Gavrilova, Gomez Win Olympic Gold in Singapore; More on USTA USO Wildcard Tournament Winners

The tennis competition at the first annual Youth Olympic Games wrapped up today in Singapore, with two unseeded players taking the singles gold medals. Russia's Daria Gavrilova, the reigning Eddie Herr champion and 2009 French Open finalist, came from a set down in her gold medal match with China's Saisai Zheng to post a 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory. Zheng, who was also unseeded, beat No. 3 seed Timea Babos in the semifinals, while Gavrilova had taken out No. 1 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the second round. The bronze medal went to No. 7 Jana Cepelova of Slovakia, who beat Babos 6-2, 7-5.

Zheng did get a gold medal however, as she and Hao Chen Tang won the doubles competition. The unseeded pair defeated 2010 Australian Open girls champions Cepelova and Chantal Skamlova, the fourth seeds, 6-4, 3-6, 10-4. The top-seeded team of Babos and An-Sophie Mestach of Belgium(apparently doubles partners did not have to be from the same country) took the bronze medal in girls doubles.

Juan Sebastian Gomez of Colombia surprised No. 6 seed Yuki Bhambri of India 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 4-1 retired. Gomez, 14th in the ITF World Junior rankings, wasn't seeded, but the story about the gold medal match projects he will now be No. 1 in the world. Gavrilova will also ascend to the top spot with her win, with both players likely to be the top seeds in New York next month. The points received at the Youth Olympic Games are the same as a Grade A, with bonus points mirroring the junior slams.

No. 2 seed Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia took the bronze medal with a 7-5, 6-1 win over unseeded Victor Baluda of Russia.

Making it a clean sweep for unseeded winners of gold medals, the doubles competition was won by Great Britain's Oliver Golding and Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic. They beat another unseeded team, Baluda and Mikhail Biryukov of Russia, 6-3, 6-1. The bronze medal in boys doubles went to Slovakia's Filip Horansky and Jozef Kovalik.

The ITF Olympic tennis site provided outstanding coverage of the event throughout the week, with blogs, articles and an extensive photo gallery.

Beatrice Capra and Tim Smyczek, the winners of the USTA's US Open wildcard tournament this week, were the subject of several articles. Sandra Harwitt covered the event for the Miami Herald, Josh Rey provided his usual detailed coverage for usta.com, and Wilson did a brief interview with Capra after the match which is available on YouTube.

Tags: junior tennis, Daria Gavrilova, Juan Sebastian Gomez, Youth Olympic Games, Beatrice Capra, Tim Smyczek, USTA US Open Wild Card Playoff, Colette Lewis

Recap of Boys Nationals with Slideshow and Videos; Smyczek and Capra Win Wild Card Playoffs

Before we start looking ahead to the U.S. Open, which begins with qualifying on Tuesday, August 24, it's time to wrap up another year at the Boys Nationals.

My recap for the Tennis Recruiting Network can be found here and make sure you've read the articles this week about the other national championships.

Below are the slideshow and videos of the winners. For videos of finalists Shane Vinsant and Bob van Overbeek, see the tenniskalamazoo channel at YouTube.

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Today in Boca Raton, Tim Smyczek and Beatrice Capra earned the eighth and final U.S. Open main draw wild cards. Top seed Smyczek beat No. 2 Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Capra, seeded second, beat top seed Madison Brengle 7-8(4), 6-4. It is the first appearance in the main draw of a grand slam for both Smyczek and Capra.

Josh Rey is covering the event for usta.com. His story on the finals is not up yet, but here is his report from the semifinals.

Tags: junior tennis, Jack Sock, Michael Redlicki, Slideroll, YouTube, Tennis Recruiting Network, USTA Boys 18 and 16 National Championships, Beatrice Capra, Tim Smyczek, Colette Lewis

US Open Junior Wild Cards Announced; Matches Between Top Two Seeds Will Decide US Open Men's and Women's Wild Cards

This afternoon the USTA released the names of the juniors who have been granted wild cards to the U.S. Open Junior Championships. They are:

BOYS:
Andrea Collarini (18, Boca Raton, Fla.)
Mitchell Frank (17, Annandale, Va.)
Bjorn Fratangelo (17, Pittsburgh)
Evan King (18, Chicago)
Daniel Kosakowski (18, Downey, Calif.)
Mitchell Krueger (16, Aledo, Texas)
Michael Redlicki (16, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.)
Jack Sock (17, Lincoln, Neb.)

GIRLS:
Victoria Duval (14, Norcross, Ga.)
Nicole Gibbs (17, Santa Monica, Calif.)
Madison Keys (15, Boca Raton, Fla.)
Kyle McPhillips (16, Willoughby, Ohio)
Jessica Pegula (16, Boca Raton, Fla.)
Caroline Price (17, Duluth, Ga.)
Ellen Tsay (16, Pleasanton, Calif.)
Sachia Vickery (15, Miramar, Fla.)

Monica Turewicz, Chanelle Van Nguyen, Junior Ore and Shane Vinsant are among the Americans who will need to qualify.

