Kypson Claims Kalamazoo 18s Title with Five-Set Win over Wolf; Nakashima Cruises to 16s Championship; Kratzer Captures Girls 18s Title

©Colette Lewis 2017--
Kalamazoo MI--

The journey from Kalamazoo 16s champion to Kalamazoo 18s champion is one few have made. But 17-year-old Patrick Kypson added his name to that select group Sunday, coming from two sets to one down to beat JJ Wolf 6-7(1), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in front of 2000 appreciative fans at Stowe Stadium.

In a match that took nearly four hours to complete and five sets to decide, turning points are many, although the tension of the first set was not duplicated later in the match. Fortunately, the conditions could not have been better for such a marathon, with partly cloudy skies, low humidity and temperatures in the low 80s.

Neither Kypson nor Wolf faced a break point in their first service games, but the tiebreaker slipped away from Kypson quickly and he had nothing to show for over an hour of excellent tennis.

The first break point for either player came with Kypson serving down 1-2, but he saved it, then broke Wolf, who played a rare sloppy game. Kypson held on to the break, but the tension mounted when he served for the second set, saving three break points with an ace, a good second serve and a forehand volley winner, pulling even in the match when Wolf sent a second serve backhand return wide.

Wolf took control early in the third set, breaking a lethargic Kypson twice and holding easily.  A ten-minute break between the third and fourth sets gave Kypson an opportunity to rebound, but he was immediately broken to start the fourth set.

"I was ready to go home," Kypson said. "I don't know what happened to break him back. But when I got back on serve I was just telling myself to hold serve and see if I can sneak out a break later in the set."

Serving down 2-3 in the fourth set, Wolf fell behind 0-40, but came all the way back with two of his signature forehand winners and a 121-mph ace. The Ohio State rising sophomore saved another break point with another huge forehand, but Kypson earned a fifth with a forehand return winner and got the break when Wolf's backhand went long.

"Up two sets to one, up a break, if I could have just stayed with it 10 or 15 more minutes, I think I would have had a lot better chance," said Cincinnati resident Wolf, who was playing his first tournament since the NCAAs in May due to a stress fracture in his foot. "He got that break back right away--I kind of let him back in and he held it, so that's how it went."

Kypson closed out the fourth set on his first try, hitting a forehand winner, then, similar to Wolf in the fourth set, broke in the first game, only to give the break right back after leading 40-0, failing to convert six game points.

As crushing as that could have been, Kypson didn't show much frustration, and he promptly broke Wolf for a 2-1 lead.  An easy hold made it 3-1 and another break saw his lead extend to 4-1, but Wolf broke back for 4-2. Then he lost the next game, from 40-15 up, on a double fault, to give Kypson an opportunity to serve for the match.

"I think one of the hardest things to get back after you're out for a couple of months is how to hold serve," said Wolf, who will receive a US Open qualifying wild card for reaching the final. "Making a first serve is a very accurate shot and I just wasn't holding serve. And you can't win that way."

Up two breaks, Kypson recognized that he was in control, but also under pressure, and at 5-2, he had to save a break point.

"When you're up two breaks and you're serving for it, there's really no excuse to lose that set or that match," Kypson said. "He missed a return by a half an inch.  But even if I had gotten broken there, I was playing aggressive on his service games--I actually felt better returning than serving. My legs were kind of gone on my serve."

At deuce, Kypson hit a backhand volley winner, a shot he rarely misses, and arrived at his first match point. A good first serve to Wolf's backhand led to a to a netted return, and Kypson collapsed on the court in celebration.

"I had to," Kypson said. "6-2 in the fifth, you've got to show something."

Kypson is the first player since Alex Bogomolov in 2001 to win both 16s and 18s titles, joining Justin Gimelstob, Paul Goldstein, Ricky Brown, Aaron Krickstein, Larry Gottfried, Billy Martin and Erik van Dillen as the only double winners in the tournament's 75-year history.

"I guess it's cool to say, but I guess at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter," said Kypson, who also expressed similar sentiments after reaching the Wimbledon Boys semifinals this year.  "If I won the US Open, I'd tell you differently. But it shows my level is there. These are the best players in the country, so my level's there with the best in the country and I think I've proven it's also there with the best in the world in the juniors, so now the next step is to play with the pros, guys 200 and 300, then Top 100, and then from there it's a game of small margins. That's the ultimate goal, to be a top 100 player, and once you're top 100, you can do anything."

Despite toughing out a best-of-five match on one of tennis' most pressure-packed tournaments in Kalamazoo, Kypson knows he'll face a different test in his first round match at the US Open.

