Stearns Receives Main Draw Wild Card for Next Week's WTA 125 in Midland; Tennis Europe Crowns 14s and 16s Masters Champions; Washout of Quarterfinals at Tyler $80K; Two Sooners Reach Norman $15K Semifinals; Two Seminoles Reach Tallahassee $15K Semifinals

Qualifying for the Dow Tennis Classic in Midland Michigan begins Sunday and the final list of wild cards for the WTA 125 tournament has been released. It had been announced earlier that Canada's Eugenie Bouchard, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and Shuai Zhang of China were wild card recipients, along with Katrina Scott; Scott moved into the main draw on her own with recent withdrawals. 

The other three wild cards announced today are Madison Brengle, the defending champion, former Duke star Maria Mateas and 2022 University of Texas NCAA team and singles champion Peyton Stearns.

Duke sophomore Ellie Coleman, a Midland resident, and 2022 USTA 18s National champion Eleana Yu received qualifying wild cards. Coleman and Duke teammate Karolina Berankova have received a main draw doubles wild card. 

Alena Kovackova, Tennis Europe Master 16s champion
photo courtesy Richard van Loon, toptennis.photos

The Tennis Europe Masters tournament concluded today in Monte Carlo, with champions determined in the 14s and 16s age divisions. Eight players qualified for the event based on Tennis Europe points accrued throughout the year.

Norway's Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, the top seed, won the boys 16s title, beating No. 4 seed William Rejchtmann Vinciguerra of Sweden 6-4, 6-2. It's the first TE Masters title for a player from Norway.

Fourteen-year-old Alena Kovackova of the Czech Republic is certainly a player to watch after she won the girls 16s Masters title. Top seed Kovackova, who defeated No. 2 seed Diana-Ioana Simionescu of Romania 6-4, 6-1 in today's final is 66-6 this year with her only loss in any 14s or 16s tournament coming in the Les Petits As semifinals to eventual champion Julia Stusek of Germany.

Unseeded Diego Dedura-Palomero of Germany won the boys 14s title, beating No. 2 seed Nikita Bilozertsev of Ukraine 6-0, 6-2 in the final. Thirteen-year-old Ksenia Efremova of Russia won the girls 14s title, with the top seed defeating unseeded Sona Depesova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

For more on the Tennis Europe Masters, with comments from the winners, see the tournament blog.

Rain all day in Texas has pushed the quarterfinals in singles and the semifinals of doubles at the women's $80,000 tournament in Tyler to Saturday, with none of the matches scheduled for today getting on court for even one point.

The opportunity for their players to compete in professional tournaments without traveling is the reason that so many college campuses are hosting lower level USTA Pro Circuit events now and that has proven to be effective for both the University of Oklahoma and Florida State University this week, with each having two of the four semifinalists.

At the $15,000 men's tournament in Norman, unseeded Sooner sophomore Jordan Hasson of Israel defeated 2021 NCAA singles finalist and No. 3 seed Daniel Rodrigues(South Carolina) of Portugal 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and will face teammate Alex Martinez, the No. 6 seed, who defeated No. 2 seed Adrian Boitan(Baylor) of Romania 6-2, 6-1.  In the other semifinal, top seed Lucas Gerch(Oklahoma State) of Germany will play No. 7 seed Yuta Kikuchi(Cal) of Japan.

Seventeen-year-old Aidan Kim has reached the doubles final in Norman, with Oklahoma State freshman Alessio Basile of Belgium. They will play top seeds Tyler Zink(Oklahoma State) and George Goldhoff(Texas) in Saturday's final. 

At the $15,000 men's tournament in Tallahassee, No. 2 seed Alex Knaff, a former Florida State star from Luxembourg, defeated current FSU standout Antoine Cornut Chauvinc of France 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 and will play qualifier Phillip Henning(Georgia) of South Africa in the semifinals. Henning defeated Harvard recruit Cooper Williams 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals today. 