The junior open qualifying wild cards:
GIRLS:
Gabrielle Andrews (13, Pomona, Calif.)
Brooke Austin (14, Indianapolis)
Anne-Liz Jeuking-Nkamgouo (14, Kansas City, Mo.)
Christina Makarova (14, San Diego)
Taylor Townsend (14, Stockbridge, Ga.)
Miharu Imanishi(Japan)

BOYS:
Alexios Halebian (16, Glendale, Calif.)
Mackenzie McDonald (15, Piedmont, Calif.)
Spencer Papa (14, Edmund, Okla.)
Daiki Kondo (Japan)
Two other boys qualifying wild cards will be named later.

It's a bit surprising that Halebian wasn't given a main draw wild card, and Kosakowski was, as in the past, the USTA had seemed to prefer younger players. But I suspect the boys' performances in Kalamazoo may have had something to do with the USTA's decision.

The ITF site does not currently show the US Open Junior wild card entries, but it is possible to project who will move up now that they've been named.

The USTA's US Open wild card tournament finals are set for Friday, with top seeds Tim Smyczek and Madison Brengle facing No. 2 seeds Ryan Harrison and Beatrice Capra.

In today's men's semifinal action, Smyczek beat No. 5 seed Alex Domijan 7-6(5), 6-3, and Harrison downed No. 3 seed Greg Ouellette 6-1, 6-4. The women's semis were also straight set decisions, with Brengle defeating No. 5 seed Nicole Gibbs 7-6(6), 6-0, and Capra beating No. 6 seed Krista Hardebeck 6-3, 7-5. The women's final will be first, at 10 am, followed by the men's final, which is best of five sets.

Tags: junior tennis, US Open Junior Championships, USTA, US Open wild card tournament, Colette Lewis

USTA Names Women's US Open Wild Cards; Results from US Open Wild Card Tournament

The USTA today announced the women's wild cards for the U.S. Open and the only player on the list that received a wild card last year is Christina McHale, who received hers in 2009 because she won the 18s nationals.

The inclusion of NCAA champion Chelsey Gullickson is very encouraging, because she has not played much this summer. It demonstrates that the USTA is not just talking about college tennis as a development pathway, it is actually providing opportunties based on college results.

I sat in on an ESPN-sponsored conference call with John and Patrick McEnroe this afternoon, and they were directly asked about the place college tennis has in development. As I tweeted during the call, Patrick went so far as to say that the U.S. players most likely to close in on the Top 100 in the next few years are now in college, not teen-aged pros, although he did call Ryan Harrison "our best prospect." John mentioned his year at Stanford, and he said that entering college ranked 21st in the world created extra pressure, and that situation helped him learn how to cope with expectations.

Many people have expressed to me their doubts about the USTA's commitment to college tennis, but I think their message has been unequivocally in favor of it as a development path since McEnroe assumed the top spot.

Anyway, here are the seven main draw wild cards already decided:

Chelsey Gullickson
Jamie Hampton
Christina McHale
Shelby Rogers
CoCo Vandeweghe
Virginia Razzano (reciprocal with France)
Sophie Ferguson (reciprocal with Australia)

The eighth wild card will be decided in the playoff that got underway today in Boca Raton. See the results below.

Those receiving qualifying wild cards are:
Julie Boserup*
Beatrice Capra*
Irina Falconi*
Nicole Gibbs*
Alexa Glatch
Krista Hardebeck*
Madison Keys
Alexandra Mueller
Sloane Stephens

*Participating in the main draw wild card tournament this week.

Stephens is perhaps the most surprising omission from the main draw list. She did well at both the junior slams this summer, winning girls doubles titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She won a match in the WTA event in Bastad and played the Girls 18s nationals, while CoCo Vandeweghe, who was also age-eligible, did not. Vandeweghe had that big win over Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva early this month in San Diego, however, which may have sealed her wild card. Hampton has played very well all year, as has Christina McHale.

For the complete release, see usopen.org.

At the wild card tournament in Boca Raton today, the top two men's and women's seeds advanced in straight sets. Results are as follows:

Tim Smyczek(1) def. Chase Buchanan(8) 7-5, 6-1
Ryan Harrison(2) def. Steve Johnson(7) 6-4, 6-4
Greg Ouellette(3) def. Austin Krajicek(6) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
Alex Domijan(5) def. Andrea Collarini(4) 7-5, 6-2


Madison Brengle(1) def. Jessica Pegula(8) 6-2, 6-2
Beatrice Capra(2) def. Lauren Davis(7) 6-1, 6-2
Krista Hardebeck(6) def. Julia Boserup(3) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Nicole Gibbs(5) def. Irina Falconi(4) 7-6(2), 6-3

In Thursday's semifinals, Smyczek will play Domijan and Harrison will play Ouellette for the men. The women's semifinals will be Brengle against Gibbs and Capra against Hardebeck.

Tags: college tennis, junior tennis, Chelsey Gullickson, US Open, USTA, US Open Wild Card Tournament, Colette Lewis

USTA Names Men's US Open Wild Cards

The USTA's announcement of the men's US Open wild cards early this afternoon caught me by surprise. Last year it was the Wednesday after the Nationals that the names were released. If you don't recall who received the wild cards last year, click here. None of the players who received a main draw wild card last year got one this year.

The main draw wild cards have gone to:
James Blake
Bradley Klahn
Jack Sock
Ryan Sweeting
Donald Young
Carsten Ball (Australia)
Guillaume Rufin (France)

The eighth will be determined by the wild card playoff that begins Wednesday morning in Boca Raton.

There were no real surprises in this group, with Sweeting and Young the highest ranked players from the US not already in.

It appears that Australia and France diverge in their thinking regarding wild cards this year. (I don't think they held tournaments to decide them, but if someone knows otherwise, please let me know). Australia opted against giving a wild card to 17-year-old Bernard Tomic, who is in the qualifying on his own ranking, and also bypassed the more highly ranked Chris Guccione in favor of Ball, while France elected to elevate 19-year-old Rufin, over five others from France in the qualifying who are ranked higher, including Wimbledon marathon man Nicolas Mahut.

I believe it's clear from the USTA's selections that they are encouraging those eligible for the 18s National junior wild card in Kalamazoo to compete for it. Many people expressed the opinion last year that Ryan Harrison did not play Kalamazoo because he knew he already had a main draw wild card sewn up. That was not true, and the fact that he and Alex Domijan did not receive wild cards this year indicates the USTA is sending a consistent message.

The qualifying wild cards went to:
Chase Buchanan
Jordan Cox
Andrea Collarini
Jarmere Jenkins
Steve Johnson
Greg Ouellette
Bob van Overbeek
Blake Strode
Rhyne Williams

Buchanan, Collarini, Jenkins and Johnson are also competing in the tournament for the main draw wild card, so if one of them wins, I think that will open up another qualifying wild card. For those who doubt the USTA's commitment to college tennis, five of the nine qualifying wild cards went to members of the USTA's Summer Collegiate team.

I'm surprised that Domijan is not on this list. I also wonder about the absence of Denis Kudla. Could it be that there was more riding on the outcome of that third and fourth place match between Cox and Kudla in Kalamazoo than we thought?

For the full article on the men's wild cards, see usopen.org. Last year the women's wild cards were announced the day after the men's.

Tags: college tennis, junior tennis, US Open, USTA, Bradley Klahn, Colette Lewis

USTA National Champions; USTA Announces USO Wild Card Tournament Participants

While I was providing coverage of the Boys 18 and 16 National Championships here in Kalamazoo last week, gold balls were awarded at five other sites across the country. Tennis Recruiting Network will have a story on each of those championships beginning on Tuesday, so check back there daily for more in-depth coverage. Below are the results of the finals. For more, including all the doubles results, see this release from the USTA.

G12s: Kaitlyn McCarthy(5) def. Sofia Kenin(1) 6-4, 6-0
B12s: Robert Levine(3) def. Nathan Ponwith(4) 6-3, 6-2

G14s: Jessie Lynn Paul(5) def. Lauren Goodman(9) 6-2, 6-3
B14s: Benjamin Tso(1) def. Henrik Wiersholm(7) 7-6(6), 7-5


G16s: Kyle McPhillips*(1) def. Spencer Liang(7) 6-0, 6-3
B16s: Michael Redlicki*(4) def. Shane Vinsant(1) 7-5, 6-4


G18s: Shelby Rogers*(3) def. Nicole Gibbs*(4) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4)
B18s: Jack Sock*(3) def. Bob van Overbeek*(9) 6-2, 7-5, 6-4


G18s doubles: Lauren Herring and Grace Min*(5) def. Kaitlyn Christian and Whitney Kay(9) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
B18s doubles: Sekou Bangoura and Nathan Pasha* def. Matthew Kandath and Jack Sock 7-5, 6-3.

*Have earned wild cards to US Open. Click here to see the various wild cards for USTA National Level I tournaments in 2010.

For more on the Girls 16s and 18s in San Diego, see Rhiannon Potkey's story on usta.com. For more on champion Shelby Rogers, see this article in the Charleston The Post and Courier.

The Lincoln, Neb. Journal Star ran this piece on Jack Sock, and Pam Shebest completed her usual excellent coverage of the Nationals for the Kalamazoo Gazette with these two articles.

The USTA has announced the names of the players participating in the US Open wild card tournament beginning Wednesday at the USTA Player Development Center in Boca Raton, Fla. If you are in the area stop by; it is free and open to the public, with play beginning at 10 a.m.

MEN:
Chase Buchanan
Andrea Collarini
Alexander Domijan
Ryan Harrison
Jarmere Jenkins
Steve Johnson
Austin Krajicek
Tim Smyczek

WOMEN:
Julia Boserup
Madison Brengle
Beatrice Capra
Irina Falconi
Krista Hardebeck
Nicole Gibbs
Madison Keys (I mistakenly didn't include her earlier)
Alison Riske

Tags: Colette Lewis, USTA National Junior Tennis Championships, Shelby Rogers, Kyle McPhillips, Grace Min and Lauren Herring, Jack Sock, Colette Lewis