreaker, only to see the Buckeyes pull even, then lose the final two points.

The collegians didn't make the same mistake in the second set, closing it out with confidence, but they let a 0-40 opportunity on the Ram serve slip away, and despite some Filin heroics in a six-deuce game to hold for 4-all, they couldn't put any pressure on Ram, who held at love, to immediately put Carpico in the spotlight serving at 4-5. This time they couldn't wriggle out of the 15-40 deficit, with Ram and Salisbury converting their first match point.

Filin and Carpico, the only NCAA wild card team to reach the third round in US Open history (wild card records go back only to the 1990s), were disappointed with the loss, but were able to see the positives of their run in New York.

"I think we've had a lot of respect from the other guys in college, but this will definitely add to it," said Carpico, a 21-year-old senior from Ohio. "And it will definitely put our names on the list of the pro teams to look out for us. We're known in the college world, but we definitely made a splash here, so everyone on the Pro Circuit now knows us I think. That's a good thing."

"Everything happens for a reason," said Filin, a 20-year-old from Illinois. "We're super grateful for the USTA and the US Open for giving us a chance, for our family and friends coming out and supporting us. We're only 20 and 21 and have a whole season ahead of us, and now with these points, maybe we can start playing Challengers, maybe some ATP tournaments and see where we are a year from now. Just keep going."

Tuesday's quarterfinal results of Americans:
Jessica Pegula[3] d. Emma Navarro[26] 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Frances Tiafoe[11] d. Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(6)
Ben Shelton[8] v Carlos Alcarez[2](ESP)

Men's doubles round 3:
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury(GBR) d. Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin[WC] 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4

 
Wednesday's quarterfinal match featuring an American:

Coco Gauff[4] v Mirra Andreeva[5](RUS)