In the bottom half, University of Florida junior Will Grant reached his first Pro Circuit semifinal when Ryan Shane(Virginia) retired after losing the first set 6-3. He will play the other Seminole in the semifinals, junior Andreja Petrovic of Norway, a wild card, who beat Cash Hanzlik(Arizona State) 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-0. 

In the doubles final today, top seeds Abraham Asaba of Ghana and Jody Maginley of Antigua defeated unseeded Mateusz Terczynski of Poland and Ricardo Rodriguez-Pace of Venezuela 4-6, 6-2, 10-7. 

Semifinals Set at ITF J4 in South Carolina; Qualifier Blokhina Reaches Tyler $80K Quarterfinals; Top Seed Martin Ousted, Williams Advances at Tallahassee $15K; Five Americans in Las Vegas Challenger Quarterfinals

After plenty of upsets last week at the ITF J4 in Atlanta, this week's J4 in Lexington South Carolina has gone more to form, with seven of the eight semifinalists seeded players.

Top seed Andrew Delgado and No. 4 seed Eli Stephenson will meet in a blockbuster semifinal after both posted straight-sets wins in today's quarterfinals. Delgado, the champion last week in Atlanta, defeated Jimin Jung 7-6(4), 6-3, surrendering his first games of the week after two 6-0, 6-0 wins and a walkover. Stephenson, who reached the semifinals of the JB1 in Nicholasville earlier this month, defeated Rahul Sachdev 6-0, 6-2 today.

In the other boys semifinal, No. 15 seed Michael Kouame of France will face the only unseeded semifinalist in either singles draw, Paxton Pritchard, an 18-year-old four-star recruit from North Carolina.

Kouame defeated No. 5 seed Tygen Goldammer 7-5, 6-0 and Pritchard took out No. 2 seed Joseph Oyebog 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.

The semifinal in the top half of the girls draw will feature No. 7 seed Kayla Chung, the singles finalist and doubles champion last week in Atlanta, against No. 10 seed Allie Bittner. Chung defeated No. 16 seed Lily Pradkin 6-1, 6-1 and Bittner downed unseeded Trinetra Vijayakumar 6-4, 7-5. In the bottom half of the girls draw No. 3 seed Riley Crowder will take on No. 14 seed Emily Baek in another all-USA semifinal. Crowder defeated unseeded Georgia Cranford 7-6(4), 6-3 and Baek, who had beaten No. 2 seed Ece Gencer of Turkey in the third round, defeated No. 9 seed Addison Bowman 6-2 4-6, 7-5. 

Eighteen-year-old qualifier Alexis Blokhina, a freshman at Stanford, continued her impressive results this week at the $80,000 USTA women's Pro Circuit tournament in Tyler Texas, beating Emiliana Arango of Colombia 4-6, 7-6(4), ret. Next up for Blokhina is the 2020 Australian Open women's champion Sofia Kenin, who beat qualifier Ellen Perez(Georgia) of Australia 6-4, 6-4. In addition to Blokhina and Kenin, the other American quarterfinalists are Danielle Lao(USC) and Taylor Townsend, who, like Blokhina and Kenin, are unseeded.

Seventeen-year-old Cooper Williams, who reached the quarterfinals of a $15,000 men's USTA Pro Circuit for the first time last month in Fayetteville Arkansas, has done it again in his next appearance on the Pro Circuit this week at the $15,000 tournament in Tallahassee. The Harvard recruit defeated University of Miami fifth-year Dan Martin of Canada 6-4, 6-2 and will face qualifier Phillip Henning(Georgia) of South Africa Friday.

Florida State is hosting this week's tournament and three Seminoles have reached the quarterfinals, with wild card Andreja Petrovic, a junior from Norway, pulling off the upset of the day with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over top seed Andres Martin(Georgia Tech). Petrovic will face Arizona State newcomer Cash Hanzlik on Friday.

2021 FSU graduate Alex Naff of Luxembourg, the No. 2 seed, will take on Antoine Cornut Chauvinc of France, a junior at Florida State, for a spot in the semifinals.

