Wiersholm Takes Out Top Seed Rubin to Reach Semifinals at ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships; 16s Finals Set for Saturday

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Carson, CA--

Henrik Wiersholm was expecting top seed Noah Rubin to fight back. After failing to hold serve for a place in the ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships semifinals at 6-4, 5-1 Friday afternoon, Wiersholm didn't panic.

"I wouldn't have been surprised if it had gotten to 5-all, or even if he had won the set," said Wiersholm, who was relieved to get off the court with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. "I was expecting a battle and I think that was why it didn't really bother me when he gave me one."

Rubin held for 5-2 in the third and broke Wiersholm on his third break chance in the next game, playing aggressively and finishing the game with a forehand that forced a rare error from Wiersholm. But in the next game, Rubin couldn't maintain the pressure, with a badly missed drop shot and an unforced error putting him in a 15-30 hole. On the next point, Wiersholm blasted a forehand winner to earn two match points, but Rubin saved the first by forcing a volley error from Wiersholm. On match point No. 2, however, it was Rubin who blinked, making a backhand error after a short rally to give Wiersholm the victory.

It was sweet revenge for Wiersholm, who had been soundly beaten by Rubin in the second round of the ITF Grade B1 Pan American Closed in their only prior meeting last fall.

"In Tulsa I came out not really believing I could win the match and I played more defensive because of that," said Wiersholm. "He's a great player when he's pressing you. He doesn't make errors and he's obviously a very good defensive player, but you've got to take the lesser of two evils and make him move, make him hit in uncomfortable positions. He hits great in uncomfortable positions, but if you make him do it enough, forcing the issue, that's what my goal was today."

Wiersholm played some excellent defense of his own, yet was dictating most of the rallies, hitting with pace and depth to control the points, while Rubin was scrambling to keep up.  Wiersholm also served better than Rubin, and admitted there was little he could have done better.

"I was playing very solid today," said Wiersholm. "I was moving very well, serving great, doing what I was talking about, and that's what won it for me."

Wiersholm will play No. 4 seed Naoki Nakagawa of Japan in Saturday's semifinals, which will be their first meeting. For the second day in a row, Nakagawa dropped the first set, but took charge in the next two, posting a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over No. 11 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Wiersholm, who won the 2011 Les Petits As Championship, has not lost a set this week, while the 2012 Les Petits As Champion, Francis Tiafoe, has needed third-set tiebreakers two consecutive days to reach the semifinals.

In Friday's quarterfinal against No. 10 seed Daniel Kerznerman, Tiafoe was broken serving at 3-4 in the third set, giving Kerznerman the opportunity to serve out the match. But 30-all was as close as Kerznerman would get to victory. A routine backhand flew several feet long to make it 30-40, and Tiafoe broke back with a forehand putaway at the net, then held for 5-all.

After more than two and a half hours on the court, both players were looking less than energetic, and Kerznerman was broken in the next game to give Tiafoe, the No. 14 seed, the chance to serve out the match.  He was unable to do so, losing serve to 15, but Tiafoe regrouped quickly in the tiebreaker, hitting two winners to start it and going up 6-2 when Kerznerman double faulted. Tiafoe dropped the first of his four match points when he sent a backhand long, but at 6-3 he put away a second overhead for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) victory and his first ITF Grade 1 semifinal.

His opponent in the semifinals will be another 15-year-old American, albeit a more experienced one, Stefan Kozlov, the 2012 finalist. The No. 2 seed defeated USTA Boca Raton training partner Spencer Papa, seeded sixth, 6-2, 6-2 in Friday's quarterfinals.

In the girls quarterfinals, only one match went the distance, with No. 5 seed Jamie Loeb outlasting No. 2 seed Victoria Rodriguez of Mexico 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.  Rodriguez played clean and composed for most of the first two sets, making few errors and handling Loeb's depth with little difficulty.  After falling behind 4-2 in the second set, Rodriguez got the break right back, but serving at 4-5, she played one of her few loose games and was broken at 15 to give Loeb the set.