"Playing a man in three out of five sets is going to be a whole different set of challenges, bigger tennis, " said the Greenville North Carolina native. "I've got to prepare well for that. I'm not really trying to play Federer at night on Arthur Ashe. Now that I've said that, it's probably going to happen. But [who I play] doesn't really matter to me."

As for the US Open Juniors, Kypson is still planning to play that tournament for the fourth and final time, with last year's quarterfinals his best showing.

"Unless I make the [men's] quarters, and then I'll say, see you guys later," Kypson joked. "Then I'll probably turn pro and take my 300 (actually 470) grand. But as of right now, yes, I'll play it."

The boys 16s final was decidedly less suspenseful, with top seed Brandon Nakashima defeating No. 8 seed Stefan Dostanic 6-0, 6-1 to capture the title and the US Open Junior championships wild card that goes with it.

Nakashima, who didn't lose a set all week, had beaten Dostanic 6-1, 6-2 in the Easter Bowl final back in April, and was at least as dominant on Sunday.

Nakashima won the first nine games of the match, with Dostanic having only three game points in that stretch.  One was on Nakashima's serve however, at 2-0 in the second set, and converting that could have given Dostanic hope. But Nakashima won one of the longest rallies of the match, then hit an ace and another excellent first serve, and it was 3-0.

"It was really discouraging," said Dostanic, a 15-year-old from Irvine California playing in his first Kalamazoo. "I tried to get my energy up but whenever I'd do that, he'd hit a winner on me or I'd miss an easy ball in the beginning of the rally. It was tough to get a rhythm."

"I knew that was a really important game, to go up 3-0," said Nakashima, a 16-year-old from San Diego. "I just hit a couple of big serves at the right time, played the points smart and right and I ended up holding in that game."

Dostanic did convert his fourth game point to make it 3-1 and had a break point in the next game as well, but another good first serve by Nakashima brushed it aside and he finished with a break and a hold, ending the match in just 50 minutes.

"Today I felt more in a rhythm," said Nakashima, comparing his performance to Saturday's 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 3 seed Siem Woldeab. "I felt like I was hitting all my shots really well."

Although he didn't show any signs of it, Nakashima wasn't immune to the nerves of a Kalamazoo final.

"Yeah, I was pretty nervous at the beginning of the tournament, and today before the final," said Nakashima, who is coached by Christian Groh and Larry Stefanki. "I try not to think too much about the whole scene and everything. I just try to focus on hitting the ball."

Dostanic admitted nerves played a role in his performance.

"It was nerves and Brandon," Dostanic said. "Brandon's a great player. I wish I could have played a little better, to make it more interesting, but it wasn't really my day and he was also making me play a lot worse. He was playing solid deep balls off my serve. He played really well."

Nakashima, who attends regular school, has not played extensively on the ITF Junior Circuit, but he is looking forward to his US Open debut next month.

"It'll be a great experience," said Nakashima, who qualified for the 18s, but decided to play the 16s division with that wild card in mind. "I've never been to the US Open and I'm looking forward to the experience and the matches over there. I know all the players in the tournament are really tough, they've been playing a lot of ITFs. I'll just have to play my game and we'll just see how it goes over there."

In addition to the 16s and 18s singles finals, the third and fourth place matches and the Feed-In champions were decided on Sunday.

Sam Riffice, the top seed, won his second consecutive 18s Feed-In championship, defeating No. 32 seed Britton Johnston 6-2, 6-0 in the final. Riffice had also reached the 18s Feed-In final back in 2015 and has won 14 Feed-In matches in those three years, not including walkovers.

Cannon Kingsley, the No. 20 seed, won the 16s Feed-In title, beating No. 2 seed Andrew Dale 4-6, 6-4, 10-5.

Third place in the 16s division went to Siem Woldeab, the No. 3 seed, who defeated No. 4 seed Will Grant 7-6(6),7-6(4).  The bronze ball in 18s was awarded to No. 12 seed Alafia Ayeni, who beat No. 29 seed Ryan Goetz 6-3, 6-4.

The tournament's three main sportsmanship awards were presented this weekend, with Timothy Sah earning the Wes Richards Feed-In award, Garrett Johns earning the 16s Bobby Kaplan award and DJ Thomas earning the Allen B. Stowe award for 18s.

At the USTA Girls 18s Nationals in San Diego, No. 3 seed Ashley Kratzer won the title and the US Open women's wild card, beating No. 33 seed Kelly Chen 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.  Chen, a rising Duke freshman, trailed 4-0 in the final set, but got it back to 4-all, only to see Kratzer respond with a hold and break for the title.

The girls 18s doubles title went to Claire Liu and Taylor Johnson, the No. 5 seeds, who beat Hailey Baptiste and Ellie Douglas, the No. 6 seeds, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Liu and Johnson will receive a main draw wild card into the women's doubles at the US Open.