University of Florida junior Will Grant will play 2015 NCAA champion Ryan Shane(Virginia) in the other quarterfinal.

The University of Oklahoma is hosting a $15,000 tournament in Norman and two Sooners on the current roster have advanced to the quarterfinals.

No. 6 seed Alex Martinez of Spain, an OU senior, will face former Baylor All-American Adrian Boitan of Romania, and unseeded sophomore Jordan Hasson will play No. 3 seed Daniel Rodrigues(South Carolina) of Portugal in the quarterfinals.

Oklahoma State senior Tyler Zink, the No. 5 seed and the only American remaining in the draw, will take on top seed Lucas Gerch of Germany, who is a former OSU Cowboy.

No. 7 seed Yuta Kikuchi(Cal) of Japan will face No. 4 seed Kareem Al Allaf(Iowa) of Syria in the other quarterfinal.

Five Americans will compete in the quarterfinals Friday at the ATP Challenger 80 in Las Vegas, with No. 2 seed Steve Johnson playing No. 5 seed Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina, No. 4 seed Stefan Kozlov facing Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada, Brandon Holt(USC) meeting qualifier Tennys Sandgren(Tennessee) and Ernesto Escobedo playing China's Jerry Shang.

Stanford Freshman Blokhina Ends Brengle's 15-Match $60K Winning Streak; ITF JA Merida Acceptances; Williams Among Five Americans Advancing at Tallahassee $15K

In the course of winning titles at three $60,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this fall, Madison Brengle had lost a grand total of two sets in her 15 victories. Today the 32-year-old from Delaware lost two sets in the first round of the $80,000 tournament in Tyler Texas, to Stanford freshman Alexis Blokhina, who earned a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the WTA's No. 51.

Blokhina, a qualifier, trailed 3-1 in both the second and third sets, but evened both sets at 3-3, then broke Brengle in the final game. The 18-year-old from Florida had never faced a WTA Top 100 player before today, with her previous best win coming this April when she beat Catherine Harrison(UCLA), then ranked 267, in an Orlando $25K.

Blokhina will play Emiliana Arango of Colombia in Thursday's second round. 

Brengle, seeded No. 2, wasn't alone as a top WTA player exiting in the first round. Taylor Townsend defeated top seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, ranked No. 29, 6-3, 6-4, Townsend's best win since she beat No. 4 Simona Halep at the US Open in 2019.

The acceptances for next month's Grade A in Merida Mexico were revealed today, with ten US girls and five US boys receiving entry into the main draw of the tournament, which takes place November 21-27.

The US girls: Clervie Ngounoue, Qavia Lopez, Tatum Evans, Kaitlin Quevedo, Mia Slama, Theadora Rabman, Ava Krug, Ahmani Guichard, Iva Jovic and Valeria Ray.  The US boys: Leanid Boika, Cooper Williams, Alexander Frusina, Yannik Rahman and Kaylan Bigun.

There are two ITF Top 10 girls--No. 2 Sofia Costoulas of Belgium and No. 9 Nikola Daubnerova of the Czech Republic--and two Top 10 boys--No. 1 Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay and No. 10 Gerard Campana Lee of Korea--entered, and the initial ranking cutoff for the girls was 109 and for the boys was 108.

There is a J1 the week before in Guadalajara Mexico, with similar fields, although Costoulas and Vallejo are not entered there.

Qualifier Alfredo Perez(Florida) pulled off a big upset last night at the ATP Challenger 80 in Las Vegas, defeating top seed Denis Kudla 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. The 25-year-old from Miami, who has yet to crack the ATP Top 500, got his first Challenger main draw win in Fairfield California two weeks ago. He will face 17-year-old Jerry Shang of China in the second round Thursday.

The two men's USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this week are $15,000 events on college campuses in Norman Oklahoma and Tallahassee Florida.

