Jodar Faces Third Straight Slam Champion, Meets Wimbledon Winner Budkov Kjaer in US Open Boys Final; Sonobe Takes on Surprise Finalist Stojsavljevic For Girls Title; Cooper Wins Junior Wheelchair Title

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows NY--

A US Open Junior Championships with the year's previous three slam champions is rare enough. Beating all three in successive days would be unprecedented, yet that's what Rafael Jodar of Spain has in his sights in Saturday's boys final against top seed and Wimbledon champion Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, after taking out Australian Open champion and No. 3 seed Rei Sakamoto of Japan 6-3, 6-1 in Friday's semifinals.

Jodar, seeded No. 12, had beaten No. 2 seed and Roland Garros champion Kaylan Bigun of the United States 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5 in the quarterfinals Thursday, but the soon-to-be 18-year-old from Madrid said he felt no aftereffects from the two-hour and 22-minute contest.

"When I woke up this morning, I was feeling good," said Jodar, who is scheduled to enroll at the University of Virginia in January. "I was so excited to play, the semifinal of US Open, and I was prepared. I didn't have any pain."

Jodar took a 4-2 lead in the first match between the two, but Sakamoto got the break back, only to lose his next service game, giving Jodar control of the match. Sakamoto, who counts on his serve to give him free points and set up his aggressive first-strike game, dropped serve two more times to open the second set, with Jodar having no trouble attacking despite Sakamoto making 76 percent of his first serves.  

Jodar, who made 77 percent of his first serves, was pleased with his level in all facets of his game.

"I thought he would serve very well, so I had to return very well," said Jodar, who trains at the BTT Academy in Barcelona. "Also I had to be aggressive when I could. But I'm very happy with my level. I played very very well today, feeling the ball very good."

Jodar, whose best finish at a slam prior to this week was a  Wimbledon quarterfinal, began to believe he could compete with the very top juniors at Roland Garros, where he lost to No. 2 seed Joel Schwaerzler of Austria in the third round.

"In this type of tournament, I see that I can compete against them," said Jodar, who won two ITF J300s last year, and two more this summer, at Roehampton and College Park. "Sometimes I lost, sometimes I win, but the point is I am competing in all the points against them, I am there all the time."

Jodar cannot match the experience of going deep in a slam that recent his opponents have had, but that doesn't concern him. "I think it's going to be another match," said Jodar, who has gone 7-0 in finals since last February. "Of course it's going to be a final, so maybe I'll be more nervous, but I have to play my game and believe in myself."

Budkov Kjaer defeated unseeded Charlie Robertson of Great Britain, who hadn't lost a set until coming up against Budkov Kjaer, 6-3, 6-3 

Although he fell behind 4-1 in the second set, Robertson made Budkov Kjaer earn the victory, with three long deuce games from 4-2, with Budkov Kjaer finally converting his fourth match point.

Budkov Kjaer has had his share of tough matches this week, particularly his 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win over Luca Preda of Romania in the quarterfinals, but he is happy with how his game is rounding into form as he approaches his second straight junior slam final.

"It's of course extremely cool," said the 18-year-old, who will join Casper Ruud next week for Norway's Davis Cup tie with Portugal. "I'm very delighted that I'm able to do it, and very happy that I've managed to keep my level for two tournaments in a row. I didn't feel I had the need to play any warmup tournaments and was very confident coming into the tournament that I was ready to make some damage to my opponents."

Budkov Kjaer will be the first Norwegian boy to capture a US Open title if he beats Jodar Saturday, and the first boy to win those two slam titles in the same year since Filip Peliwo (then of Canada, now representing Poland) won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2012. Spain has been the home country of two of the last three US Open boys champions, with Daniel Rincon winning in 2021 and Martin Landaluce in 2022.

History could be made Saturday in the girls final with No. 7 seed Wakana Sonobe seeking Japan's first girls junior slam championship in singles. Sonobe defeated No. 8 seed Mimi Xu of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4, getting a late break in each set.

Sonobe, a 16-year-old left-hander who has been training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton for over two years, lost in the third round at last week's ITF J300 warmup event in Canada, but she has found her form this week, reaching her first junior slam quarterfinal, semifinal and now final, without dropping a set.

Sonobe has won her three biggest tournaments on clay, but she couldn't offer an explanation as to why her best slam result would come on the fast hard courts here. Sonobe, who does not communicate in English, has improved her fitness, according to Masashi Yoshikawa, a Japanese federation coach.

"She's working every point," said Yoshikawa. "Her physical level is improved, which is a reason she's playing very good right now. And mentally she's very strong, to keep doing what she wants to do."

Australian Open champion Sakamoto, who has been training at IMG under the same Morita Foundation program that benefits select Japanese players at the Academy, said he won't be giving her any advice on playing a slam final.

"I won't say anything, just let her do her thing," Sakamoto said with a laugh. "I don't deserve to advise her, I lost in semis and she's in final."

Sakamoto and Sonobe are now sharing Morita Foundation coach Ryuji Hirooka, who has long been coaching Sonobe, but is now stepping in to help Sakamoto, who is currently seeking a new coach. As for his opinion of his friend's junior career, Sakamoto noted how hot and cold it has been in previous years. 

"I feel like when she plays a tournament, she either loses in the first round or wins the tournament," said Sakamoto. "I think here she got used to the surface and everything, so I think she's got this one."

Last year's girls champion Katherine Hui of the United States was an unseeded wild card, so unseeded Mika Stojsavljevic's appearance in the final isn't all that unusual, but the level of tennis the 15-year-old from Great Britain played in the first set of her 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory No. 3 seed Iva Jovic of the United States was rare indeed. 

Hitting 12 winners and making just four unforced errors, two of which were double faults, Stojsavljevic's ground strokes and first serve were leaving Jovic without any options for any offensive play of her own. 

"I think I was playing my tennis, honestly, going for my balls, confident and calm," said the 6-foot Stojsavljevic, who agreed it was the best set of tennis that she has played. 

All the unforced errors Stojsavljevic avoided in the first set appeared in the second, and Jovic took full advantage of her opportunity. Stojsavljevic got back on track in the third set, hitting four of her nine aces, getting the crucial break with Jovic serving at 2-3. Up 30-0 in that game, Jovic didn't win another point, double faulting at 30-all and making a backhand unforced error on break point.

Stojsavljevic didn't show any nerves in her final two service games and broke Jovic at love to become the first British girl in a junior slam final since Katie Swan lost in the Australian Open final in 2015.

"I just started to go for my balls again, not being passive, not waiting for her to give me the opportunity," said Stojsavljevic, whose quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon in 2023 was her best junior slam performance before this week. "I was going and taking it, and I think that made a big difference."

Sonobe and Stojsavljevic played twice last year in the first round of junior slams, with Stojsavljevic winning at Wimbledon 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 and at the US Open 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The doubles finals are set for Saturday, with three unseeded teams and a No. 1 seed still in the running for a junior slam title.

The two unseeded teams competing in the girls final are Emily Sartz-Lunde of Norway and Malak El Allami of Morocco against one of the best doubles teams on the junior circuit this year, who haven't been seeded, Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic and Julia Stusek of Germany. Pastikova and Stusek, who reached the Australian Open doubles final this year and the semifinals at Wimbledon, defeated No. 7 seeds Hannah Klugman of Great Britain and Joy DeZeeuw of the Netherlands 1-6, 6-0, 10-5.

