Black Outlasts No. 2 Seed Akkerman to Reach Easter Bowl ITF Semifinals; Peus Eliminates Top Seed Liu in Girls 14s

©Colette Lewis 2013—

Rancho Mirage, CA—

After playing two hours and forty-five minutes, No. 6 seed Tornado Black was serving for a place in the Asics Easter Bowl semifinals. She had broken No. 2 seed Marika Akkerman at 3-3 and was up 5-4, 30-0 when she was called for a time violation.

Black, a 14-year-old with an often volatile on-court temperament, didn’t let it bother her however. After a brief complaint, she resumed play, and lost the next point when her backhand went wide. At that critical stage, it was the 17-year-old from Canada who cracked. Akkerman missed a forehand badly to give Black a match point, and netted a forehand that resulted in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory for Black.

“I had to try to get over it,” said Black, who was warned for slow play in the first set. “It was really a tight point and I pulled it off.”

Black was impressed with Akkerman’s level of play early in the match, but didn’t think she would be able to sustain it.

“I was down 3-1 in the first set, and she was playing really amazing,” said Black, who is now at L’Academie de Tennis in Boynton Beach, Fla. after more than a year with the USTA in Boca Raton. “But I was thinking, how long can someone play that well, so I just tried to stay in the match.”

Looking dispirited in the late stages of the second set, Black, who had had visits from the trainer for treatment on her leg, found her energy in the third set. Many of the points were long and grueling in the 85 degree temperatures, and Black was glad she wasn’t playing doubles later in the afternoon, with her loss on Thursday giving her a chance to rest and take an ice bath.

Black’s opponent in the semifinals is No. 14 seed Louisa Chirico, who defeated unseeded Monica Robinson 6-3, 6-1 Thursday.

The rematch between Mayo Hibi and Brooke Austin, who are doubles partners this week, went in a similar fashion to their first round meeting last week at the International Spring Championships in Carson, Calif. Austin, a finalist at last year’s Easter Bowl, won three games there and two on Thursday, with Hibi, the No. 13 seed, taking a 6-0, 6-2 decision on stadium court.

Hibi will play 13-year-old wild card Michaela Gordon, who continued her impressive spring with a 6-3, 6-3 win over 15-year-old Raquel Pedraza.

The boys 18s quarterfinalists include three former Easter Bowl champions, defending ITF champion Mackenzie McDonald, the No. 2 seed, who also won the 14s title in 2009, Gage Brymer, the 2011 16s champion and Ernesto Escobedo, the 2011 14s champion.

McDonald defeated No. 15 seed Dennis Uspensky 6-3, 6-1 in Thursday’s third round and will face No. 5 seed Martin Redlicki in Friday’s quarterfinals. The unseeded Brymer, who needed more than two and a half hours to subdue No. 14 seed Henrik Wiersholm 6-2, 7-5 Thursday afternoon, plays No. 8 seed Michael Mmoh, a 7-5, 6-0 winner over No. 12 seed Justin Butsch.

Escobedo had the only three-set win of the day in the boys third round, taking out Deiton Baughman, also unseeded, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. He will play No. 3 seed Luca Corinteli, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over unseeded Stephen Watson.

Wild card Alexandru Gozun reached the quarterfinals with his 6-2, 7-6(3) win over No. 10 seed Francis Tiafoe and will play top seed Noah Rubin. Rubin downed unseeded Logan Smith 7-5, 7-5 way back on court 5 Thursday afternoon.

The semifinals are set for the 14s, with boys draw going to form, with the 1, 2, 3 and 5 seeds advancing in straight sets. Top seed John McNally, the Winter Nationals 14 champion defeated Max Pham 7-5, 6-3 and will play No. 5 seed Nathan Perrone in Friday morning’s semifinal.

No. 3 seed Zeke Clark defeated No. 6 seed Jacob Brumm 6-3, 6-1 to set up a meeting with No. 2 seed Connor Hance. Hance defeated No. 8 seed Justin Lee 6-2, 6-2.

The girls 14s quarterfinals produced the day’s biggest upset, with No. 9 seed Ryan Peus taking out top seed Claire Liu 6-2, 6-3.

Peus and Liu train together at the USTA Player Development Center West in Carson, and Peus hadn’t had much success against the 12-year-old from Thousand Oaks until today.

“Last year I played her like eight times,” said Peus, 13. “We went three sets every time accept for once. I won once and she won like four times.”

Peus wears a lucky Roger Federer hat which she had autographed at the BNP Paribas Open by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and she credits it with helping her come back from dropping the first set in three of her five wins this week.