In Norman, only one American remains after today's completion of the first round: Tyler Zink, the Oklahoma State senior, who is the No. 5 seed. (correction: Gianni Ross(Virginia), who plays Zink Thursday, won his first round match Tuesday). Fourteen of the other 15 players remaining have college ties, including top seed Lucas Gerch(Oklahoma State) of Germany and No. 2 seed Adrian Boitan of Romania, the former Baylor star, who turned pro this summer.

In Tallahassee, five Americans have advanced to the second round, including 17-year-old Cooper Williams, who defeated No. 6 seed Mwendwa Mbithi 6-4, 6-1. Top seed Andres Martin(Georgia Tech) defeated wild card Learner Tien 6-3, 7-5, with Tien playing his first match since his first round defeat in the US Open Junior Championships seven weeks ago. Cash Hanzlik(Tyler JC/Arizona State) and qualifiers Marcus McDaniel(Georgia Tech) and Trent Bryde(Georgia) are the other US players making the second round. Expectations for Georgia this spring continue to rise, as Phillip Henning of South Africa also qualified and has moved into the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 4 seed Blaise Bicknell(Tennessee) of Jamaica. 

ITA Division I Regional Results; National Fall Championship Fields Set; All Tyler $80K Qualifiers Current or Former Collegians; McNally Continues to Lead Women's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge

There is one match yet to be played in the ITA Division I Regional Championships, with University of Michigan teammates set to face off in the Midwest final Thursday in Ann Arbor, but with both the champion and the finalist earning entry into the ITA National Fall Championships, the result of that match is more for bragging rights in the Wolverine family.

Below are all the results from the 12 men's and 12 women's regionals in singles and doubles, with five women's regionals and seven men's regionals decided over the past six days. I've put the most recent results at the top, leaving in their dates to distinguish them from earlier regionals.

The ITA Cup wild card and the two ITA wild cards have yet to be announced. See John Parsons No-Ad No Problem blog for an easy to read table of the singles fields by region.

Two freshman, Stanford's Nishesh Basavareddy and Columbia's Michael Zheng, have earned their spots in the 32-player singles draws at the National Fall Championships next month.

Division I Regional Results:

MEN:

NORTHWEST Super Regional October 21-24
Singles:
Nishesh Basavareddy[1], Stanford d. Ryder Jackson[7], Cal 6-0, 6-3
Doubles:
Quinn Vandecasteele and Joshua Charlton[1], Oregon d. Mark Keki and Mate Voros, Sacramento State 6-2, 3-6, 10-8

SOUTHWEST October 20-24
Singles:
Peter Makk[5], Southern Cal d. Alexander Hoogmartens[3], UCLA 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles:
Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye[1], Southern Cal d. Daniel De Jonge and Tim Zeitvogel[5], Pepperdine 6-7(5), 5-7, 10-7

MIDWEST October 20-24
Singles:
Andrew Fenty[3], Michigan d. Gavin Young[6], Michigan 6-4, 7-6(6)
Doubles:
Gabriel Huber and Michael Minasyan[6], Wisconsin d. Andrew Fenty and Gavin Young[3], michigan 6-2, 7-6(4)

NORTHEAST Super Regional October 21-24
Singles:
Michael Zheng[6], Columbia d. Harris Walker[3], Harvard 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
Doubles:
Edoardo Graziani and Kevin Zhu[2], Penn d. Max Westphal and Theo Winegar[4], Columbia 5-7, 6-1, 10-8

ATLANTIC October 19-24
Singles:
Ryan Fishback[4], Virginia Tech d. Inaki Montes de la Torre[1], Virginia 1-0 ret.
Doubles:
Rayane Stable and Matisse Bobichon, Virginia Commonwealth d. Ryan Fishback and Alberto Orso[7], Virginia Tech 6-4, 7-6(1)

CAROLINA October 21-25
Singles:
Casey Hoole[17-32], South Carolina d. Dusan Milanovic[17-32], Presbyterian College 6-2, 6-2
Doubles:
Rafael Iziquierdo Luque and Joseph Wayand[9-16], NC State, d. Filippo Moroni and Juan Lopez De Azcona[9-16], Wake Forest 6-4, 6-4