Sartz-Lunde, a freshman at Michigan and El Allami, a freshman at Columbia, defeated unseeded Tereza Krejcova and Eliska Tichackova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.

Top seeds in the boys doubles, Sakamoto and Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic, defeated No. 3 seeds Budkov Kjaer and Henry Bernet of Switzerland 7-5, 6-3 to set up a meeting with surprise finalists Denis Petak of the Czech Republic and Flynn Thomas of Switzerland. Petak and Thomas, both of whom were qualifiers in singles, defeated No. 4 seeds Thomas Faurel of France and Luca Preda of Romania 6-3, 7-5.

There is a 100 percent chance of rain on Saturday. Whether it will hold off long enough to finish the four finals, all scheduled for noon, is the question. 

The Tennis Channel highlight show from this year's USTA Billie Jean King Girls 18s and 16s National Championships in San Diego will debut Saturday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. I have not previewed it, but am told it also has footage from this year's Nationals in Kalamazoo. 

The Junior Wheelchair championships concluded today, with unseeded American Charlie Cooper winning the boys singles title with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over No. 2 seed Ivar van Rijt of the Netherlands.  No. 2 seed Yuma Takamuro of Japan won the girls singles title, beating top seed Vitoria Miranda of Brazil 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.  For more on the Junior Wheelchair championships, see this article from usopen.org.

Second-Seeded Americans Fall on Armstrong in US Open Junior Quarterfinals; Jovic Advances to Second Straight Junior Slam Semifinal; Pegula Battles Back to Reach Women's Final

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows, New York--

The thrill of playing on one of the iconic courts in tennis was doubly exciting for the underdogs Thursday against the home country's entries at the US Open Junior Championships, with Rafael Jodar of Spain defeating Kaylan Bigun 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5 and Mimi Xu of Great Britain taking out Tyra Grant 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. 

Jodar started another sunny and 70 degree afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center by taking the first set 6-4 over No. 2 seed Kaylan Bigun, the reigning Roland Garros boys champion. Jodar was up 3-1 in the second set, but Bigun fought back, saving four break points serving at 1-3 to start his run of four consecutive games. Bigun had a set point at 5-3, but didn't convert it, which looked as if it would be fatal when he went down 6-4 in the second tiebreaker. 

But Jodar wobbled a bit, double faulting on the first match point, then slipped on the second, to leave him no chance to track down a forehand winner by Bigun. Bigun earned a second set point with a backhand that forced an error, which Jodar saved with a good first serve, but Bigun got an unforced error and a net cord assist on his third set point to force the decider.

Bigun then found his best form of the match, breaking Jodar to open the third set by serving well and making no unforced errors. Down 3-1, Jodar had reason to be discouraged about his prospects of reaching his first junior slam semifinal, but in addition to his world class backhand, his mental strength provides him with another weapon on the court.

"It was tough getting broken in the first game of the third set, having two match points, so starting again the match in the third set, it was going to be difficult," said Jodar, who is now on a nine-match winning streak after winning the ITF J300 in College park late last month. "But my mental part is strong, so I think that's why I won this match."

After getting back to 3-all, Jodar was broken again, and Bigun held for 5-3, saving two break points to regain the momentum. A love hold by Jodar made it 5-4, but Bigun didn't get to a match point serving for it, making two unforced errors at 30-all. Jodar held after one deuce for 6-5, and Bigun was unable to force a tiebreaker, going down 0-40 and eventually going out on Jodar's fourth match point opportunity.

"I always believe, until the last point," said Jodar, who is planning to attend the University of Virginia in January. "When I give my hand to my opponent, that's when I lost, that's when the match is over. I keep pushing, I keep believing in myself, that's my mentality."

Jodar, who admitted just how small the margins were in the match, saying both he and Bigun deserved to win, appreciated the opportunity to play on Armstrong.

"When I saw the schedule yesterday, I was so excited to play on that court," Jodar said. "It's been a pleasure for me."

After beating one junior slam champion today, Jodar gets another in Friday's semifinal against Australian Open champion Rei Sakamoto of Japan. Sakamoto defeated longtime friend and fellow IMG Academy student Atakan Karahan of Turkey 6-3, 6-3.

"He was my first roommate when I got to IMG," said Sakamoto. "When I got to my room the first time, he was sleeping on the bed. He's one of my best friends."

After countless practices matches, Sakamoto said there were no secrets revealed today.

"He knows everything about my tennis, I knew him well, today I won, but of course he's beat me in practice," Sakamoto said.

The other boys semifinal will feature the third junior slam champion in the draw, Wimbledon winner Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway, who will take on unseeded Charlie Robertson of Great Britain after they earned wins in contrasting fashion. Robertson blitzed past qualifier Flynn Thomas of Switzerland 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour, while Budkov Kjaer battled No. 5 seed Luca Preda of Romania for nearly two hours and 30 minutes before coming away with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 win.

Budkov Kjaer acknowledged that his performance in the last two games, where he held serve for 6-5 and broke Preda to end the match, was a combination of experience and luck.

"It's tough to say, but I think I handled the pressure a bit better, since I held my serve, and held my cool after I lost my first match point on an ace by him," said Budkov Kjaer, who has played two three-setters this week and is also through to the doubles semifinals after this afternoon's 4-6, 6-3, 16-14 win with Henry Bernet of Switzerland over Naoya Honda of Japan and Nathan Trouve of France. "Sometimes you're a bit lucky--he double faulted two times(from 15-0 up serving at 5-6)--he was a bit more nervous than me maybe, but I was lucky enough to win it."

Budkov Kjaer and Robertson have played twice, with Budkov winning both, the most recent coming via a retirement in the first round at last December's Orange Bowl.

Like Jodar, Xu was thrilled to be playing on Armstrong, and as the late afternoon crowds continued to stream in prior to the women's singles semifinals on Ashe and in anticipation of the men's doubles semifinals following the junior matches, she appreciated the support she got despite playing the second-seeded American.

"I got a good amount of support," said Xu, who will be 17 next month. "I was actually quite pleasantly surprised. And I really wanted to do well for myself and my team. By the end of the match, by the time the crowd got really big, I was so zoned in on every ball that I didn't actually even notice it."

Xu had fought back from 4-0 down in the second set, saved two set points serving at 4-5, but lost the 5-6 game serving from 30-0 up to give Grant her opportunity. Grant took a 3-1 lead in the third set, but with the number of service breaks in the match, that lead was hardly safe, and Xu broke back and held to make it 4-all. 

Playing very clean tennis, which hadn't been the case in the early stages of the set, Xu continued to keep pressure on Grant, who saved two break points serving at 4-all, but sent a backhand well out on the third to give Xu a chance to serve it out. While Bigun was unable to close his match in the same situation, Xu succeeded, get some net cord luck on a first serve to earn her first match point, and converting it when Grant sent her second serve return long.

"I think I have a really clear idea of my game, and when it's not going the way I want it to, I know the areas I want to change, what areas need to be better for me to turn the match around," Xu said. "I kept telling myself to trust myself and put everything out there."

Xu, who retired in her semifinal match at the J300 last week in Canada, admitted she is making full use of the training staff and the taping they provide.

"It's an ongoing issue, so I'm just managing it," Xu said. "But the physios are doing a really good job of keeping me together. I've got a picture on my phone after my second round of singles and I've got both my knees taped, both my feet taped, so they're doing a really good job behind the scenes, keeping me together."

