Lilov Upsets French Open Finalist, Colak Beats Roehampton Finalist as Four US Boys Reach Wimbledon Third Round; All US Girls Out After Second and Third Rounds of Singles Thursday

The Wimbledon Junior Championships are struggling to get back on schedule after two days of rain to start the tournament, with the girls doubling up in singles today and the boys required to do that on Friday so that the semifinals and finals can go off as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.

Two of the five US girls in action in today's second round advanced to the round of 16, but neither Ashlyn Krueger and Reese Brantmeier were able to advance in their later matches; Krueger lost to No. 15 seed Mara Guth of Germany 6-2, 6-0, while Brantmeier fell just short against top seed and ITF World No. 1 junior Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

The boys played only one round today, with four of the five US boys remaining picking up wins.

Victor Lilov took out No. 3 seed and French Open finalist Arthur Fils of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, coming from a break down twice in the final set.

"The third set was very up and down," said the 17-year-old from North Carolina. "I think I got a little fortunate because I got broken twice in the set, but broke back immediately. From there, I started feeling more confident and then at 5-4, I think he got a little nervous and I took advantage of that and thankfully got through."

Despite the win over the ITF Junior No. 3, who is the reigning Orange Bowl champion, Lilov still has mixed feelings about the surface.

"This grass is definitely a frustrating surface for a lot of us," Lilov said. "I guess my game is supposed to suit it, but I can't really move on it, I don't really know exactly what to do. My first match, I didn't play bad, but I did play the right way. I was trying to play super flat, way differently that I usually would, and my coach told me I had to change that, so I did. So I'm just fighting for every point and trying to win the matches."

Lilov reached the third round at the French Open last month, but has not been satisfied with his results this year in general.

"I can't complain," Lilov said. "Before the French, I can't say it was a tough year, because I've been fortunate, but based on the tennis results, they haven't been very good. Before the French, I was super low on confidence, so I was happy to win a couple of matches there. But Wimbledon, this place is amazing and I'm happy to be here one more day."

While Lilov may be ambivalent about the grass, Ozan Colak has no such reservations, and his  6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Roehampton finalist and  No. 6 seed Daniel Rincon of Spain was particularly satisfying, given his loss  to Rincon in the first round last week at the J1.

"It was 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, about three hours and just long points," said the 17-year-old from Michigan. "Obviously, after playing him once, I had a better understanding of his game and what I needed to do against him. I felt I had a pretty strong game plan out there and for the most part, I was able to manage the match in certain moments that could have been very tough."

After Colak dropped serve in the third game of the match, he let out a primal scream that seemed to calm his nerves and allow him to go to another level.

"I was obviously quite frustrated and I let that out," said Colak, who cites his serve and his slice as reasons he feels comfortable on grass. "Truly, I don't know how I got to 4-2 or 5-2. I was almost like in autopilot mode, where I opened my eyes and it was 4-2. I think I just released all the thoughts and pressure on myself and allowed myself to play without thinking. The next time I started thinking again, I noticed I was up 4-2 and serving."

Colak did not return home between the French Open and Wimbledon, instead playing two ITF men's $15Ks in Tunisia and picking up his first ATP point, so he is not sure whether he will be playing the Grade A in Milan next week.

"I haven't been home in 11 or 12 weeks," Colak said. "It's been a while and I'm kind of craving to go back home and see the family."

Colak will face No. 11 seed Jerome Kym of Switzerland in the third round Friday, with Lilov taking on unseeded Vojtech Petr of the Czech Republic, who beat No. 14 seed Leo Borg of Sweden 6-1, 6-2.

In the bottom half, Bruno Kuzuhara defeated University of Florida incoming freshman Abedallah Shelbayh of Jordan 6-3, 7-6(4) and will face another top 2021 recruit, Max Westphal of France, who is joining Columbia this fall, on Friday.  Samir Banerjee defeated Peter Privara of Slovakia 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, recovering from a dispiriting second set, when he lost five straight games after holding two match points with Privara serving at 5-2. Banerjee will play No. 5 seed Pedro Boscardin Dias of Brazil, who took out incoming TCU freshman Lui Maxted of Great Britain 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Top seed Jerry Shang of China defeated qualifier Robin Bertrand of France 6-3, 6-4 in his second round match.

The girls quarterfinals feature four seeds and four unseeded players, including wild card Alicia Dudeney of Great Britain. Dudeney, who is a rising freshman at the University of Florida, defeated Roehampton finalist Linda Klimovicova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting with top seed Jimenez Kasintseva. Unseeded Nastasija Schunk of Germany plays unseeded Matilde Paoletti of Italy in the other top half quarterfinal.

In the bottom half, Roehampton champion Linda Fruhvirtova, the No. 8 seed, picked up two easy wins to advance to a contest with Guth. No. 6 seed Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus will face unseeded Ane Mintegi Del Olmo of Spain, who beat No. 2 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round and won another tough one over British wild card Kylie Bilchev 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.

Due to the extra matches for girls, the second round of girls doubles was not completed. Clervie Ngounoue and Alexandra Yepifanova were rescheduled for Friday, and they will need to play again if they win, as will Brantmeier and Elvina Kalieva.  No. 8 seeds Ellie Coleman and Madison Sieg are through to the quarterfinals, as is Krueger, who is playing with Chelsea Fontenel of Switzerland. Krueger and Fontenel closed out their win over No. 3 seeds Eala and Priska Madelyn Nugroho of Indonesia 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 as darkness descended on the All England Lawn Tennis Club. 

No. 3 seeds Alexander Bernard and Dali Blanch were not able to finish their second round boys doubles match, with play halted before the second set tiebreaker in their match with Rincon and Shelbayh. Rincon and Shelbayh won the first set 7-5. Lilov and his partner Privara beat No. 6 seeds Ethan Quinn and Kuzuhara 7-6(4), 6-2. Banerjee and his partner Kokoro Isomura advanced to the quarterfinals via a walkover from top seeds Jack Pinnington Jones of Great Britain and Shang.

In men's doubles, No. 6 seeds Rajeev Ram(Illinois) and Joe Salisbury(Memphis) of Great Britain lost to top seeds Nicola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5).

In mixed doubles, Salisbury and Harriet Dart advanced to the semifinals, defeating Jeremy Chardy of France and Naomi Broady of Great Britain 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. No. 7 seeds Desirae Krawczyk(Arizona State) and Neal Skupski(LSU) of Great Britain won their Centre Court match against No. 14 seeds Jean-Julien Rojer(UCLA) of the Netherlands and Andreja Klepac of Slovenia 7-6(6), 6-2. Salisbury and Krawczyk, who won the mixed title at the French Open, are one match away from meeting in the final at Wimbledon. 

US girls second round results at Wimbledon Thursday:

Kylie Bilchev[WC](GBR) d. Ellie Coleman 6-1, 6-2
Elena Pridankina[Q](RUS) d. Elvina Kalieva[10] 6-3, 6-1
Ashlyn Krueger v Ksenia Zaytseva[Q](RUS) 7-6(5), 6-3
Reese Brantmeier d. Julia Garcia[16](MEX) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
Linda Klimovicova(CZE) d. Alexandra Yepifanova[7] 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

US girls third round results at Wimbledon Thursday:

Mara Guth[15](GER) d. Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-0
Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva[1](AND) d. Reese Brantmeier 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4

US boys second round results at Wimbledon Thursday:

Bruno Kuzuhara[4] d. Abedallah Shelbayh(JOR) 6-3, 7-6(4)
Samir Banerjee d. Peter Privara(SVK) 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
Ozan Colak d. Daniel Rincon[6](ESP) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Mili Poljicak[Q](CRO) d. Alexander Bernard[13] 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-4
Victor Lilov d. Arthur Fils[3](FRA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

US Boys in third round action at Wimbledon Friday:

Ozan Colak v Jerome Kym[11](SUI)
Victor Lilov v Vojtech Petr(CZE)
Bruno Kuzuhara[4] v Max Westphal(FRA)
Samir Banerjee v Pedro Boscardin Dias[5](BRA)

Boys winners play again on Friday.