SOUTHEAST October 20-24
Singles:
Blake Croyder[9], Georgia d. Antoine Cornut Chauvinc[7], Florida State 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Doubles:
Nicolas Acevedo and Filip Krolo, Florida Atlantic d. Trent Bryde and Phillip Henning, Georgia 3-6, 7-6(2), 10-8

MOUNTAIN:

Singles:

Geronimo Busleiman[2], Utah d. David Cierny[4], Utah State 6-3, 6-3

Doubles:

Berk Bugarikj and Patrik Trhac[3], Utah d. Francisco Bascon and Matteo Masala, Idaho 4-6, 6-2, 10-3

TEXAS:

Singles:

Finn Bass[5-8], Baylor d. Pierce Rollins, Texas A&M 6-2, 6-2

Doubles:

Alan Magadan and Sebastian Rodriguez[5-8], UT-San Antonio d. Sander Jong and Lui Maxted[1],TCU 6-3 6-3

CENTRAL:

Singles:

Nathan Han, Oklahoma d. Kristof Minarik, Wichita State 5-7, 6-4, 6-1

Doubles:

Jordan Hasson and Mark Mandlik, Oklahoma d. Adrien Burdet and Alan Sau, Arkansas 0-6, 6-4, 10-6

OHIO VALLEY:

Singles:

Fabien Salle, Louisville d. Natan Rodrigues, Louisville 6-2, 6-3

Doubles:

Natan Rodrigues and Fabien Salle, Louisville d. David Mizrahi and Will Mayew, Louisville 6-1, 6-7(2), 10-4

SOUTHERN:

Singles:

Enzo Aguiard[16], Alabama d. Nemanja Malesevic[5], Mississippi State 6-4, 6-1

Doubles:

Stefan Latinovic and Nick Watson, d. John Hallquist Lithen and Simon Junk[6](Mississippi) 6-3, 4-6, 10-5

WOMEN:

SOUTHWEST: October 20-24

Singles:

Savannah Broadus[7], Pepperdine d. Kimmi Hance[9], UCLA 6-0, 6-3

Doubles:

Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle[7], UCLA d. Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen[1], Pepperdine 7-5, 2-6, 10-7

MIDWEST: October 20-25

Singles:

Jaedan Brown[3-4], Michigan d. Sydni Ratliff[3-4], Ohio State 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4)

Doubles:

Kate Duong and Megan Heuser, Illinois d. Lily Jones and Julia Fliegner, Michigan 8-6

NORTHEAST Super Regional

Singles:

Daria Frayman[1], Princeton d. Maria Aguiar[5-8], Boston College 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(5)

Doubles:

Jamie Wei and Maiko Uchijima, Temple d. Shivani Amineni and Winta Tewolde, Columbia 6-0, 6-2

OHIO VALLEY October 19-24

Singles:

Elza Tomase[6], Tennessee d. Daria Kuczer[9], Tennessee 4-6, 7-5, 3-0 ret.

Doubles:

Carlota Molina and Elizabeth Stevens[2], Kentucky d. Eleonora Molinaro and Daria Kuczer[1], Tennessee walkover

ATLANTIC October 20-24

Singles:

Julia Adams[10], Virginia d. Elaine Chervinsky[5], Virginia 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 

Doubles:

Adel-Byanu Abidullina and Eliza Askarova, Delaware d. Mary Brumfield and Selma Cadar[5], Maryland 6-4, 7-6(6)

TEXAS:

Singles:

Malaika Rapolu[3], Texas d. Marlee Zein[1], Texas 6-4, 6-3

Doubles: 

Lauren Fulgenzi and Brandelyn Fulgenzi, Incarnate Word d. Metka Komac and Cristina Tiglea[4], Texas Tech 6-7(3), 6-3, 10-6

NORTHWEST:

Singles:

