Zootennis


Schedule a training visit to the prestigious Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, MD by clicking on the banner above

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

First Junior Tournaments of 2012 Underway

Christmastime often revolves around traveling to a tournament for many national and international players, with two big tournaments that start in 2011 and finish in 2012, now underway.

The first ITF Grade A tournament of the 2012, the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano, previously known as the Casablanca Cup, began yesterday in Mexico City. The top boys seed is Nikova Milojevic of Serbia, who did not play the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl, and Yoshito Nishioka of Japan, who did, making the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively before falling to eventual champion Dominic Thiem of Austria.

The top girls seed is Ganna Poznikhirenko of Ukraine, a semifinalist at the Eddie Herr, with Zarah Razafimahatratra of Madagascar the No. 2 seed. Razafimahatratra struggled in the two tournaments last month, winning only one match at the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl, and the change to clay from hard courts, a last-minute switch announced by the ITF last month, probably did not enhance her prospects this week.

Five US boys qualified: Nikko Madregallejo, Luca Corinteli, Dan Kerznerman, Julian Zlobinsky and Martin Redlicki, with Farzin Amiri receiving entry as a lucky loser. Other US boys in the draw include No. 5 seed Connor Farren, Thai Kwiatkowski, Jordan Daigle and Trey Strobel. Daigle lost his first round match 6-4, 5-7 7-6(3) to No. 3 seed Fredrico Silva of Portugal, with Strobel winning his, over No. 6 seed Moos Sporken of the Netherlands, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. Farren also advanced to the second round with a win on Monday.

There was one US girl who qualified, Lynn Chi, and she advanced to the second round with a win on Monday. Kyle McPhillips, the No. 4 seed, won her first round match in three sets, as did Blair Shankle. Jennifer Brady, the No. 7 seed, moved into the second round, as did Denise Starr and Vitaliya Alkhovik. Katrine Steffensen and June Lee, the other two US girls in the draw, haven't played their first round matches.

For the ITF's preview of the tournament, see the junior website.

The USTA Winter Nationals begin today in Tucson, Arizona for the 12s and 14s, and in Scottsdale, Arizona for the 16s and 18s.

The top two seeds in the boys 18s are Kristofer Yee and Jared Hiltzik, and the top two seeds in the girls 18s are Francis Altick and Mayo Hibi. An exceedingly tough section of the boys draw features No. 4 seed and Kalamazoo champion Ronnie Schneider, unseeded competitiors Jack Murray and Ryan Smith, and No. 17 seed Quentin Monaghan, who had the misfortune to draw Smith in today's first round.

The girls draw features a possible third round encounter between No. 9 seed Kimberly Yee and Julia Elbaba, a No. 17 seed, which would be an unexpectedly early exit for one of them.

The top seeds in the 16s are Gregory Garcia and Paul Oosterbaan in the boys draw, and Dasha Ivanova and Shanon Hudson in the girls draw.

In the 14s, Emma Higuchi and Kenadi Hance, both of whom played the Junior Orange Bowl, are the top two girls seeds, with Francis Tiafoe and Sameer Kumar the top two boys seeds. Tiafoe and Kumar just played in the consolation final of the Junior Orange Bowl on Friday, with Kumar winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Noah Makarome, who finished fourth at the Junior Orange Bowl, is the top seed in the boys 12s, with Noah Schachter the No. 2 seed. Ryan Peus and Kayla Day, both of whom played Junior Orange Bowl, are the top seeds in the girls 12s, with Junior Orange Bowl champion Claire Liu seeded No. 6.

The TennisLink site has been revamped recently and while the design change isn't a problem, the loading time is. I estimate that it now takes three to four times longer to load a page, which cannot be construed as an improvement for anyone using it. I hope this frustrating loading time issue is being monitored and addressed.

If you have the time to spare, here is the link to the 12s and 14s site. The 16s and 18s site is here.

7 comments:

Typical said...

I work for the usta on the website.

Dont tell me what is frustrating. I don't tell you how to do your job so don't tell me about tennis

Typical

Jeryy said...

To Typical,

wow, what are you trying to say, are you being defensive? Well, if it is your job to make USTA website better (including faster) I do tell you are NOT doing your job well.

Feedback said...

Hey Typical. Looks like you have the classic NIH attitude - not invented here. I don't know what you get paid but what you have put together here is not an improvement. The USTA website has been criticized for years as being inferior by industry standards and you are defending it! Better get used to constructive criticism and go back to work on something better. Jeryy is right.

tennisforlife said...

Typical - Colette is a tennis commentator. She is commenting on the new USTA website. She is right...it is frustratingly slow and certainly worse than the original. Suggest you get back to work and see of you can improve it

USTA Website Stinks said...

To Typical -
If you are the one that works on the USTA website then now we know why it is so bad.
Go back to work!

abc said...

Typical,

Let's be real. You probably go on coffee runs for the people who work on the site. You're not legit, nor professional.

Also, "I don't tell you how to do your job so don't tell me about tennis." Really? I do believe whether you like it or not, you are both linked to the idea of 'tennis' so perhaps that was the wrong word choice.

And I think you should learn how to take constructive criticism a little better. Particularly when it's true.

Is your name really Typical? Because I see nothing 'typical' about any statement anywhere...unless you're referring to the fact that you're a Typical techie who won't deflate his/her ego to solve the issue or, that Colette's 'frustration' is so typical because so many people have been commenting on the same thing: the protracted loading process. A bit clarification would be great, thanks.

mediator said...

@Typical
I'm considering the possibility that something in your life other than Colette's small criticism may have upset you prior to making your post. But if you take a step back and look again you can see that your post was very unprofessional and immature (even a 19yr old like me can see that). A small bit of criticism like that should not warrant such an outburst, it should only be taking into account when you are working on the website. It's not like she said "I hate it they did a horrible job!". I personally like the new design but in all honestly the website does run more slowly. Just do your best please.