Xu will face No. 7 seed Wakana Sonobe of Japan, who defeated No. 4 seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4. Sonobe, who hasn't lost a set this week, has now beaten Kostovic in straight sets in their three meetings since last year's Eddie Herr ITF J300 final. 

A second British girl will play in her first junior slam semifinal, with Mika Stojsavljevic ending the run of wild card Annika Penickova with a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory.

Stojsavljevic will play the lone American left in the US Open Junior Championships this year, No. 3 seed Iva Jovic, who repeated her win last month in the USTA National 18s final over Valerie Glozman 6-4, 6-4.

Jovic, who has yet to drop a set this week, detected a change in strategy from Glozman after her loss in San Diego.

"I think in San Diego we were both physically a little tired in that final, because it was such a long week," Jovic said. "So it was really who was going to have more legs, so I was just kind of trying to close out points, because she was just running everything down. Here, she tried to be more aggressive, so we were hitting more, which I think favored me a bit, but I think I did a good job of sticking with the strategy even when she played good, aggressive points."

Unlike many of Glozman's opponents, Jovic looked prepared for the angles her two-handed forehand produces, the change of pace, the lobs, the slices she regularly employs to disrupt and surprise. And the focus Jovic has displayed throughout last  week, in women's singles and doubles and in mixed doubles, is still with her this week in the juniors.

"I think I just played the big points well and was solid throughout the whole match," said the 16-year-old from Torrance California. "I guess I just executed the strategy well enough."

Although this is Jovic's second consecutive junior slam semifinal, she is not taking it for granted, despite her success in the women's singles last week. 

"I'm very excited to be here and to finish this tournament," Jovic said. "I've been in New York for a while, so it's a little motivating that it's only two more days."

Jovic and Stojsavljevic played last year on the Har-Tru at the Eddie Herr J300, with Jovic winning that third round match 6-3, 6-1.

The doubles semifinals Friday will not featuring any Americans, with the five who advanced to the quarterfinals all bowing out today.

Unseeded Capucine Jauffret and Christasha McNeil lost to No. 7 seeds Hannah Klugman of Great Britain and Joy De Zeeuw of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-3. Klugman and De Zeeuw, the only seeded team in the girls semifinals, will play Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic and Julia Stusek of Germany Friday. Columbia freshman Malak El Allami of Morocco and Michigan freshman Emily Sartz-Lunde of Norway defeated No. 5 seeds Xu and Stojsavljevic 7-5, 2-6, 10-8 in the last junior match Thursday evening. They will play the Czech team of Tereza Krejcova and Eliska Tichackova, who received a walkover from No. 1 seeds Iva Ivanova of Bulgaria and Jeline Vandromme of Belgium, due to Ivanova's illness.

The boys doubles final will feature three seeded teams, but top seeds Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic and Sakamoto had to save a match point at 9-8 in the tiebreaker to prevail over the wild card team of Matisse Farzam and Ohio State freshman Nikita Filin 5-7, 6-4, 13-11. The will play No. 3 seeds Budkov Kjaer and Henry Bernet of Switzerland, who saved three match points in their 4-6, 6-3, 16-14 win over Honda and Trouve.

No. 4 seeds Thomas Faurel of France and Preda ended the winning streak of Wimbledon and College Park J300 champions Max Schoenhaus of Germany and USA's Alex Razeghi, the No. 7 seeds, 1-6, 7-5, 10-5.  Faurel and Preda will face the only unseeded boys team in the semifinals, Denis Petak of the Czech Republic and Thomas, who beat Viktor Frydrych of Great Britain and Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4.

Elsewhere at the USTA BJKNTC today, Taylor Townsend and Donald Young fell in the mixed doubles final, to No. 3 seeds Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of 7-6(0), 7-5.

No. 10 seeds Tim Puetz(Auburn) and Kevin Krawiecz of Germany will play for the men's doubles title Saturday, after defeating No. 4 seeds Marcelo Arevalo(Tulsa) of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia 6-3, 6-7(9), 6-4.  No. 13 seeds Jackson Withrow(Texas A&M) and Nathaniel Lammons(SMU) lost to No. 7 seeds Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell of Australia 6-4, 7-6(4).

Emma Navarro's historic run to the semifinals ended tonight, with the former University of Virginia All-American losing to No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 7-6(2). Navarro was the first NCAA singles champion to reach the US Open women's singles semifinals.

Jessica Pegula recovered from a disappointing first set against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, with the two women putting on a show in the last two sets. Serving to keep her break at 4-2 in the third, Pegula saw a 40-0 lead disappear, saved a break point in the four-deuce game but hit a great second serve to hold, then broke Muchova in the final game for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory and a trip to her first slam final Saturday.

Stojsavljevic Ousts Top Seed Jones; Four US Girls Advance to US Open Junior Quarterfinals; No. 2 Seed Bigun Defeats Forbes, Faces Jodar Thursday; Pegula Joins Navarro in Women's Semifinals

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows NY--

The boys quarterfinals Thursday at the US Open Junior Championships will feature all three of the previous junior slam champions, but the girls quarterfinals will be missing two-time slam finalist and No. 1 seed Emerson Jones of Australia, thanks to the efforts of unseeded 15-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain.

Stojsavljevic beat Jones at last year's Wimbledon Junior Championships, en route to her only other junior slam quarterfinal, and while her results on the ITF junior circuit had not been especially noteworthy this year, she won a ITF women's World Tennis Tour tournament in Nottingham this spring to bolster her confidence.

"It definitely showed me that my level is there," said Stojsavljevic, who is six feet tall. "I've got quite a big game, so we're still working on getting that consistency, but I definitely felt it gave me a big confidence boost."

Against Jones, Stojsavljevic had 13 aces among her 39 winners, while Jones, who admitted she was not in her best form in her first two victories, had only 7 winners while making 20 unforced errors.

"With my game, I think I can be dangerous on any court," said Stojsavljevic, who is coached by David Brewer at the Loughborough National Academy. "It's just a matter of dealing with myself, but I love these courts. I know when I play my tennis, I can be a tough player to beat. But I'm still growing into my body, I haven't peaked yet at all."

Although she won't be 16 until December, Stojsavljevic will face a younger opponent for a place in the semifinals, with wild card Annika Penickova earning an upset of her own on another cloudless day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Penickova, who will be 15 next week, avenged her second round Wimbledon loss to Jeline Vandromme of Belgium, coming from a set and 4-1 down to beat the No. 5 seed 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3.

Penickova admitted the disappointment of dropping that first set might have carried over into the start of the second, but the 4-1 deficit also took the pressure off.

"I started playing more free, I told myself I have nothing to lose," said the left-hander, who will be playing in her first junior slam quarterfinal Thursday. "I was playing really well in the first set, put all my energy in it, so starting the second I was a little more down, wasn't moving that well, didn't have the energy. But I was like, it's ok, just go for it, and after one or two games, I was like, you know what, I think I can do this, and at 4-all, I was like ok, let's do this. I was locked in."

Penickova knew, from the Wimbledon loss, that she would need to play well to beat Vandromme, and was motivated to do so.

"Playing a good player like that, it always adds to it," said Penickova, a Californian who trains at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, along with twin sister Kristina. "I want to play well, I have to play well."

Penickova broke to open the third set, but was down 0-40 serving at 3-2, before coming back to hold.

"I was winning most of the longer rallies so I just wanted to get the point started and keep moving her," Penickova said. "At 4-2, I didn't want to think I've got this, so just the entire third set I was just like, one more game, this point, in the moment."