Alexandra Yepifanova[2] Stanford, d. Angelica Blake[3], Stanford 6-4, 4-6, 6-2

Doubles: 

Jessica Alsola and Katja Wiersholm[2], Cal d. Sally Pethybridge and Iva Zelic[7], Portland 6-2, 6-3

SOUTHERN:

Singles:

Anastasiya Komar[6], LSU d. Lillian Gabrielsen, Mississippi 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1

Doubles:

Anastasiya Komar and Nikita Vishwase, LSU d. Maggie Cubitt and Mia Rabinowitz, LSU 7-5, 7-5

SOUTHEAST:

Singles:

Lea Ma[3], Georgia d. Carol Lee[1], Georgia Tech, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0

Doubles:

Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura[1], Georgia Tech d. Alicia Dudeney and Carly Briggs[7], Florida 6-4. 6-2

CAROLINA:

(two flights at this regional, so only winners shown advance to Fall Nationals)

Singles:

Chloe Beck[1], Duke, d. Emma Jackson[4], Duke 6-1, 6-4

Sarah Hamner [1], South Carolina d. Cameron Morra[2] Duke 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Doubles:

Carson Tanguilig and Fiona Crawley[3], North Carolina d. Karolina Bernakova and Ellie Coleman[2], Duke 6-3, 6-1

Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingworth[1], Wake Forest d. Chloe Beck and Cameron Morra[2], Duke 6-3, 6-2

CENTRAL:

Singles:

Carolina Gomez Alonso[18], Arkansas d. Julie Garcia Ruiz[20], Oklahoma 6-4, 6-3

Doubles:

Ange Oby Kajura and Chie Kezuka[2], Iowa State d. Anet Kosdel and Zoey Weil[12], Minnesota 6-3 6-2

MOUNTAIN:

Singles:

Taylor Melville, Denver d. Molly Helgesson, UNLV 6-3, 6-4

Doubles:

Katherine Jhang and Leonie Hoppe, New Mexico d. Yujia Huang and Emilee Astle, Brigham Young walkover

Qualifying concluded today at the $80,000 USTA women's Pro Circuit tournament in Tyler Texas, with all eight qualifiers either current or former collegians.

Those currently on rosters are Alexis Blokhina, the Stanford freshman, Alexandra Vecic, the Georgia freshman, NC State junior Abigail Rencheli and Texas junior Malaika Rapolu.

The other four qualifiers are Ellen Perez(Georgia), Maria Kozyreva(St. Mary's), Katarina Kozarov(Furman) and Allura Zamarripa(Texas). Zamarripa, the 2022 NCAA Team Most Outstanding Player who turned pro after her freshman year, picked up two big wins in qualifying. The 20-year-old left-hander, who has no WTA ranking, defeated WTA No. 664 Ganna Poznikhirenko of Ukraine in the first round 7-6(4), 6-4, and today took out WTA No. 379 Elena-Teodora Cadar of Romania 6-1, 6-0.

The top seed this week in Tyler is WTA No. 29 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, with Madison Brengle, who has won the last three $60Ks in the US this fall, seeded No. 2. 

Wild cards were given to Maria Mateas(Duke), Sofia Kenin, Hina Inoue and Alana Smith(NC State).

This is the last week for the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge for women, with these the current standing entering the final week:

1. Caty McNally (No. 108) -- 189

2. Madison Brengle (No. 51) -- 161

3. Alycia Parks (No. 120) -- 126

4. Claire Liu (No. 60) -- 111

5. Peyton Stearns (No. 235) -- 100

 

There are 115 points available this week in Tyler, and McNally, Parks and Liu are not in the draw, so much can still change. Brengle and Liu are unlikely to need the wild card given their rankings.  NCAA champion Peyton Stearns'(Texas) chance for the wild card ended today, when she lost to Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. There is also a WTA 125 in Mexico this week that counts for the Wild Card Challenge, with Parks, Eli Mandlik, Emma Navarro(Virginia) and Ashlyn Krueger still in the running there.