After five close games in the third set, Rodriguez again went down 4-2, but this time she was unable to break back. Loeb held at love to take a 5-2 lead, and Rodriguez's fatigue, both mental and physical, finally began to surface. After committing so few errors earlier, they came in bunches in the final two games, and she was broken at love to put Loeb into her first Grade 1 semifinal.

Loeb will play unseeded qualifier Kimberly Yee, who avenged her loss to Peggy Porter in last week's ITF Grade 4 in Carson with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the quarterfinals.

Top seed Christina Makarova has been quietly cruising this week and she continued to do so Friday, defeating No. 8 seed Madison Bourguignon 6-3, 6-2. Makarova's semifinal opponent is unseeded Mayo Hibi of Japan, who has lived and trained in Irvine, California since before she began playing tennis. Hibi had no difficulty with No. 3 seed Alejandra Cisneros of Mexico, posting a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

"She wasn't serving too well," Hibi said of Cisneros, who had a trainer provide treatment on her back during the match. "I got a lot of easy serves from her, and that helped me a lot. I think I played well today, and she just made a few more unforced errors than me, and that can change the whole match."

Hibi and Makarova grew up together playing Southern California sectional tennis, but haven't played since last year's Easter Bowl, when Hibi claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Makarova, who was the No. 6 seed.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Hibi. "It's been a year since I last played her, and I'm sure she's improved a lot as well. It will be a totally different match from last year. And also the wind, we'll see how that goes tomorrow. It could totally change the game."

Hibi earned her second win over Cisneros later in the afternoon in the doubles semifinals. Hibi and Starr, the No. 7 seeds, reached the final with a 6-4, 2-6, 10-6 victory over top seeds Cisneros and Rodriguez. Hibi and Starr will take on the unseeded team of Loeb and Maegan Manasse in Saturday's final, after Loeb and Manasse defeated the unseeded team of Yee and Brooke Austin 6-2, 6-1.

Nakagawa is the only boy still in singles to reach the doubles final. He and partner Tommy Mylnikov, the No. 2 seeds, will play No. 3 seeds Papa and Zverev Saturday. Nakagawa and Mylnikov defeated unseeded Walker Duncan and John Mee 6-2, 6-2, while Papa and Zverev posted a 3-6, 6-4, 10-4 semifinal win over top seeds Luca Corinteli and Martin Redlicki.

16s

Claire Liu, who turns 13 next month, is comfortable on the Home Depot courts, where she trains three days a week with the USTA National Training Center staff while commuting from Thousand Oaks, Calif.  After her 7-5, 6-0 semifinal victory over No. 14 seed Caroline Dolehide, the unseeded wild card will be out to avenge her 2012 Easter Bowl 14s loss to Ena Shibahara in which she failed to win a game.

Shibahara, from nearby Rancho Palos Verdes, is the reigning USTA Winter National 16s champion, and the No. 13 seed reached another big final with her 6-2, 6-1 victory over No. 12 seed Samantha Martinelli.

Liu has a strategy to employ against the 15-year-old Shibahara.

"I need to keep her off balance and on defense," said Liu. "She can attack really well and is really good at the net."

In the boys 16s final, there is no difference in ages, and certainly no mystery when No. 7 seed Catalin Mateas takes on No. 4 seed Jake Devine, both of whom train at the USTA National Center in Boca Raton, Fla. Mateas defeated unseeded Kalman Boyd 7-6(3), 6-1, while Devine outlasted No. 12 seed Kyle Seelig 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1.

Born one day apart in May of 1997, Mateas and Devine have played too many practice matches to count.

"I play him every week basically," said Mateas, who is one day older than Devine. "We played a couple of weeks ago and it was like 5 and 6 and we played for like three hours. Whenever we play we have tough, long matches, so I'm expecting a good one tomorrow."