After Vandromme's error serving at 3-5, 30-40, Penickova reacted as if she couldn't believe that there were no more moments to face, but after letting it sink in, she couldn't be more excited to reach the quarterfinals.

"It feels so nice, it's absolutely incredible," Penickova said. "And to have my first quarterfinal be here at the Open, it's a literal dream for me. I told my dad, this is my time, this my tournament, I love this place and it feels incredible to be the youngest one in the quarters, but I definitely don't want it to end here."

The rematch of last month's USTA National 18s final is set for Thursday, with No. 3 seed Iva Jovic facing unseeded wild card Valerie Glozman for the third time this year.

Glozman defeated Jovic in the semifinals of the ITF J300 in Indian Wells 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, but Jovic took the gold ball and the US Open women's wild card with a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory in San Diego.

Both breezed through their third round matches, with Jovic defeating No. 14 seed Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium, while Glozman took out unseeded Tereza Krejcova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-3.

The fourth US girl to advance to the quarterfinals is No. 2 seed Tyra Grant, who avenged her Wimbledon loss to No. 15 seed Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4.  Grant's opponent is No. 8 seed Mingge Xu of Great Britain, who beat No. 10 seed Rositsa Dencheva of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-1.

No. 7 seed Wakana Sonobe of Japan defeated the fifth US girl in the third round, taking out Kristina Penickova 7-5, 6-4. Sonobe's opponent in the quarterfinals is No. 4 seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia, last month's ITF J300 College Park champion, who defeated Eliska Tichackova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

The top three seeds in the boys draw, junior slam champions all, advanced closer to a rare second title with straight set wins.

Top seed and Wimbledon champion Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway, who had struggled in his opening two matches, got his second win in two months over unseeded Naoya Honda of Japan 6-3, 6-3. He will play No. 5 seed Luca Preda of Romania, who defeated unseeded Thomas Faurel 6-0, 7-5.

Roland Garros champion Kaylan Bigun faced off against Kalamazoo 18s champion Matthew Forbes, a wild card, and came away with a 6-2, 6-4 victory. 

Bigun had hit on Ashe last week, but he had never been on the Louis Armstrong court until warming up there this morning.

"It was definitely a cool experience," said the 18-year-old left-hander. "It was great, I liked it a lot. The shade was a bit tricky at times, but I definitely like it."

Bigun recognized that Forbes has had a stretch of tennis similar to his own when he won the boys title at the French Open, taking the Kalamazoo 18s title, playing a competitive match in the first round of the US Open men's singles and winning two rounds in the juniors this week.

"Obviously he's had a heck of a last few weeks," said Bigun, who is planning to begin his collegiate career at UCLA in January. "So I knew he was going to come out playing well, serving well. But at the same time, I practiced with him, and I played him before, so I knew his patterns a little bit. I tried to take time away from him, put pressure on the return and I felt like I did a pretty good job of that."

Bigun, who received a men's qualifying wild card, and played mixed doubles with Iva Jovic, winning a round, said he feels like a New York resident having been competing at, or preparing to compete at the Open for the past two and a half weeks and that is primarily the reason he did not sign up for doubles.

Bigun will play No. 12 seed Rafael Jodar of Spain, again on Armstrong, after College Park ITF J300 champion Jodar defeated wild card Dominick Mosejczuk 6-2, 6-1 for his eighth straight victory on this ITF Junior Circuit hard court swing.

"We practiced together at Roland Garros, I know he's a good player and am looking forward to it," Bigun said. "He's won a good amount of matches in a row, but I'd love to play him. I'm good to go."

Bigun has been following the results of the US men here, and was aware of the drought that either Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe will break on Sunday. 

"That's so good for men's American tennis, USTA, Player Development," Bigun said. "That we're able to guarantee at least one American(in a men's slam final). It's been 15 years since that happened, I think it was 2009, when Roddick lost to Federer. It's definitely cool, and I'll definitely watch the match."

The third 2024 boys slam champion to advance to the quarterfinals is Australian Open winner Rei Sakamoto of Japan, the No. 3 seed, who defeated Timofei Derepasko of Russia 6-4, 6-4. He will play University of South Carolina freshman Atakan Karahan of Turkey, who took out No. 8 seed Theo Papamalamis of France 6-4, 7-6(11).

Wimbledon finalist Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands, seeded No. 4 was an upset victim, falling to qualifier Flynn Thomas of Switzerland 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Thomas said he wasn't discouraged when he dropped the first set.

"After the first set, I just concentrated on the second set and I knew that I had a lot of chances, that I could win," said the 16-year-old. "I just played really well, and everything worked for me."

Rottgering contributed to his own demise, with 55 unforced errors, and while Thomas had only 10 winners, he knows his game and how he wins matches.

"I'm very solid, so I don't do easy mistakes," Thomas said. "I give no no presents. We played good rallies all the time and I was just better in the rally. I just fight for every point, that's all."

Thomas will play unseeded Charlie Robertson of Great Britain, who defeated No. 11 seed Jangjun Kim of Korea 6-3, 6-4. Robertson now has beaten Kim in the first round of Roland Garros, the second round of Wimbledon and the third round of the US Open this summer.

For all the US girls' success in singles, only one doubles team has advanced to the quarterfinals: Christasha McNeil and Capucine Jauffret.

Three Americans remain in the boys doubles quarterfinals. The wild card team of Nikita Filin and Matisse Farzam defeated No. 5 seeds Papamalamis and Petr Brunclik of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-2 to advance, while Wimbledon and College Park champions Alex Razeghi and Max Schoenhaus extended their winning streak with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ian Mayew and Kase Schinnerer.

Play begins at noon Thursday, and admission to the grounds is free.

Jessica Pegula[6] reached her first slam semifinal, joining Taylor Fritz and Emma Navarro in that milestone, by defeating WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-2, 6-4 in tonight's quarterfinal. She will face unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Thursday night's second semifinal; Navarro and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka will play the 7 p.m. match on Ashe.

The USTA sent a release announcing this is the first slam to "feature two American men's and women's singles semifinalists since the 2003 US Open (Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick; Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati)."

The wild card team of Taylor Townsend and Donald Young will play for the mixed doubles title against No. 3 seed Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori at 3 p.m.

After the two junior quarterfinal matches on Armstrong, the men's doubles semifinals will follow. In keeping with the theme of this year's US Open, Jackson Withrow(Texas A&M) and Nathaniel Lammons(SMU) will play in their first major semifinal, with the No. 13 seeds facing No. 7 seeds Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell of Australia.

The second semifinal features two former collegians, with No. 4 seeds Marcel Arevalo(Tulsa) of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia taking on No. 10 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz(Auburn) of Germany.

Wild Card Glozman Among Five US Girls Advancing to US Open Junior Championships Round of 16; Bigun and Forbes Meet on Armstrong Wednesday; Fritz Makes First Slam Semifinal; Navarro's Coach Ayers Reveals Why She Chose College Before Pro Tennis

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows New York--

Valerie Glozman starts her collegiate career at Stanford in just a few weeks, but 17-year-old from Washington is ending her summer in the same way she has done for the past three years, as a wild card at the US Open Junior Championships.

Glozman advanced to the third round with a 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 11 seed Iva Ivanova, using her two-handed forehand to find angles that left the Bulgarian baffled.  Ivanova also asked the umpire to call for a trainer down 2-0 in the second set, and trailing 3-0, took a medical timeout on the changeover. There was no injury apparent, but it was clear Ivanova wasn't feeling well, although Glozman also was unsure what the problem was.