Against Liu, a finalist in the 16s at the ISC in Carson last week, Peus didn’t need the hat’s help.

“I played a lot more aggressive than I did the other days,” said Peus, a Santa Barbara resident. “I felt like I had nothing to lose today, and I just went out there and competed. I thought she was pretty tight the whole match. I thought the second set, she got a little more into the match, but I think she had a lot of pressure. It’s tough to win two tournaments or play really well in two tournaments in a row.”

Peus’s opponent in Friday morning’s semifinal is No. 11 seed Ashley Lahey, a 7-5, 6-2 winner over No. 10 seed Ellie Douglas. Lahey defeated Peus 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of a February National Open.

In the other semifinal, No. 3 seed Jaeda Daniel will meet Alexa Graham, a No. 17 seed. Daniel defeated No. 6 seed Kylie McKenzie 6-4, 6-4, while Graham was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Janice Shin, also a No. 17 seed.

The top seeds in the 16s continued on their paths to the title, with boys No. 1 Sameer Kumar again collecting a straight set win, this time a 7-5, 6-3 decision over unseeded Spencer Richey.

Francesca Dilorenzo, the top girls 16s seed advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over unseeded Jesse Aney and will meet Les Petits As champion CiCi Bellis on Friday.

No. 3 Meredith Xepoleas, a finalist last year in the 16s division, will play unseeded Hanna Chang in the quarterfinals after both picked up three-set victories Thursday morning.

For the 14s and 16s draws, including doubles results, see this TennisLink site.

The 18s ITF draws are at this TennisLink site.

Thirteen-year-old Gordon Makes Easter Bowl ITF Quarterfinals; Former 14s Champion Escobedo Beats Sixth Seed Mylnikov in B18s Second Round

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Rancho Mirage, CA--

Michaela Gordon has been eligible for ITF events for less than a year, but she already has claimed two Grade 4 titles. Coming into the Asics Easter Bowl ITF B1 Closed however, the 13-year-old from Northern California wasn't expecting similar success, and was surprised to claim a 7-5, 7-5 third round victory over USTA 18s Spring National Champion Kaitlyn McCarthy.

Asked if she thought a victory today was possible, Gordon was candid.

"Honestly, I didn't really think so," said Gordon, who trains at the Eagle Fustar Academy in Santa Clara, Calif. "I just wanted to have a really close match, and I think it could have gone either way. Coming into the tournament, I just wanted to win maybe two rounds. I just wanted to play the better players, but I never thought I'd get to the quarters."

Gordon didn't look poised for the win over the No. 10 seed when she fell behind 4-0, but she recognized that she couldn't stay with the same game plan.

"I knew I had to change my game and I realized that hitting flat and hard wasn't working, since she's so consistent and she's really, really good at defense," said Gordon. "So I decided to try hitting higher heavier balls and be more steady."

Gordon will face another unseeded wild card, 15-year-old Raquel Pedraza, who reached her first ITF Grade 1 quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 8 seed Ellie Halbauer.

The other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw will be a rematch of the first round at last week's International Spring Championships between Brooke Austin and Mayo Hibi, who went on to take the title.  Austin defeated Kimberly Yee 6-3, 6-0, and Hibi, the No. 13 seed, got by Peggy Porter 6-4, 6-1.

No. 14 seed Louisa Chirico had a 5-1 lead in the third set of her match with Megan McCray, but saw that dissolve before recovering for a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) win.  She will play unseeded Monica Robinson, who beat No. 11 seed Denise Starr 1-6, 6-2, 6-1.

In the only girls 18s match between two seeded players Thursday, No. 6 seed Tornado Black will play No. 2 seed Marika Akkerman of Canada.

Black downed No. 9 seed Marie Norris 6-2, 6-3, and Akkerman took out Nicole Frenkel 7-6(8), 6-4.

The boys 18s second round produced plenty of drama, including three matches decided in third set tiebreakers. Gage Brymer advanced over Grant Solomon 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4), Stephen Watson edged past Walker Duncan 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(4) in a contentious ending, with Duncan questioning several of Watson's calls. "You play a clean match and then make three bad calls in the tiebreaker?" Duncan said to Watson. Duncan didn't want a roving umpire on the court, but Watson requested that he watch the end, and he did. Even after the last point, which was a double fault by Duncan, the two boys kept arguing about the calls.

The third match decided by a final tiebreaker was the last singles match of the day, with No. 15 seed Dennis Uspensky defeating Shane Monroe 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).