"We kind of know what our games are, and and I'm actually rooming with him too," continued Mateas. "We were hoping and praying at the beginning of the tournament that we wouldn't be in the at least the same quarter."

The 16s doubles finals are also scheduled for Saturday, with the unseeded team of Savannah Slaysman and Shibahara meeting No. 8 seeds Dolehide and Alexis Nelson for the girls championship. Slaysman and Shibahara, the 14s Easter Bowl doubles champions, defeated No. 6 seeds Paulina Ferrari and Jada Hart 6-1, 6-2.  Dolehide and Nelson downed top seeds Madison Appel and Rebecca Weissman 6-1, 6-3 to earn their place in the final.

The boys 16s doubles championship will be decided by No. 8 seeds Taylor Fritz and Daniel Gealer and No. 5 seeds Chase Colton and Seelig. Fritz and Gealer beat No. 6 seeds Emil Reinberg and Brian Tsao 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the semifinals. Colton and Seelig downed No. 2 seeds Grayson Broadus and Jean Thirouin 6-2, 6-4.

For draws and Saturday's order of play, see the tournament page at usta.com.

March Aces

Before I head out to today's quarterfinals at the International Spring Championships, here is a look back at some of the outstanding performances of a very busy March in college and junior tennis in my monthly column for Tennis Recruiting Network.

Tiafoe Ousts No. 3 Seed McDonald in Third Set Tiebreaker; Qualifier Yee Saves Match Point to Reach Quarterfinals at ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Carson, CA--

Qualifier Kimberly Yee has already played plenty of tennis this week at the ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships.  Her request for a wild card denied, Yee won three matches in the two days of qualifying, including one 7-6 in the third set, to reach the main draw. After a welcome day off on Monday, the 16-year-old from Las Vegas won two more singles and two doubles matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In her third round match Thursday against unseeded Nicole Frenkel, Yee was down a break in the final set of the two hour and 55 minute match, and faced a match point at 5-6 in the deciding tiebreaker, but she felt unexpectedly nerveless as she completed her 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(6) victory.

"I didn't feel too much pressure, I thought it was fun," said Yee, the 2012 USTA 16s champion. "I was trying to take it as a little adventure. It was very close, but I wasn't too nervous. I was pretty calm actually."

Frenkel, a 14-year-old left-hander who trains at the USTA's National Center in Boca Raton, was serving at 4-3 in the third set, but she was broken at love to give back the advantage. Both girls held their next two service games to send it into the tiebreaker, and Frenkel led there as well, taking a 4-2 advantage at the change of ends.  She immediately double faulted to make it 4-3, but went up 5-4 on a deftly executed lob in the breezy conditions. Frenkel had the match on her racquet with two serves coming, but her forehand went wide to make it 5-5.

Frenkel held her next serve to make it 6-5, when her big forehand forced Yee into a desperate defensive lob which went long. Facing match point, Yee didn't play tentatively, cracking a backhand winner to save it.  Another well-struck backhand on the next point rushed Frenkel into netting a backhand, and now it was Yee's turn to hold the match point.  After a brief rally, Frenkel netted a forehand, and Yee was into her first Grade 1 quarterfinal.

"I was happy, thought oh good it's done and now I can rest for doubles," said Yee, who said Frenkel's counterpunching style led to fatigue-inducing rallies.  "That's really what the goal was at that point. I need this match to be over, so I can just chill. But no, it was good. It was fun."

Yee will play unseeded Peggy Porter in the quarterfinals. Porter, who was the 16s champion in 2011, defeated Maegan Manasse 6-1, 6-2 Thursday, and will look to get her second win in two weeks over Yee, whom she beat last week in the Claremont Grade 4 ITF 7-5, 6-3.