"Obviously I have to focus on the things I can control and I didn't want my momentum to be thrown off or anything," said Glozman, who also reached the third round here last year. "If it was going to take any longer, I was probably going to start serving, but I just took some extra rest in that changeover."

The delay didn't have any impact, with Ivanova broken again to give Glozman a 4-0 lead, and although Glozman lost her serve in the next game, she broke again and closed out the 64-minute match with her fifth ace.

"I don't think I ever found my highest gear today, so I wasn't especially thrilled with how I played," Glozman said. "But obviously I'm super happy to get on to the next round and get another match."

Glozman, who earned her wild card as a finalist this year at the USTA National 18s in San Diego, has been focusing on improving her serve, which helped her dominate today's contest.

"I've been working on it, it's a work in progress, so I was trying to find a good balance of getting a lot of first serves, but then also popping it once in a while," said Glozman. "I think I found a really good balance in the first set, but kind of lost in the second set. I didn't see the stats, but I bet it was more like 20 percent."

Her first serve percentage did drop, but not that drastically, going from 83 to 61, averaging to 72 percent for the match.

In addition to having plenty of experience in the junior championships the past three years, Glozman has also played the women's qualifying, winning a match each time, including a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory this year over WTA No. 123 Zhouxuan Bai of China. 

"I was thinking maybe I got a little lucky with my first rounds the previous two years," Glozman said. "I think I got favorable draws those years, so I was a little scared to see the seed this year, but I think it worked out with the styles."

Glozman said she came into this year's women's qualifying with a different mindset. 

"I know last year I came out super nervous, because I didn't even win the wild card through San Diego, I was just handed one," Glozman said. "So I was like, oh, my gosh, I really have to prove myself and I think put a little too much pressure on myself, just knowing I'd won a round the previous year. You would think after winning a round two years I would put even more pressure on myself this year, but I worked really hard to just embrace the moment and enjoy this."

Glozman is entering college at a time with major changes at both Stanford and in college athletics, with legendary head coach Lele Forood announcing her retirement, a renovation of the Taube tennis facility and a new conference for the Cardinal.

"I saw her in my audience today," said Glozman, who is hoping to replicate incoming Stanford freshman Katherine Hui's run to the US Open title as a wild card. "I saw her at my doubles as well, and I was surprised to see her. I guess I don't really know what I'm missing, but there are definitely a lot of changes this year, with the coaching staff, the facilities, the NCAAs being in the fall for individuals, and then moving to the ACC. Just a lot of changes, it might start out a little hectic, we'll see it through as a team, work together, and I'm really excited to get on campus."

Glozman's opponent in Wednesday's third round is unseeded Tereza Krejcova of the Czech Republic, who upset No. 6 seed Hannah Klugman of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4. No. 3 seed Iva Jovic advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Monika Stankiewicz of Poland, and if Jovic defeats No. 14 seed Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan, they will replay last month's San Diego 18s final in the quarterfinals Thursday.

All four US boys in second round action lost, including No. 9 seed Jagger Leach, who fell to Thomas Faurel of France 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Tuesday's second round results of Americans:

Thomas Faurel(FRA) d. Jagger Leach[9] 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

Flynn Thomas(SUI) d. Noah Johnston 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Charlie Robertson(GBR) d. Alexander Razeghi 7-6(7), 6-3

Luca Preda[5](ROU) d. Kase Schinnerer[WC] 6-1, 6-3

Tyra Grant[2] d.  Lea Nilsson(SWE) 6-3, 6-4

Iva Jovic[3] d. Monika Stankiewicz(POL) 6-2, 6-4

Valerie Glozman[WC] d. Iva Ivanova[11](BUL) 6-1, 6-1

Sonja Zhiyenbayeva[14](KAZ) d. Alanis Hamilton[WC] 6-3, 7-6(3)

Mingge Xu[8](GBR) d. Christasha McNeil[Q] 4-6, 7-5 6-2

Wednesday's third round matches featuring Americans:

Iva Jovic[3] v Sonja Zhiyenbayeva[14](KAZ)

Valerie Glozman[WC] v Tereza Krejcova(CZE)

Tyra Grant[2] v Vendula Valdmannova[15](CZE)

Annika Penickova[WC] v Jeline Vandromme[5](BEL)

Kristina Penickova[9] v Wakana Sonobe[7](JPN)

Dominick Mosejczuk[WC] v Rafael Jodar[12](ESP)

Kaylan Bigun[2] v Matthew Forbes[WC]

Jovic's match and the Bigun-Forbes match will be played on Armstrong, the first time this week that juniors have been scheduled on a show court. Bigun and Forbes played last year at the ITF J300 in Indian Wells with Bigun winning the second round match 6-3, 6-2.

Tyra Grant will be looking to avenge her loss to Valdmannova in the third round of the Wimbledon Junior Championships in July, with Annika Penickova also losing at Wimbledon to Vandromme in the second round.

Grant and her partner Aleks Kovacevic(Illinois) lost in the semifinals of the mixed doubles tonight to No. 3 seeds Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy 6-3, 7-5.

In junior doubles, three top seeds in the girls draw were eliminated as the first round concluded this afternoon. No. 2 seeds Emerson Jones of Australia and Vittoria Paganetti of Italy lost to Lucie Urbanova of the Czech Republic and Antonia Vergara Rivera of Chile 6-2, 6-0; No. 3 seeds Wakana Sonobe of Japan and Alena Kovackova of the Czech Republic were beaten by Malak El Allami of Morocco and Emily Sartz-Lunde of Norway 6-2, 2-6, 10-7 and No. 4 seeds Rositsa Dencheva and Elizara Yaneva of Bulgaria lost 6-4, 6-4 to Teodora Kostovic of Serbia and Victoria Barros of Brazil.

Nine years after Taylor Fritz won the US Open boys title, he  advanced to his first slam semifinal, beating Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) today. For more on Fritz's breakthrough, see this article from usopen.org. He will play the winner of tonight's quarterfinal between Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

I was able to attend the press conference of both Emma Navarro and her coach Peter Ayers this afternoon, after the 2021 NCAA singles champion came from 5-1 down in the second set to beat Paula Badosa of Spain 6-2, 7-5, advancing to her first slam semifinal.

Although I was not called on to pose my question to Navarro, I was able to ask two questions of Ayers, who has coached Navarro since she was 14, about her decision to attend college. 

Q. You apparently or obviously had to relinquish some of her coaching at that time. Did you find that difficult at all? 

PETER AYERS: What a wonderful group they have at the University of Virginia. I can't speak highly enough of what they have going on at that school. Just the synergy within the whole program, you know, the men's program, the women's program, the men's coaches, women's coaches. Working with them was great. I miss them. You know, we had a lot of conversations and shared a lot of thoughts. It was a wonderful time. So, no, it wasn't difficult at all. They were so welcoming. They appreciated her goals and what she wanted to achieve, and they appreciated, I think, the history that we had together. Then on the same end, you know, getting to hear their perspective was wonderful for me too. It could not have been a better dynamic.

Q. How do you think that that's helped her, that two years in college, what do you think that's given to her going forward?

PETER AYERS: Oh, gosh. Well, No. 1 is she wasn't ready to commit to being a professional tennis player. Some of that's mentally, emotionally, and some of that's probably physically, as well. It is a huge jump from being at the top of the junior game to being a world-class professional. You know, she looked at where she was in her life, and also where she was with her tennis, and it was a no-brainer to go to college. 