Three seeded boys were eliminated Wednesday, with No. 6 seed Tommy Mylnikov, No. 7 seed Daniel Kerznerman and No. 9 seed Jordi Arconada of Argentina falling in straight sets.

Ernesto Escobedo, the 2011 boys 14s Easter Bowl champion, had the misfortune of drawing eventual champion Stefan Kozlov in the first round at the Grade 1 International Spring Championships last week, but   in Wednesday's second round he dominated Mylnikov 6-3, 6-1.

"It was such a tough draw last week," said Escobedo, who didn't lose a game in his first round match on Tuesday. "I came in here this week just thinking positive about the tournament. Now I feel fine on the court."

Escobedo, who will be 17 in July, believes his game has gotten bigger in the past two years, but it is a less obvious trait that has made the most important difference.

"My game has grown, and I'm more patient on the court," said Escobedo. "But I'm more aggressive at the same time, just not so early in the the point. I take my time and I'm enjoying myself."

Wild card Alexandru Gozun defeated Kerznerman 7-6(3), 6-2 and Brandon Sutter downed Arconada 6-1, 7-5.

In the 14s, both top seeds were taken to third sets, but John McNally defeated No. 11 seed Noah Makarome 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 and Claire Liu downed Samantha Martinelli, a No. 17 seed, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2. The 14s quarterfinals will be played at Sunrise Country Club beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The top seeds in the boys 16s, Sameer Kumar and Kyle Seelig, advanced to the fourth round with straight set wins, but Ena Shibahara, the No. 2 seed and International Springs 16s champion, was beaten by No. 17 seed Rebecca Weissmann 6-0, 6-2.  Top girls 16s seed Francesca Dilorenzo did reach the round of 16 with a straight set win.

For the 14s and 16s draws, see this TennisLink site.

The 18s ITF draws are at this TennisLink site.

Austin Saves Match Points in Ousting Top Seed Loeb, Brymer Outlasts Papa at Easter Bowl ITF

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Rancho Mirage, CA--

Tuesday's Coachella valley weather was in stark contrast to Monday's disruptive winds, but the ideal conditions didn't help girls top seed Jamie Loeb or boys No. 4 seed Spencer Papa, as both fell to accomplished opponents with impressive Easter Bowl resumes at the Sunrise Country Club.

2012 finalist Brooke Austin, the No. 1 player in the USTA rankings but unseeded in the ITF B1 tournament, beat Jamie Loeb, No. 2 in the USTA rankings, but the top seed in this Easter Bowl 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-3, saving three match points in the second set.

Austin, who had drawn eventual champion Mayo Hibi in the first round at the International Spring Championships, beat Jessica Ho 6-2, 76(3) in Monday's hurricane-like winds, while Loeb, who lost in the ISC final, had a bye.

"Yesterday was just the sort of day when you've to find a way to win, in spite of the wind," said Austin, 17. "Today, I just tried to play aggressive. The balls fly a little more here, because I think there's a little bit of altitude, so I just tried to play my game and be as consistent as I could. Every time we've played, it's gone three sets, like since we were 12."

Austin faced a match point at 4-5 in the second set, and saved it.

"Believe it or not, I hit a volley," said Austin, known for her line-painting ground strokes, not her net game. "It was like an angle backhand volley and it went in, barely."

In the tiebreaker, Austin saved two more match points, with Loeb making uncharacteristic errors.

"In the tiebreaker, I was just, come on Brooke, keep fighting."

In the third set, Austin broke Loeb for a 2-1 lead, gave the break back immediately, but then got another for a 3-2 lead. Consolidating the break, Austin continued to hit winners or force errors with her pace and angles.  With Austin leading 5-3, Loeb had a 40-15 lead in her service game with a chance to make Austin serve it out. But Austin unleashed a series of forehand winners, including on match point, to retain her hopes of another Easter Bowl title to add to her 2009 Girls 14s title.

Gage Brymer won the 2011 Boys 16s title, and he too has faced some difficult draws the last two weeks. As a wild card at Carson's ISC last week, Brymer lost to top seed Noah Rubin in the second round, and was drawn to face No. 4 seed Spencer Papa in the first round of boys 18s play Tuesday at Sunrise Country Club.

"I don't have much of an ITF ranking, so I've been getting tough rounds in Carson, and now Spencer in the first round," said Brymer, who will be joining the UCLA Bruins in the fall. "That's a bad draw for both of us. It's just unlucky, but that's how it goes. You have to beat him sometime in the draw, so it's just unlucky he had to go out in the first round."