Just moments after Yee completed her win on court 8, 15-year-old Francis Tiafoe stepped to the line on adjacent court 7 to serve out the match against No. 3 seed Mackenzie McDonald, leading 5-4.  The No. 14 seed was unable to get any closer than 30-40 however, with McDonald getting the break with a rocket return off a good first serve that Tiafoe couldn't handle.

Serving at 5-all, McDonald needed two deuces to hold, but closed out the game with two consecutive aces.

Serving at 5-6, 30-all, Tiafoe caught a break when McDonald's backhand return, which looked to be inside both lines in the corner was called out, a call that gave Tiafoe a game point rather than McDonald a match point.  McDonald protested to the chair umpire, and even looked at the roving official supervisor for help, but the call stood, much to McDonald's dismay.

"The ref called it out, and it was a very bad call actually," said Tiafoe, who was up two breaks at 3-0 and 4-1 in the third set before McDonald clawed his way back into the match.  "The ball was clearly in, I'm not going to say it wasn't. If he hadn't called it out, I definitely could have lost the match."

Tiafoe won the next point with a backhand volley winner, and a tiebreaker would decide who moved into the quarterfinals.  McDonald took a 3-1 lead, but Tiafoe used his forehand effectively in the next three points, forcing McDonald into errors after lengthy rallies. With Tiafoe leading 4-3, McDonald had two serves, but he lost both of them, with Tiafoe hitting a forehand pass for a winner for 5-3, and McDonald sending a wild backhand way beyond the baseline to give Tiafoe three match  points. Tiafoe had no trouble closing out the match in his second opportunity, hitting a good first serve that McDonald couldn't get back into play.  With a loud c'mon and fist pump, Tiafoe celebrated a big victory in his young career.

"It's a big win. He's semi-ed at the Australian Open, he won Easter Bowl," said Tiafoe, aware of McDonald's accomplishments in 2011. "He's struggling a little bit, but it's still a very big win for me.  The rallies were great, and I think I played the way I wanted to, using the forehand a lot, staying solid with the backhand cross court.  He's got really good volleys coming forward. It was just a good match. It definitely could have gone either way."

Tiafoe will play No. 10 seed Daniel Kerznerman in the Friday's quarterfinals. In contrast to Tiafoe's match time of 2:26, Kerznerman needed barely an hour to defeat unseeded Grant Solomon 6-1, 6-0.

No. 6 seed Spencer Papa downed No. 9 seed Tommy Mylnikov of Canada 7-5, 6-4 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals against fellow USTA Boca Raton student Stefan Kozlov. Kozlov defeated unseeded Alex Rybakov 6-1, 7-5.

Top seed Noah Rubin survived some impressive play by unseeded JC Aragone, taking a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory that featured some of the best rallies of the tournament. Rubin, back to competition after a long injury layoff, used his speed to hang with Aragone's big ground strokes, raising his game as the match reached its conclusion.  Rubin will play unseeded Henrik Wiersholm, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over unseeded Ciro Riccardi.  Rubin defeated Wiersholm in straight sets in the second round of last fall's Pan American Closed.

The other quarterfinal features No. 4 seed Naoki Nakagawa of Japan against No. 11 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany. Nakagawa defeated unseeded AJ Catanzariti 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, and Zverev blew past unseeded Andres Alfonzo Paredes of Venezuela 6-0, 6-2.

Girls top seed Christina Makarova advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating unseeded Ines Vias 6-0, 6-4. Makarova's opponent on Friday will be No. 8 seed Madison Bourguignon, who advanced with a 6-4, 3-0 ret. win over No. 12 seed Ellie Halbauer.  Unseeded Mayo Hibi, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over unseeded wild card Spencer Liang, will play No. 3 seed Alejandra Cisneros of Mexico in the quarterfinals. Cisneros beat unseeded Ellyse Hamlin 6-2, 2-6, 6-0.

No. 2 seed Victoria Rodriguez of Mexico advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 win over unseeded Adeliya Zabirova of Russia, and will face No. 5 seed Jamie Loeb.