So a lot of things happened. For sure, it gave her time to grow and develop as a player. That was huge. But it also gave her time to grow and develop as a person, to get away from home, you know, to break away from being a kid. So when we started this next endeavor, our dynamic could naturally change to where, hey, Emma, you're not a 15-year-old kid anymore. You and me, we're adults, right? We will communicate like that now. She needed to be able to break free of that.

So when she was ready to take the plunge, it was the right time. You know, she had proven to herself through her college days that the game was ready for what's next. I think, you know, she had experienced the couple years in school, and she was ready for that next challenge.

Razeghi Ousts No. 6 Seed, Jodar Comes Back to Defeat Wild Card Quan, Top Seeds Pushed to Three Sets at US Open Junior Championships

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows, New York--

The last two ITF J300 boys champions had mixed results against their American opponents Monday, with Repentigny winner Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic falling to Alex Razeghi 6-2, 6-2 in first round action and College Park winner Rafael Jodar of Spain defeating wild card Rudy Quan 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the US Open Junior Championships.

After the humidity and precipitation that had caused annoying disruptions on Sunday, the skies cleared and the heat index dropped, but Mrva, the No. 6 seed, could not find the rhythm that had led him to the title on Saturday. Razeghi took full advantage of Mrva's poor serving to capture the first set in 32 minutes.

"His first serve percentage was down and he was double faulting a lot," said Razeghi, who thought he had an advantage after playing in the men's doubles last week and practicing on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center courts while Mrva was in Canada. "I was getting a lot of free points, which was good, and I was making a lot of first serves so that definitely helped."

Mrva's level didn't improve much in the second set, while Razeghi was able to apply pressure by just keeping the ball in the court and waiting for one of the 47 unforced errors Mrva committed.

"I got lucky today, it wasn't his best day," said Razeghi, who starts his freshman year at Stanford later this month. "I knew he probably wasn't going to be one hundred percent, he had a long week last week so I tried to use that to my advantage, make him play every ball."

Being onsite for over a week, Razeghi has gotten to witness the second week runs of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Brandon Nakashima and Tommy Paul in person, even rubbing elbows with them in the locker room. 

"I've been following them a lot, I was in the locker room last week, so I got to talk with them," said the 18-year-old from Texas. "I'm pretty good friends with Frances, he's the only guy I'm close with, and he's one of the nicest guys I've ever met. I'm glad to see him doing well here and hopefully he can bring it home."

The marquee second round match of day two of the junior championships featured two 2024 ITF J300 champions on hard courts in Jodar, who won College Park nine days ago, and Quan, who won Indian Wells back in March.

With Quan not active on the ITF Junior Circuit, Jodar didn't know much about the UCLA freshman, but the University of Virginia recruit found out in the late stages of the first set just how dangerous Quan could be, going from 3-all to 6-3, breaking Jodar in his last two service games.

"The first set was tough, I was missing some balls that I didn't have to," said the No. 12 seed, who won the College Park title without dropping a set. "He has been playing pro tournaments and just a few ITF juniors, and it was difficult to know how he was going to play at the beginning of the match."

Quan then held to open the second set and had a look at 0-40 with Jodar serving, but Jodar won the next five points, raising his hopes for a comeback.

"That was a very important game," Jodar said. "If he had broken in that game I think the match would have changed a lot. I was thinking I was playing in the US Open at a grand slam, it was my dream so I had to enjoy it, maybe in the first set, I wasn't enjoying it that much, I was suffering more. But I took the chance when I could, and that's why I won this match."

Quan had been serving as high as 122 mph in the first set, but the pace began to come off his serve and the ground strokes began to fall closer to the service line than the baseline. After Quan was broken for the first time, after a brief delay for a Hawkeye Live disruption due to a fire alarm in the control room, and Jodar held the next two games to take the set, Quan asked for a medical timeout. A trainer worked on his legs during that MTO and on the changeovers, but it didn't appear to help much and he was broken in the first game of the third set.

But down 3-1, Quan held for 3-2 and broke Jodar on his seventh break point of the game on a perfect backhand pass to pull even. As the crowds on Court 14 began to build after the Ashe day session finished, both Jodar and Quan treated them to some great shotmaking, but Quan could not sustain it in the next game. Jodar began taking advantage of Quan's inability to use his legs on his serve, punishing the second serves. After Quan netted a backhand to get broken, Jodar won the last eight points of the match, which ended on a double fault.

Jodar was impressed with Quan's game.

"He's a really good player, I didn't know much about him, but if he keeps playing at this level, he can win many things."

With both heading to college, Quan this month and Jodar in January, Jodar is anticipating a possible rematch.

"Maybe we play in college again," Jodar said. "And I'll be more prepared."

The top seeds in both draws advanced to third round matches Wednesday, but, as was the case Sunday, both Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway and Emerson Jones of Australia, struggled with their form.

Both managed to get through in straight sets in their first round matches, but both dropped sets today, with Jones down 7-5, 2-0 to ITF No. 20 Alena Kovackova of the Czech Republic before rebounding for a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory.

Jones was down 4-3 in the third set, but got the break back, then broke at love with Kovackova serving at 5-6.

"I knew it would probably be this tough," said Jones, who is seeking her third junior slam final this year. "She's a pretty good player to have second round, so I kind of expected this, but I fought my way through."

Jones, who lost in the second round of College Park two weeks ago and didn't play in Canada, admits she's not at the top of her game right now.

"I wasn't there mentally in the first set, and if I'm not playing my best tennis, and I'm not really right now, I just tried to find a way in the second set," said Jones, who had 25 unforced errors in the first set. "At 2-0 down, I just said I'm going to stay calm, because I haven't been this whole time. I told myself to just get the ball in the court, because I really didn't do that at the start."

Jones will face unseeded Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain on Wednesday.

"I play Mika, I can't say her last name, next, and these courts are pretty fast and she hits a good fast ball," said the 16-year-old from the Gold Coast. "So I'm just going to have to try to figure it out again as I did with my last two matches."

Budkov Kjaer faced Lorenzo Angelini, who had avoided qualifying by making the quarterfinals in Canada to receive a special exempt entry. Budkov, who did not play a warmup tournament, started well enough, but had to break in the final game to earn a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

Aside from Mrva, the only other boys seed to lose was No. 13 seed Cooper Woestendick, who went out to Timofei Derepasko of Russia 7-6(5), 6-3 in the second round. Two seeded girls lost, both Americans, with Stojasavljevic beating No. 13 seed Kaitlyn Rolls 6-1, 6-0 and Eliska Tichackova of the Czech Republic defeating No. 16 seed Akasha Urhobo 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Half of the first round of doubles were played today, and two seeded boys teams featuring Americans were eliminated. No. 2 seeds Hayden Jones of Australia and Jagger Leach lost to Angelini and Lorenzo Beraldo of Italy 7-6(5), 7-6(2) and Australian Open boys champions Maxwell Exsted and Woestendick, the No. 8 seeds, lost to Flynn Thomas of Switzerland and Denis Petak of the Czech Republic 7-6(4), 6-1. No. 6 seeds Jangjun Kim of Korea and Marko Maksimovic of Serbia lost to Naoya Honda of Japan and Nathan Trouve of France 7-5, 4-6, 10-4.

One seeded girls team lost, with Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic and And Julia Stusek of Germany beating No. 8 seeds Luna Cinalli of Argentina and Mayu Crossley of Japan 6-0, 7-6(8).