It looked as if Brymer would be the one going out in the first round, not Papa, after he lost the first set 6-1. But Brymer came back, got the one crucial break in the third set, and posted a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

"All he had to do was keep balls in play in the first set, and I'd miss early," said Brymer. "In the second set, I got myself together and just tried to keep as many balls as I could in. I figured that was all I could do to shake those nerves and get going with the match."

Although most of the rallies were long and punishing baseline exchanges, a scrambling defensive lob proved pivotal for Brymer.

With Papa serving at 3-3 in the third, he had a game point and control of the point. Brymer chased down an offensive lob from Papa and pulled off an even better defensive one, which improbably landed deep and near the baseline behind Papa for the winner. After getting the break, Brymer held for 5-3, and Papa held to force Brymer to serve it out.  He did, but not without some drama. He double faulted to go down 30-40, but Papa let him off the hook with a forehand long. Brymer got his first match point when Papa hit a second serve return out, but Brymer made an error of his own to send it back to deuce. Brymer saved a second break point with a forehand volley winner, then got a second match point with a forehand winner. This time, Brymer converted, with Papa netting a forehand.

"I got tight again in the final game," admitted Brymer. "It was so close and going back and forth, and I had a couple tight serves. I was really
trying to breathe and loosen myself up and get in. On the next couple of serves, I just loosened up and spun them in instead of trying to go for a big tight serve."

"I have good memories here in Palm Springs, at this tournament," Brymer said. "So I'm looking to make some big things happen in this tournament."

Brymer will play Grant Solomon in the second round on Wednesday.

The only other seed to fall in 18s play on Tuesday was No. 7 seed Rianna Valdes, who was beaten by Monica Robinson 6-3, 7-5.

The top seeds in the 16s, Sameer Kumar and Francesca Dilorenzo, won in straight sets, as did the top seeds in the 14s, John McNally and Claire Liu.

For the 14s and 16s draws and results, click here.

For the 18s draws and results, click here.

Gale Force Winds Cause Havoc at Easter Bowl

Tree damage near the Sunrise Country Club courts

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Rancho Mirage, CA--

The pool at Sunrise Country Club felt the wind's effects

The first round of the 16s division and the girls ITF B1 began Monday at the Easter Bowl, but the tennis matches played were a secondary consideration after 40 to 50 mile per hour winds resulted in the suspension of play for over an hour at Sunrise Country Club, the host site.

Around 9 a.m., with the first round of boys 16s on the courts at Sunrise, the wind was at its strongest, with dust, palm fronds, folding chairs and even umpire chairs being blown up, down and over.  Once the umpire chairs, which were not being used in these early rounds, toppled, play was called and was not resumed for over an hour.  Other sites around the Coachella Valley had varying delays, with the worst of the winds over by midday, but 20 to 30 mph gusts made it for some cautious tennis.

Top girls 14s seed Claire Liu, last week's International Spring Championships 16s finalist, had little difficulty, defeating Adrienne Vesely 6-2, 6-0, while No. 2 seed in the 16s, ISC 16s champion Ena Shibahara, also advanced in straight sets over Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-6(5).  Boys 16s No. 1 seed Sameer Kumar earned a 6-2, 6-2 win over Max Liu, and boys 14s No. 1 seed John McNally took out Andre Xiao by the same score, but several other top seeds struggled with the challenging conditions.


Last year's 14s finalist Kyle Seelig, the No. 2 seed in the 16s this year, dropped the first set to Neel Bedekar, but came back for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 win. Bedekar's one-handed backhand gave Seelig trouble in the opening set, but he adjusted to the conditions and began anticipating better as the match, which featured several line call disputes and calls for a roving umpire, wore on.

Connor Hance, the No. 2 seed in the boys 14s, had a similar scoreline, defeating Paul Barretto 5-7, 6-1, 6-0.

Top girls 16s seed Francesa Dilorenzo also needed three sets to reach the second round, defeating Raveena Kingsley 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

While the top seeds in the younger age divisions survived, the No. 3 seed in girls 18s, Dasha Ivanova, did not. Ivanova lost to Keisha Clousing 6-3, 6-4. No. 4 seed Madison Bourguignon fell to Megan McCray 6-4, 6-2. Kimberly Yee, an ISC 18s semifinalist, defeated No. 12 seed Cassandra Vazquez 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, and Peggy Porter downed No. 5 seed Usue Arconada 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Two other seeded players fell in the first round, with Maddie Pothoff defeating No. 16 seed Alexandria Stiteler 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 and Bianca Moldovan topping No. 15 seed Alexandra Morozova 6-3, 6-4.  Top seed Jamie Loeb had a bye.