Loeb, who had lost only one game in her previous two matches, led No. 11 seed Maria Shishkina of Kazakhstan 6-3, 5-1 on Thursday, but was broken in two consecutive attempts to serve out the win. Shishkina wasn't sharp throughout most of the match, making unforced errors early in rallies, but once the end was near, she began hitting out, eliminating mistakes and pressing Loeb.

Loeb was broken serving at 5-1 and at 5-3, but she kept calm and put with the pressure back on Shishkina. Down 15-40 after netting a forehand, Shishkina thought Loeb's shot was beyond the baseline, but it was Shishkina's reply that was called out, giving Loeb the win, despite Shishkina's protests.

"I was kind of on the defense and not stepping up and controlling the points," Loeb said of her failure to end the match earlier. "The last game I focused in on one point at a time and she was making the errors, so I pulled through."

Loeb admits that in addition to her goal of winning here in Carson and at next week's Easter Bowl, she hopes to gain enough points to play the junior slams this summer.

"I do want to get my ranking high enough so I can make main draw of junior French and junior Wimbledon and junior US Open," said Loeb, who has committed to play for the University of North Carolina this fall. "I'm not going to be playing any other ITFs before those."

Loeb lost in the first round of both tournaments last year, and she believes she is a much better player now than she was then.

"I feel like I'm a different player from last year," said Loeb, who trains at the John McEnroe Academy in New York. "Overall, I've improved, and I feel I'm much better than I was, even a couple months ago. Right now I feel pretty good, especially playing the women's (Pro Circuit) tournaments. It's definitely helped me, and since I've been playing against them and getting experience there, coming here, I feel good about how I'm playing."

The semifinals are set in the 16s division.  The top half of the boys draw will have No. 7 seed Catalin Mateas facing unseeded Kalman Boyd. Mateas downed top seed William Blumberg 6-4, 6-2, while Boyd ousted No. 5 seed Robert Levine 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3. The semifinal from the bottom half will feature No. 4 Jake Devine against No. 12 Kyle Seelig.  Devine defeated unseeded Alexander Lebedev 6-3, 6-0 and Seeling outlasted No. 2 seed Jean Thirouin 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

The girls 16s semifinals also consist of three seeds and one unseeded player.  Wild card Claire Liu defeated unseeded Sydney Van Alphen 6-4, 6-1 and will play No. 14 seed Carolina Dolehide. Dolehide defeated unseeded Angela Kulikov 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.  Winter National 16s champion Ena Shibahara, seeded No. 13, will play No. 12 seed Samantha Martinelli in the other semifinal. Shibahara downed No. 7 seed Kylie McKenzie 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Martinelli beat No. 2 seed Jada Robinson 6-4, 6-4.


COMPLETE RESULTS FROM THURSDAY:

Boys' 18 Singles (Round of 16)
Naoki Nakagawa (4), Japan def. AJ Catanzariti, Pittsburgh, PA 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
Francis Tiafoe (14), College Park, MD def. Mackenzie McDonald (3), Piedmont, CA 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(3)
Spencer Papa (6), Edmond, OK def. Tommy Mylnikov (9), Bradenton, FL 7-5, 6-4
Stefan Kozlov (2), Pembroke Pines, FL def. Alex Rybakov, Coral Springs, FL 6-1, 7-5
Henrik Wiersholm, Kirkland, WA def. Ciro Riccardi, Los Angeles, CA 6-0, 6-3
Daniel Kerznerman (10), Brooklyn, NY def. Grant Solomon, Dallas, TX 6-1, 6-0
Alexander Zverev (11), Wesley Chapel, FL def. Andres Alfonso, Paredes, Venezuela, 6-0, 6-2
Noah Rubin (1), Rockville Centre, NY def. JC Aragone, Yorba Linda, CA 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Boys' 18 Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Luca Corinteli / Martin Redlicki (1) def. Justin Butsch / Lucas Gomez (6) 7-5, 7-6(6)
Spencer Papa / Alexander Zverev (3) def. JC Aragone / Mackenzie. McDonald (5) 6-2, 6-0
Walker Duncan / John Mee def. Michael Mmoh / Francis Tiafoe (4) 2-6, 7-6(4), 10-7
Tommy Mylnikov / Naoki Nakagawa (2) def. Jordi Arconada / Tommy Paul 6-4, 7-5

Girls' 18 Singles (Round of 16)
Jamie Loeb (5), Ossining, NY def. Maria Shishkina (11), Bradenton, FL 6-3, 6-4
Victoria Rodriguez (2), Weston, FL def. Adeliya Zabirova, Pembroke Pines, FL 7-5, 6-1
Madison Bourguignon (8), Boynton Beach, FL def. Ellie Halbauer (12), Daniel Island, SC 6-4, 3-0 Ret.
Peggy Porter, Dallas, TX def. Maegan Manasse, Redondo Beach, CA 6-1, 6-2
Kimberly Yee, Las Vegas, NV def. Nicole Frenkel, Winchester, MA 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(6)
Mayo Hibi, Irvine, CA def. Spencer Liang, Potomac, MD 6-2, 6-4
Alejandra Cisneros Gomez (3), Mexico def. Ellyse Hamlin, Fairfield, CT 6-2, 2-6, 6-0
Christina Makarova (1), San Diego, CA def. Ines Vias, Germantown, MD 6-0, 6-4

Girls' 18 Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Brooke Austin / Kimberly Yee def. Tornado Ali Black / Sandra Samir (3) 6-2, 6-1
Mayo Hibi / Denise Starr (7) def. Nicole Frenkel / Rianna Valdes (4) 6-3, 3-6, 12-10
Alejandra Cisneros Gomez / Victoria Rodriguez (1) def. Mingxiu DU / Johnnise Renaud 6-3, 2-6, 10-6
Jamie Loeb / Maegan Manasse def. Usue Arconada / Jessica Cortes (8) 6-4, 6-3

Boys' 16 Singles (Quarterfinals)
Kalman Boyd, Rancho Santa Fe, CA def. Robert Levine (5), Bedford, NY 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3
Kyle Seelig (12), Hatfield, PA def. Jean Thirouin (2), Houston, TX 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Jake Devine (4), Boca Raton, FL def. Alexander Lebedev, Island Park, NY 6-3, 6-0
Catalin Mateas (7), Braintree, MA def. William Blumberg (1), Greenwich, CT 6-4, 6-2

Boys' 16 Doubles (Quartefinals)
Chase Colton / Kyle Seelig (5) def. Michael Genender / James Wasserman 6-3, 3-6, 10-7
Taylor Fritz / Daniel Gealer (8) def. Hady Habib / Max Pham 6-1, 6-3
Grayson Broadus / Jean Thirouin (2) def. Jake Gabay / Alan Sweet (7) 6-3, 6-3
Emil Reinberg / Brian Tsao (6) def. Robert Levine / Evan Zhu (4) 7-5, 6-2

Girls' 16 Singles (Quarterfinals)
Caroline Dolehide (14), Hinsdale, IL def. Angela Kulikov, Sun Valley, CA 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Claire Liu, Thousand Oaks, CA def. Sydney Van Alphen, Laguna Beach, CA 6-4, 6-1
Ena Shibahara (13), Rancho Palos Verdes, CA def. Kylie McKenzie (7), Anthem, AZ 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Samantha Martinelli (12), Denver, CO def. Jada Robinson (2), Reisterstown, MD 6-4, 6-4

Girls' 16 Doubles (Quarterfinals)
Madison Appel / Rebecca Weissmann (1) def. Aliya Alenikov / Kalani Soli 6-4, 2-6, 10-3
Ena Shibahara / Savannah Slaysman def. Abigail Chiu / