Top Seeds Advance in Opening Round of Easter Bowl 12s and 14s; Vandecasteele Saves Two Match Points to Advance to Final Round ITF Easter Bowl Qualifying; Braswell, Ovrootsky Claim Irvine Grade 4 Titles

©Colette Lewis 2019--
Indian Wells, CA--

The weather was perfect for the first day of the 2019 Easter Bowl, and the top seeds in the 12s and 14s division took advantage of the mild temperatures and light winds to record opening round victories at sites around the Coachella Valley.

The top four seeds in all four draws in action today made it through. In the girls 12s, Thea Latak[1], Thalia Smith[2], Kinley Vanpelt[3] and Emily Deming[4] all advanced in straight sets.

In the boys 12s,  Maxwell Exsted[1], Cooper Woestendick[2], Darren Huang[3] and Abhinav Chunduru[4] also moved into the second round without the loss of a set.

In the girls 14s, Stephanie Yakoff[1], Ria Bhakta[2], Tsehay Driscoll[3] and Natalie Block[4] also won their first round matches in straight sets.

In the boys 14s, top seed Aidan Kim was tested, but came back to beat Mitchell Lee 1-6, 6-1, 6-0.  Yannik Rahan[2], Lucas Brown[3] and Will Mayew[4] advanced to the second round in straight sets.

Complete results from the 12s and 14s, as well as the 16s draws are available at the TennisLink site.  The 16s begin play on Monday.

I concentrated on the ITF Grade B1 qualifying matches today at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where less than a week ago, the BNP Paribas Open was building to its conclusion.  The ITF tournament is played entirely on the practice courts, which offer excellent viewing and from nearly every vantage point, although shade is often at a premium. 

The best match I saw today was played on what is know as Center Court at the Easter Bowl, which is practice court 2.  There is shade available and I took advantage of the opportunity to watch the second round qualifying match between unseeded Quinn Vandecasteele and No. 15 seed Ali Amiri. After Vandecasteele dominated the first set 6-1, Amiri took the second 6-4, breaking Vandecasteele in his last two service games of the set.  Amiri took a 4-1 and 5-2 lead in the third set, and had two match points serving at 5-3, but Vandecasteele saved both and went on to force a deciding tiebreaker.  Vandecasteele took a 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker, but Amiri got the mini-break back, and it was 3-3 at the change of ends. Vandecasteele, who hit 110-115 mph serves on occasion, according to the display, hit a good first serve to go up 4-3, and Amiri sent a forehand long to make it 5-3. Vandecasteele then used an unexpected drop shot, forcing an error from Amiri to get to match point, and he was able to convert on his first opportunity, putting away a backhand volley to claim a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(3) win.

"I felt I just kept elevating my game throughout the third set," said Vandecasteele, a 16-year-old from Utah. "By the time I got to the tiebreaker, I was getting more solid, working around the court until I could get a good shot. He's a solid player and it was a tough match."

The most memorable of the match's many long rallies came late in the third set, extending to perhaps 40 strokes, with the small crowd applauding appreciatively when a Vandecasteele backhand finally found the net.

"I was trying to stay tough, make him earn it," said Vandecasteele, who won his first match of the day in the morning, but showed few signs of fatigue even late in the second match. "I was giving him too many balls early on, and making him earn it was the key at the end."

See the ITF Junior Circuit website for results from today's two rounds of play, which were not complete as of 8:30 p.m. Saturday night.

The ITF Grade 4 in Irvine California concluded today, with unseeded Vivian Ovrootsky and Micah Braswell claiming the singles titles. Ovrootsky, 14, had beaten top seed Vanessa Ong in the semifinals on Friday, and today she took out 16s Orange Bowl finalist India Houghton 7-6(5), 6-4 to claim her first ITF Junior Circuit title.   Seventeen-year-old Micah Braswell also won his first ITF junior title today, beating No. 7 seed Leighton Allen 6-1, 6-0 in the final. 

Allen and Jackson Ross, the No. 2 seeds, won the doubles title, beating unseeded Muhammad Dossani and Trinity Grear 3-6, 6-2, 10-3 in the final. The girls doubles title went to No. 8 seeds Kimmi Hance and Lauren Stein, who beat No. 5 seeds Allie Gretkowski and Elise Wagle 2-6, 6-3, 10-6 in the championship match.