For some reason the seeding for the Easter Bowl ITF was not based on the rankings from two weeks ago, but instead from the rankings prior to the Banana Bowl, which left Louisa Chirico as the No. 14 seed, rather than the No. 2 seed, which she would have been if the correct ranking date had been used.  Chirico, who played qualifying at last week's WTA Family Circle Cup, winning a round before falling to Mallory Burdette, found the adjustment back to juniors and from Har-Tru to hard courts challenging. Chirico eventually subdued Ayla Aksu 7-5, 6-7(0), 6-3, but admitted to some nerves.

"I definitely started a little bit tight," said Chirico, 16. "I wasn't hitting my shots and playing the way I have been playing. I loosened up a little, but I got a little too comfortable in the second set--I was up 5-3. But in the third set, I kept my focus and played much better."

Chirico lists clay as her favorite surface, and is hoping a good showing at the Easter Bowl will boost her ranking enough to get into the main draw at the French Open juniors.

"I wasn't able to play Carson, but I'm here to get my ranking up, because I do want to play the French for sure," said Chirico, whose only experience on European clay was at last year's Junior Fed Cup, where she went undefeated for the US team that won the championship. "That's my goal after this tournament, because this is the last tournament that counts. That's definitely a factor."

The boys 18s begin play on Tuesday, with Noah Rubin, the top seed, receiving a bye.  Stefan Kozlov, the ISC champion, pulled out today as a precaution, since he returned from an elbow injury earlier this year and has been playing, and winning, a lot of matches in the past few weeks.

Click here for the 18s ITF draws, and here for the 14s and 16s draws.

Hibi Takes Girls Title at ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships; Kozlov Keeps Record Perfect Against Wiersholm to Claim Boys Title

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Carson, CA--

Mayo Hibi didn't care for the parallels she was seeing at the International Spring Championships.  Three years ago, Hibi had reached the 16s doubles final, lost that, and then lost the 16s singles final the next day to Alyssa Smith.

On Saturday, Hibi again lost in the doubles final, but the similarities ended there, when she played a nearly perfect match in the girls 18s final, beating No. 5 seed Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-1 on a cool and overcast morning at the Home Depot Center.

The scoreline is a poor indicator of the length and quality of the match, which extended for over an hour and forty-five minutes.  Games were long, and the majority of the rallies saw the ball cross the net a dozen times, with some points two or three times that length.

The unseeded Hibi, who turned 17 turning the tournament, is known for her varied game and one-handed backhand, and although she didn't abandon the slice against Loeb, she elected to stay back and trade ground strokes with the 18-year-old from New York.

"After yesterday's match I was mentally prepared to rally for thirty shots in one point," said Hibi, who defeated top seed and noted counterpuncher Christina Makarova 6-4, 6-1. "My ground strokes were working really well today. She did make a few more unforced errors than me today, and overall, I think I played well."

Loeb is know for her precision and mental toughness, but with Hibi giving her virtually nothing in the unforced error department, Loeb had nowhere to turn.

"She missed like four balls all day," said Loeb. "She played very well, very steady. We had a lot of long points and a lot of long games and she just didn't give me any free points at all. If I felt I hit a good shot, she would come up with a better shot. It was tough. She played a very good match."

Loeb expressed surprise that Hibi didn't come to the net more, as that had been Hibi's preferred style in their previous matches.

"It didn't throw me off, but I expected her to come in more, because the past two times I played her she did serve and volley more," Loeb said. "But from the baseline, she was very solid today, hitting her forehand well, hitting good passing shots. Her slice, I think she maybe missed one."

Hibi lives in Irvine, California and takes private lessons from Debbie Graham, the former NCAA champion from Stanford and Top 30 WTA Professional, and Chris Lewis, the former Wimbledon finalist. Hibi believes having coaches with a professional background can only help her in achieving her goals.

"She knows what it takes to get to that level," Hibi said of Graham.  What kind of players you play, what kind of mentality you need, what kind of game you need to beat them."

Hibi also takes inspiration from the former champions of the International Spring Championships who have gone on to successful professional careers, like Vania King, Melanie Oudin and Sloane Stephens.

"It's cool to watch someone on TV that you've actually played," said Hibi, who is a Japanese citizen, but moved to Southern California when she was two and a half years old. "It encourages you, that you can also do the same thing if you work hard and go chase your dreams. That's what they've been doing, they went through the same path."

Hibi had not played a junior tournament this year, concentrating instead on the Pro Circuit, but said the opportunity to play so many matches while not incurring the expense of travelling made sense. After winning all six matches this week in straight sets, Hibi will be a favorite at the Easter Bowl, which begins Monday for the girls.