USTA's Men's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge Kicks Off at Las Vegas Challenger; Sancilio and Bhakta Earn ITF Junior Circuit Titles; Stone Ousts Top Seed at J4 in South Carolina; Pegula Claims WTA 1000 Title; US Davis Cup Team Announced

The ATP Challenger 80 this week in Las Vegas isn't part of the USTA Pro Circuit, but any results from this week's event will count toward the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, which kicks off this week and extends through the week of November 14th. The best three results from this four-week period will decide the 2023 reciprocal wild card the USTA receives from Tennis Australia, and they are not confined to events in the United States, with any ATP points earned at the $25K level and above on hard courts or indoor carpets will count toward a player's total.

The qualifying was completed today in Las Vegas, and the main draw began, with four first round matches. Americans through to the main draw: Omni Kumar(Duke), Aidan Mayo, Tennys Sandgren(Tennessee) and wild card Alfredo Perez(Florida). TCU freshman Jack Pinnington Jones of Great Britain also advanced to the main draw.

Denis Kudla is the top seed, and will play Perez in the first round; Steve Johnson(USC) is the No. 2 seed.  Main draw wild cards went to Alexandr Cozbinov, a former UNLV star, Maxime Verboven, a junior on the UNLV team and Ohio State senior Cannon Kingsley. Verboven lost to Brandon Holt(USC) in the first round today 6-2, 6-2. Cozbinov will face 17-year-old Jerry Shang of China in the first round Tuesday.

I covered the ITF J4 Atlanta results on Saturday, but there were two other titles for American juniors aside from the four they claimed in Georgia. Fifteen-year-old Roman Sancilio, a five-star recruit from Virginia earned his first ITF Junior Circuit title at a J5 in Mexico last week. A qualifier playing in just his second ITF Junior tournament, Sancilio won nine matches over the eight days of the event, beating unseeded American John Patrick Popowich 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Sancilio and his partner Gray Kelley also reached the doubles final, so he played 14 matches over that eight-day span.

The other ITF junior title last week was in doubles, with Ria Bhakta winning the J3 in South Africa. Bhakta and her British partner Marelie Raath, the top seeds, defeated No. 3 seeds Flora Johnson of Great Britain and Miotisoa Rasendra Andrianantenaina of Madagascar 6-2, 7-6(5) in the final. It's the seventh ITF Junior Circuit doubles title for the 17-year-old Bhakta, but the first above the J4 level.

This week's ITF Junior Circuit tournament in the United States is a J4 in Lexington South Carolina and there has already been an major upset, with 13-year-old wild card Harper Stone defeating No. 1 seed Brianna Baldi in the first round 7-5, 6-1. Stone made the semifinals last week in Atlanta, her first ITF Junior Circuit tournament.

Atlanta champion Andrew Delgado is the top seed this week in Lexington, and he has advanced to the second round. Fourteen-year-old Joseph Oyebog is the No. 2 seed in the boys draw. 

Atlanta champion Cleo Hutchinson, the No. 5 seed this week in Lexington, has moved into the second round, as has No. 2 seed Ece Gencer of Turkey. 

Jessica Pegula won the WTA 1000 last night in Guadalajara Mexico, the second title of her career. The 28-year-old, who had already clinched her spot in the singles and doubles at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth next week, is up to a career-high of 3 in the WTA rankings. Coco Gauff is at a career-high of 4 and it's the first time since two Americans are in the Top 4 since Serena and Venus in 2010.

The USTA today announced the team for next month's Davis Cup final in Malaga Spain: Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. They will take on Italy in the quarterfinals early Thanksgiving morning in the United States. Italy's team is Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti, Jannik Sinner, Fabio Fognini and Simon Bolelli. 

Texas $25K Titles for Hovde and Damm; Quevedo Earns Third $15K Championship; Three Former Junior Slam Champions Claim ATP Titles; Nakashima Qualifies Again for Next Gen Finals

Texas has been Liv Hovde's home for several years now, and it's obvious that the 16-year-old is comfortable there, demonstrated by her second USTA Pro Circuit title in the state today.