Monday's first round results of Americans:

Alexander Razeghi d. Maxim Mrva[6](CZE) 6-2, 6-2

Mees Rottgering[4](NED) d. Jack Kennedy 6-4, 6-1

Theo Papamalamis[8](FRA) d. Benjamin Willwerth[WC] 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 

Jagger Leach[9] d. Denis Petak[Q](CZE) 6-3, 6-4

Oskari Paldanius(FIN) d. Jack Secord[Q] 

Noemi Basiletti(ITA) d. Anita Tu[WC] 6-0, 6-2

Tereza Krejcova(CZE) d. Shannon Lam[WC] 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3

US Boys 9-10, US Girls 10-9 in round 1

Monday's second round results of Americans:

Dominick Mosejczuk[WC] d. Petr Brunclik(CZE) 6-4, 6-4

Kaylan Bigun[2] d. Karim Bennani[LL](MAR) 6-2, 6-2

Timofei Derepasko(RUS) d. Cooper Woestendick[13] 7-6(5), 6-3

Matthew Forbes[WC] d. Nathan Trouve(FRA) 6-4, 6-4

Rafael Jodar[12](ESP) d. Rudy Quan[WC] 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 

Rositsa Dencheva[10](BUL) d. Ishika Ashar[WC] 6-3, 6-4 

Eliska Tichackova(CZE) d. Akasha Urhobo[16] 4-6, 6-3, 6-0

Kristina Penickova[9] d. Joy De Zeeuw(NED) 6-3, 6-4

Annika Penickova[WC] d. Kanon Sawashiro[Q](JPN) 6-3, 6-3

Mika Stojasavljevic(GBR) d. Kaitlyn Rolls[13] 6-1, 6-0

Tuesday's second round matches featuring Americans:

Jagger Leach[9] v Thomas Faurel(FRA)

Noah Johnston v Flynn Thomas(SUI)

Alexander Razeghi v Charlie Robertson(GBR)

Kase Schinnerer[WC] v Luca Preda[5](ROU)

Tyra Grant[2] v Lea Nilsson(SWE)

Iva Jovic[3] v Monika Stankiewicz(POL)

Valerie Glozman[WC] v Iva Ivanova[11](BUL)

Alanis Hamilton[WC] v Sonja Zhiyenbayeva[14](KAZ)

Christasha McNeil[Q] v Mingge Xu[8](GBR)

Grant will play her mixed doubles semifinal Tuesday after she and partner Aleks Kovacevic(Illinois) received a walkover from Ellen Perez(Georgia) of Australia and Sander Gille(E Tenn St) of Belgium, due to an injury to Gille. Their opponents in the semifinals are No. 3 seeds Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy.

The US Open run of titles came to an end today for Rajeev Ram(Illinois) and Great Britain's Joe Salisbury(Memphis). The three-time defending champions lost to No. 13 seed Nathaniel Lammons(SMU) and Jackson Withrow(Texas A&M) 7-6(3), 6-3. 

No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula advanced to the women's quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Diana Shnaider(NC State) of Russia and will face top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland.

On Tuesday, three Americans will attempt to make the US Open singles semifinals: Emma Navarro[13], who plays No. 26 seed Paula Badosa of Spain; Taylor Fritz[12], who plays No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany; and Frances Tiafoe[20], who plays No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

Mosejczuk's Local Knowledge Leads to Biggest Win at US Open Junior Championships; Jovic, Grant and Forbes Extend Stay in New York; Navarro Makes Second Straight Slam Quarterfinal, Fritz and Tiafoe Reach Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Flushing Meadows NY--

When he first came to the US Open as a child, Dominick Mosejczuk was more interested in getting some relief from the heat than watching tennis, finding the enticement of an indoor tennis game more appealing than pros playing tennis. Trying one of the USTA Smash Zone games, he collected prize after prize, leading to an invitation to lessons at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. 

More than a dozen years later, Mosejczuk earned an even bigger prize with his first junior slam victory, beating No. 7 seed Hayden Jones of Australia 6-3, 7-6(8) in the first round of the US Open Junior Championships.

"I came to the US Open for the first time when I was three years old, and not really liking watching matches, it's so hot, I wanted to go inside in the AC," said the 17-year-old wild card from Queens. "I saw there was a court in there (the American Express Pavilion) I was oh, I want to go play."

"So the game they had, they had prizes all around the court and if you hit the prize you get to keep it," said Mosejczuk, recalling the shirts and towels on offer. "I think it was beginner's luck, because I hit 10 prizes."

Three weeks later, Mosejczuk began lessons at the facility and trained there for more than five years, so when he stepped onto court 4 on a cloudy and humid afternoon for his junior slam debut, he was comfortable.

"I've trained on every single court here," said Mosejczuk, who returned to the National Tennis Center to work with USTA Player Development after several years at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. "That's why when I was warming up, I felt like it was a hitting session. But then the nerves came in."

Mosejczuk said he fought nerves throughout the match, but his serve saved him as the contest got more and more physical.

"Usually it's my serve and forehand, but I was little bit shaky on the forehand today," said Mosejczuk, who trained for most of the past 12 months at the BTT Academy in Spain and also trains at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. "I felt my serve was really comfortable because my opponent can't affect me in any way. I was really confident using that in the breaker."

Mosejczuk had suffered a mentally and physically painful loss in the fourth round of Kalamazoo last month, losing to Mitchell Lee  7-5, 3-6, 7-6(5) in just under four hours.

"It was a difficult match, cramping at 5-4 in the third set breaker," said Mosejczuk. "It definitely hurt, I think it's still in the back of my head, so it's been really motivating for me. You learn most from when you lose and that one definitely hurt; it wakes me up in the morning, but as much as I hate it, I love it too."

Given that loss, avoiding a third set against Jones was the goal, and Mosejczuk had to save four break points serving at 5-all to give himself that chance.

Jones had the set on his racquet leading 5-4 and serving in the tiebreaker, but he lost both points. Jones saved the first set point with a good forehand, and the second when Mosejczuk missed a backhand volley. But a good serve at 8-all gave Mosejczuk a third match point and he converted it by somehow running down Jones' excellent backhand drop volley to extend the point.

"I don't know how I got there and dug it out," Mosejczuk said. "Definitely a really good win for me, so I'm super excited. Biggest win of my life, for sure."

That's quite a statement coming from the 2023 Orange Bowl 16s champion, but the combination of his win over an ITF Top 10 junior and his connection to the National Tennis Center certainly played a role in that.

Jones was the only Top 8 seed to lose Sunday, but many of the top boys and girls contenders were extended as they began their quest for a junior slam.

Wimbledon boys champion Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway, the top seed this week, withstood a determined challenge from 16-year-old qualifier Keaton Hance and several annoyingly minor rain delays to come up with a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory.  Emerson Jones of Australia, a two-time slam finalist this year, was in a similar battle, including the rain disruptions, at the other end of the NTC against qualifier Maya Iyengar before emerging with a 7-5, 7-6(5) win.

Two of the other favorites in the girls draw, 16-year-olds Tyra Grant, seeded No. 2, and Iva Jovic,  seeded No. 3, advanced to the second round in contrasting fashion. Grant needed just 47 minutes to dispatch Mayu Crossley of Japan 6-0, 6-0, after Crossley had taken Grant to three sets at Wimbledon in July. 

"I knew what I had to do," said Grant, who lost in the first round of women's qualifying, but has been in New York ever since, practicing with pros. "I came with a pretty straightforward idea, just be aggressive, and it worked."

Grant, who played in the main draw of women's doubles with Jovic and has advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals of mixed doubles with Aleks Kovacevic, has been keeping busy on the practice court when not playing matches.

"Practicing with the pros, I'm lucky to know a lot of the pros," Grant said. "I hit with (Luidmila) Samsonova, hit with (Alycia) Parks, a bunch of them. Just being used to hitting with them, feeling that kind of ball, that's helped me so much."

Jovic had a straightforward first set, but trailed qualifier Gaia Maduzzi of Italy 5-2 in the second set before coming back for a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory.

Even after beating WTA No. 42 Magda Linette in straight sets last week in the first round, the 2024 San Diego 18s National champion is expecting similar challenges this week in the junior portion of the tournament.

"All of these girls, pretty much the top 10 seeds in the juniors, are all so good," Jovic said. "I think that any one of us, on any given day, can beat Top 50 pros. Just looking back at some of the matches, when Emerson(Jones) beat me at Wimbledon(in the semifinals), the level was just so high, so I'm expecting big battles here in the juniors."

Kalamazoo 18s National champion Matthew Forbes had a similar battle with a qualifier, beating Mika Petkovic of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, less than a week after holding his own against ATP No. 57 Roman Safiullin with his men's main draw wild card.

"It's more physical in the pros," said Forbes, who has started classes at Michigan State, but is currently taking just one class that isn't online. "I played the other day and I thought my body was going to die. I played three sets today, and I feel great, honestly. There is a little bit more expectation--I won Kalamazoo, I had a set point (against Safiullin)--but I have to get used to playing under pressure at some point."

For all the competitive matches, only four seeds lost, and just one in the girls draw, with wild card Annika Penickova defeating No. 12 seed Antonia Vergara Rivera of Chile 6-2, 6-3.

In addition to Jones, two other boys seeds lost in the opening round, with Nathan Trouve of France defeating No. 15 seed Miguel Tobon of Colombia 7-6(5), 7-5 and Noah Johnston closing out the night with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 16 seed Marko Maksimovic of Serbia.

A combination of first and second round singles will be played Monday, as well as doubles.

The girls doubles draw does not feature Jovic and Grant, who are not playing this junior slam, due to their busy week leading up to the junior championships and Grant's mixed doubles success. The top seeds in the girls draw are Iva Ivanova of Bulgaria and Jeline Vandromme of Belgium.  The top seeds in the boys doubles draw are Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic and Rei Sakamoto of Japan.

Sunday's first round results of American juniors:

Emerson Jones[1](AUS) d. Maya Iyengar[Q] 7-5, 7-6(5) 

Annika Penickova[WC] s. Antonia Vergara Rivera[12](CHI) 6-2, 6-3

Rositsa Dencheva[10](BUL) d. Monika Ekstrand[Q] 1-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(6) 

Wakana Sonobe[7](JPN) d. Kate Fakih[Q] 6-2, 6-2

Christasha McNeil[Q] v Luna Maria Cinalli(ARG) 7-5, 7-6(8)

Kanon Sawashirov[Q](JPN) d. Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2 

Ishika Ashar[WC] d. Yelyzaveta Kotliar(UKR) 6-4, 6-3

Kaitlyn Rolls[13] d. Olivia Carneiro(BRA) 7-6(1), 2-6, 6-3

Kristina Penickova[9] d. Elizara Yaneva(BUL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Teodora Kostovic[4](SRB) d. Julieta Pareja[WC] 6-4, 4-6, 6-0

Tyra Grant[2] d. Mayu Crossley(JPN) 6-0, 6-0     47 min

Iva Jovic[3] d. Gaia Maduzzi[Q](ITA) 6-2, 7-6(2)

Akasha Urhobo[16] d. Laima Vladson(LTU) 6-1, 6-1  (52 min)

Alanis Hamilton[WC] d. Lucia Urbanova(CZE) 7-6(4), 6-3

Valerie Glozman[WC] d. Yuliya Perapekhina(BLR) 6-3, 6-0

Julie Pastikova(CZE) d. Aspen Schuman 4-6, 6-1, 6-0

Malak El Allami(MAR) d. Capucine Jauffret[Q] 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Dominick Mosejczeuk[WC] d. Hayden Jones[7](AUS) 6-3, 7-6(8)

Rafael Jodar[12](ESP) d. Ian Mayew 6-2, 7-6(3) 

Alessandro Battiston[SE] d. Gus Grumet[WC] 6-3, 6-4 

Cooper Woestendick[13] d. William Rejchtman Vinciguerra(SWE) 6-0, 6-2

Kase Schinnerer[WC] d. Reda Bennani(MAR) 6-3, 3-0 ret.

Matthew Forbes[WC] d. Mika Petkovic[Q](GER) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Rudy Quan[WC] d. Viktor Frydrych(GBR) 7-5, 6-1

Lorenzo Angelini[SE](ITA) d. Matisse Farzam[WC] 6-3, 6-2

Kaylan Bigun[2] d. Andreas Timini(CYP) 6-4, 6-2

Atakan Karahan(TUR) d. Maxwell Exsted 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(6)

Nicolai Budkov Kjaer[1](NOR) d. Keaton Hance[Q] 7-6(5), 7-5

Henry Bernet(SUI) d. Nikita Filin[WC] 7-6(3), 6-4

Noah Johnston d. Marko Maksimovic[16](SRB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

Max Schoenhaus[14](GER) d. Stiles Brockett[LL] 6-3, 6-2

Monday's first round matches featuring Americans:

Alexander Razeghi v Maxim Mrva[6](CZE)

Jack Kennedy v Mees Rottgering[4](NED)

Benjamin Willwerth[WC] v Theo Papamalamis[8](FRA)

Jagger Leach[9] v Denis Petak[Q](CZE)

Jack Secord[Q] v Oskari Paldanius(FIN)

Anita Tu[WC] v Noemi Basiletti(ITA)

Shannon Lam[WC] v Tereza Krejcova(CZE)

Tuesday's second round matches featuring Americans:

Dominick Mosejczuk[WC] v Petr Brunclik(CZE)

Kaylan Bigun[2] v Karim Bennani[LL](MAR)

Cooper Woestendick[13] v Timofei Derepasko(RUS)

Matthew Forbes[WC] v Nathan Trouve(FRA)

Rudy Quan[WC] v Rafael Jodar[12](ESP)

Ishika Ashar[WC] v Rositsa Dencheva[10](BUL)

Akasha Urhobo[16] v Eliska Tichackova(CZE)

Kristina Penickova[9] v Joy De Zeeuw(NED)

Annika Penickova[WC] v Kanon Sawashiro(JPN)

Kaitlyn Rolls[13] v Mika Stojasavljevic(GBR)

2021 NCAA singles champion Emma Navarro(Virginia) reached her second straight slam quarterfinal today, beating defending champion Coco Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. According to John Parsons of No-ad No-Problem, it is the first time an NCAA women's singles champion has reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.

Sunday's fourth round matches featuring Americans:

Emma Navarro[13] d. Coco Gauff[3] 6-3, 4-6, 6-3

Frances Tiafoe[20] d. Alexei Popyrin[28](AUS) 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3

Alexander Zverev[4](GER) d. Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

Taylor Fritz[12] d. Casper Ruud[8](NOR) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2

Monday's fourth round matches featuring Americans:

Jessica Pegula[6] v Diana Shnaider[18](RUS)

Tommy Paul[14] v Jannik Sinner[1](ITA)