My Recap of Razeghi's 16s Title in Kalamazoo; Liu and Li Reach Quarterfinals at WTA 125 in Chicago; Tips for Coaching in USTA's 10-Minute Break; Tennis Community Mourns Death of Luke Siegel

Top seed Alexander Razeghi arrived in Kalamazoo as this year's Easter Bowl champion, which made him the clear favorite for the 16s National title despite making his first appearance in the tournament. He left Kalamazoo having answered every question about his lack of experience and handling the pressure of the No. 1 seeding, winning all seven of his matches in straight sets, losing only 24 games in that stretch.

Razeghi, who has already won two ITF tournaments this year, will take a step up in competition at next week's College Park J1 and in the US Open, where he will receive a main draw wild card.

My recap for the Tennis Recruiting Network is here. The girls 16s recap, which is usually posted on the same day as the boys 16s, was published last week, with the girls 16s in San Diego concluding earlier this year due to a lack of court availability.

All Americans are now out of the Western and Southern Open with the last two, John Isner and Jessica Pegula, losing in the round of 16 today. The men's draw is here; the women's draw is here.

Two Americans have advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 this week in Chicago: unseeded Claire Liu and No. 3 seed Ann Li.  Wild card Hailey Baptiste, who had beaten No. 2 seed Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the first round, lost today to 18-year-old Clara Tauson of Denmark 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Liu will play qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia in Friday's quarterfinals, while Li, who is the only seeded player to reach the quarterfinals, will play Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. The two 21-year-old Americans will need to reach the final to reprise their 2017 meeting in the Wimbledon Junior Championships. 

Wimbledon star Emma Raducanu of Great Britain, who received a wild card, defeated top seed Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the first round and will face alternate Julie Niemeier of Germany.

The 10-minute break between the second and third sets in USTA tournaments presents a unique challenge to both players and coaches. The player who lost the second set may welcome a break to analyze what happened, but it can pose a problem for the player who forced the third, as their momentum can be disrupted. Because coaching is allowed during this break, it provides and opportunity for immediate feedback, but occasionally it is a parent who steps into that position, if the coach is not present, and they often feel ill-prepared to take on that role.

Johnny Parkes of IMG and Larry Lauer of the USTA have recorded an episode on coaching during the 10-minute break for their Compete Like a Champion podcast, which can be found here.

Word came today of the death of Luke Siegel, the 15-year-old son of former Texas Tech men's coach Tim Siegel, who was severely injured in a 2015 golf cart accident. Luke's accident spurred Tim  to devote himself to raising money for and awareness of severe brain injury in children, and stars from many sports joined Tim in his cause.

Lisa Stone interviewed Tim for her Parenting Aces podcast in May of 2017. This article today from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal provides an overview of how the Siegel family coped with the tragedy and how Luke's courage and determination served as an inspiration for teams and athletes across the country, and will continue to do so despite his passing.