"It's going to be tough, it's always tough," said Hibi of the quick turnaround. "Last year I played Claremont, won that, got to the quarterfinals here and semis of Easter Bowl. It's really tiring, but you know on the tour, I usually play two or three weeks in a row, because you're traveling. You just have to get used to it."

Loeb thinks playing again on Monday might be good for her.

"Sometimes I tend to think about my losses too much, too long, spend too much time on it," said Loeb. "So having a match tomorrow just makes me forget about it and have another tournament. This was a really good tournament, definitely compared to last year. I just have to forget about it. It's not like I played horrible, I played decent, pretty well, but Mayo just played better. I have to give her the credit."

Henrik Wiersholm is still looking for the solution to the problem Stefan Kozlov poses after Kozlov defeated him 6-2, 6-3 to take the boys singles title.

Kozlov, who lost in last year's final to Mitchell Krueger, ran his record against Wiersholm to 8-0.

"I thought he would come out here and just fire out balls, because he hasn't beaten me," said the second seed. "He played a little different that I thought he would play. I guess he had a lot more pressure than me today. I had a lot of pressure on me too, but I'm getting better at loosening it away."

The 15-year-old Kozlov, who trains with Wiersholm at the USTA's Boca Raton National Center, never trailed in the final, getting a break in the fourth game of the first set.  Wiersholm didn't serve with the same effectiveness as he did in his quarterfinal win over top seed Noah Rubin and Saturday's semifinal win over No. 4 seed Naoki Nakagawa, and Kozlov made him pay by moving in and hitting return winners on Wiersholm's second serve.

Wiersholm fell behind 3-0 in the second set, but got back on serve, only to be broken in the next game to give Kozlov a 4-2 lead. Kozlov saved a break point to make it 5-2, and after Wiersholm held, Kozlov earned three match points. He botched the first, undecided on what to do with a mid-court volley, but on his second match point, Kozlov hit a drop shot winner to claim his first Grade 1 title.

The friendship between the two players was evident throughout the match, particularly when they reassured each other on close line calls. But that respect didn't help Wiersholm, who admitted his losing streak to Kozlov was starting to get to him.

"It's all mental now, once it goes to 8-0," said Wiersholm, 16. "I can't really perform how I want to because I'm caught up in it. I lost seven times to this guy, I can't lose again. It's tough to rationalize winning when you haven't won before. So yeah, that was part of the thing today."

Wiersholm also mentioned that Kozlov prevented him from getting any rhythm, and Kozlov agreed.

"He couldn't find his rhythm throughout the whole match," said Kozlov. "I try to keep him off balance, try to hit a lot of winners, so he doesn't get in his groove. But in the second set, he almost got it back even, and then I started playing better again."

Kozlov, who reached the final of the Grade A Copa Gerdau last month after several months off due to an elbow injury, has an ambitious goal for 2013.

"I think I'm going to play the (junior) slams and some Futures," said Kozlov, who is scheduled to play his first Easter Bowl match Tuesday. "My goal is to be at the top of the ITF list."

Kozlov and Wiersholm in Boys ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships Final; Mayo and Loeb to Decide Girls Title; Devine, Shibahara Earn 16s Titles

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Carson, CA--

Their rivalry extends back to the 2008 Copper Bowl, when they were nine and ten years old, but unseeded Henrik Wiersholm will be looking for his first win over No. 2 seed Stefan Kozlov when they take the court on Sunday in the final of the ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships.

"So far it hasn't been much of a rivalry," said Wiersholm, who is 0-7 against Kozlov, his training partner at the USTA's National Center in Boca Raton. "I haven't gotten a win yet, it's pretty ridiculous."

Wiersholm earned yet another shot at Kozlov with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 4 seed Naoki Nakagawa of Japan on a warm and sunny day at the Home Depot Center.  After his big win over top seed Noah Rubin in Friday's quarterfinals, Wiersholm was able to refocus.

"Sometimes you have letdowns after big wins, but I still played at a high level today," said the 16-year-old. "It's just how it has to be if you want to win the next match."

Wiersholm was able to keep the ball to Nakagawa's backhand, his less dangerous side, and beat him to the net to finish points.

"He has a great forehand and very solid strokes in general," said Wiersholm, of Kirkland, Washington. "I was trying to hammer his backhand, get in, pressure him and make plays happen."

Kozlov, who lost in last year's final as a 14-year-old, returned with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 14 seed Francis Tiafoe in Saturday's other semifinal.

Down 3-1 in the first set, Kozlov saved three break points to keep within striking distance.

"It was a huge game," said Kozlov. "My serve helped me out a lot, I hit a couple, like maybe three, aces in that game and then I kind of got a little bit loose and started playing a lot better."

After all his success against Wiersholm in the past, including last summer when he beat Wiersholm 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the Godfrey Futures, Kozlov still spent some time this week observing Wiersholm's game.

"I watched his match earlier today, and I watch most of his matches," said Kozlov. "He's a good friend and we have the same coach (Nicolas Todero), so we know each other pretty well. We practice sometimes in Boca. I think, to be honest, whoever dictates more is going to win more points tomorrow."

Wiersholm has an idea why he has had been unable to post a win over Kozlov.

"Playing Stefan you have to adapt how you are going to play each point," Wiersholm said. "He's going to change up how he's playing to get that advantage. He's one of the smartest players I know on the court. You have to try to keep up with him, while doing the basics well. It's very difficult to do; it takes a lot of concentration."

The girls finalists do not have as much history, with No. 5 seed Jamie Loeb and unseeded Mayo Hibi meeting for the first time in tournament competition since January of 2012.

But that was also at the last stage of a major tournament, with Loeb defeating Hibi in the final of the USTA Winter National Championships 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, Loeb's first of two singles championships at that event.

Hibi, who is a Japanese citizen, but has lived in Irvine, California since she was a toddler, reached her first Grade 1 final with a 6-4, 6-1 win over top seed Christina Makarova. Hibi, who is playing in her first junior event of the season, was not seeded, falling just short of the WTA ranking of 350 necessary to earn a seed, but she has not lost a set in the tournament.

Hibi fell behind 3-1 in the first set against Makarova, who tries every shot imaginable to frustrate and baffle opponents, but does not attempt ground stroke winners.  Hibi, who has a one-handed backhand and also possesses unusual variety, said she needed time to adjust against Makarova.

"It's hard playing her, because you don't know when you should go, and when you should be patient," said Hibi, who turned 17 on Wednesday. "That balance is really hard. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to playing her."

Once Hibi found that balance she was confident.

"I can finish the points off, but I can also grind and rally with her,"  said Hibi, who defeated Makarova last year at the Easter Bowl. "There were points that sometimes went on forever, and she was the one that would make the mistake, when I'm supposed to be the one making the mistake. Even though I don't want to play like that all the time, on some points I have to and I can do that, so I think that's difficult for her."

Loeb reached the final with a 6-2, 6-4 win over unseeded qualifier Kimberly Yee, although Loeb had to come back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to avoid a much longer match.

"She was hitting her backhand pretty big, and I was just scrambling to get balls back," said Loeb, also playing in her first Grade 1 final Sunday. "But then she started missing, and I started moving her more, breaking her down a little bit. I started getting the momentum and toward the end, I was going for my shots."

Loeb, 18, has been playing Pro Circuit events since the Australian Open juniors, and won two $10,000 tournaments last year, but she and Hibi have yet to meet at that level.

"Mayo's pretty smart on the court," said Loeb, who trains at the John McEnroe Academy in New York. "She likes to come to net a lot, she loves to serve and volley and slice a lot. So I've just got to be aware and stay patient."

Loeb and Hibi met in the girls doubles final on Saturday afternoon, with Loeb and her partner Maegan Manasse collecting the championship trophies with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Hibi and Denise Starr.

Loeb and Manasse had never played together prior to this week, but had played against each other in doubles and Manasse made an early inquiry about Loeb's availability for this week.

"I asked really early," said Manasse, who defeated Loeb and her partners in the Clay Court doubles final last July and in the Winter National doubles final in January. "It was January, February, right after Winter Nationals."

"Obviously Maegan's a really good doubles player, and I thought we'd be a really good team, and our chemistry is really good," said Loeb. "We're playing Easter Bowl together too, so maybe we'll get another one."

Although they were unseeded, Loeb and Manasse didn't need a match tiebreaker in any of their five wins, and in the final, they were able to withstand a shaky start in the second set to win four of the last five games of the match against No. 7 seeds Hibi and Starr.

"We played pretty solid at the net, both of us," said Loeb. "We hit a lot of volleys, a lot of reflex volleys and Maegan made a lot of good gets. Overall, I think we played really well."

The boys doubles champions also were playing together for the first time, but Tommy Mylnikov and Nakagawa had the advantage of both being IMG Bollettieri Academy students who practice together regularly.

Mylnikov and Nakagawa, the No. 2 seeds, defeated No. 3 seeds Alexander Zverev and Spencer Papa 6-4, 7-5, despite losing their first two service games in the second set to fall behind 3-0.

"We were up 40-0 in the first game and we let that game slip away," said Mylnikov. "We stayed with it and got it back even and then had the momentum going. We were able to break in that last game. It's my first doubles title. I had a 1-6 record before this tournament, so he's gotten me to .500."

Nakagawa thinks he and Mylnikov mesh well because they know what to expect from the other.

"Every day we practice together, so we know each other's game," said Nakagawa. "We're comfortable playing with each other," added Mylnikov.

Unlike Loeb and Manasse, Nakagawa and Mylnikov will not be playing the Easter Bowl together, because Canadian Mylnikov has USTA status and can play the B1 Closed, but Nakagawa, from Japan, does not.

Instead, Mylnikov will team with Justin Butsch in attempt to further enhance his doubles record.

Ena Shibahara took the girls 16s title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over unseeded wild card Claire Liu Saturday morning.

Shibahara, the No. 13 seed, had beaten Liu 6-0, 6-0 in last year's Easter Bowl 14s division, but she tried to put that out of her mind.

"I went on the court without thinking that I beat her 0 and 0 last year," said Shibahara, who is coached by her father and by Oliver Messerli and Kimberly Po-Messerli at the Peninsula Racquet Club in nearby Rancho Palos Verdes. "I just thought that I hadn't played her in a long time, so basically, it was kind of a new challenge. She's improved a lot since I last played her--she has more power--and I thought she played fairly well."

Shibahara admitted her title at the 16s USTA Winter Nationals gave her additional confidence coming into the match, yet she still felt nerves at the beginning. But she said those nerves were unrelated to any additional pressure from playing Liu, who won't be 13 until next month.

"She doesn't really look 12," said Shibahara.

Liu had difficulty getting into the points in the first set, but extended Shibahara in the second set, forcing her into several long games.  But the versatile Shibahara had too many options, winning ground stroke rallies and net points, and Liu couldn't find a solution.

"It was just a bad day," said Liu. "She just played really well and I wasn't playing my best. I'll just try to learn from it, and try to keep playing like I played in the rounds before."

Liu has no time to dwell on the loss. The No. 1 seed in the 14s at the Easter Bowl, she begins play on Sunday.

In the boys 16s final, Jake Devine overcame his hotel roommate Catalin Mateas 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the day's longest match.

Devine, the No. 4 seed, trains with Mateas, the No. 7 seed, at the USTA's Boca Raton National Center, and is sharing a room with him this week.  Their obvious familiarity led to what they both expected: a long, tough match.

"It's a pattern with us," said Devine, 15. "A lot of long matches. Just last week we played a practice match with a two-hour set. I don't think we've ever played a match in a tournament that hasn't gone to three sets. I'm just excited that I was able to pull it out."

Devine couldn't find the court in the first set, but he cleaned up his game in the second and third sets, and once he got the precious break to go up 3-2 in the third, he let his forehand and serve do the rest.

"It took me a while to find my game," said Devine. "But once I got it going I was hitting my forehand well. My first serve percentage was a little low, but once I picked that up, it helped me a lot."

Mateas made Devine serve out the match by holding to make it 5-4, and although Devine didn't make any first serves, he took a 40-0 lead with two winners and a Mateas error.  A double fault made it 40-15, but on the next point Devine's first serve produced a return error and he had survived the two and a half hour contest.

"I was surprisingly relaxed for some reason," Devine said. "I was confident I could hold serve and I was hitting my forehand really well, so I knew if I could get a good first serve in, I could find a forehand and start controlling the point. So I had some confidence that I could serve it out."

Mateas regrets not taking his opportunity to break right back, with Devine serving at 3-2 in the third set. "At 15-40 or 30-40, I had a pretty easy passing shot that I missed and I could have broken him back. It was tough, every chance I missed, he came up with a big serve after. I played well, and I think I'm doing the right things, exactly what I'm working on with my coaches, so I'm happy about that. Every match is a step forward, I've just got to learn from it."

Shibahara made it two titles in one day Saturday, when she and Savannah Slaysman took the girls 16s doubles championship with a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory over Caroline Dolehide and Alexis Nelson. Shibahara and Slaysman were unseeded, while Dolehide and Nelson were the No. 8 seeds.

The boys 16s doubles title went to No. 8 seeds Taylor Fritz and Daniel Gealer, who beat No. 5 seeds Chase Colton and Kyle Seelig 6-2, 6-3.

For complete draws, see the tournament page at usta.com.