At the $25,000 tournament in Fort Worth, wild card Hovde defeated unseeded North Carolina freshman Reese Brantmeier 7-6(1), 6-4 for her first title at the $25K level. Hovde's first Pro Circuit title came in September, when the reigning girls Wimbledon champion won the $15,000 tournament in Lubbock. She will move into the WTA Top 500 for the first time when the points are added at the end of the month.

Martin Damm picked up his second $25,000 title of his career, both coming this year, at the $25,000 tournament in Harlingen Texas. The 19-year-old from Florida, seeded No. 5, defeated No. 7 seed and former ATP Top 20 player Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 in today's final and will move near his career-high ATP ranking of 461 when the points are added at the end of the month.

Sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Quevedo has gone 18-1 in ITF World Tennis Tour women's $15K tournaments since the US Open Junior Championships, added a third title to her resume with a nearly four-hour comeback victory in Colombia today over No. 4 seed and former University of Miami standout Sofia Sewing. The eighth-seeded Quevedo trailed 5-3 in the final set before winning the last four games of a three-hour and 42-minute 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-5 victory.

Bruno Kuzuhara lost in his first Pro Circuit final at the $15,000 tournament in Turkey, with unseeded Luca Tomasetto of Italy defeating the No. 7 seed 6-4, 6-1. 

At the $60,000 USTA women's Pro Circuit tournament in Macon Georgia, top seed Madison Brengle continued her domination of the post-US Open ITF competition in the United States, beating No. 2 seed Panna Udvardy of Hungary 6-3, 6-1. Brengle has now won three $60K titles since mid-September, with her only loss since then coming in the qualifying of the San Diego Open two weeks ago. Brengle didn't drop a set this week, and has lost only two, both in the previous two finals against Yue Yuan and Robin Montgomery. 

The results of the finals of the three ATP 250s in Europe were unusual in that all three champions were 22 years of age and younger, and all won junior slams in the past six years.

The youngest, 19-year-old Holger Rune of Denmark, the No. 7 seed, defeated top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 6-4 for the title in Stockholm, his second on the ATP Tour. Rune won the 2019 Roland Garros boys title, beating Damm and Toby Kodat in the semifinals and final. 

Twenty-year-old Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who won the Australian Open boys title in 2019, won the title in Naples, beating No. 2 seed and compatriot Matteo Berrettini 7-6(5), 6-2. Musetti, the No. 4 seed this week, defeated Emilio Nava in the Australian boys final.

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada won his second consecutive title following up his win in Florence last week with a championship in Antwerp. The 22-year-old defeated Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 in today's final. Auger-Aliassime won the US Open boys title in 2016, beating Tsitsipas in the semifinals and Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia in the final. 

Three former collegians claimed doubles titles in Naples and Stockholm. Austin Krajicek(Texas A&M) and Croatia's Ivan Dodig won the title in Naples, with the top seeds beating No. 3 seeds John Peers(Middle Tenn/Baylor) and Matt Ebden of Australia 6-3, 1-6, 10-8.  In Stockholm, top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer(UCLA) of the Netherlands and Marcelo Arevalo(Tulsa) of El Salvador defeated Lloyd Glasspool(Texas) of Great Britain and Harri Heliovaara of Finland 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

If you don't follow the ATP doubles rankings closely, you might not be aware that seven of the Top 10 men, including the Top 3, played college tennis: Rajeev Ram(Illinois), Joe Salisbury(Memphis), Neal Skupski(LSU), Rojer, Arevalo, Michael Venus(LSU) and Tim Puetz(Auburn).

The ATP announced today that Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) has qualified for the Next Gen Finals in Milan Italy next month. It's the second year that the 21-year-old Nakashima has qualified for the 21-and-under tournament. Others who have qualified include Musetti, Rune, Jack Draper of Great Britain and Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic.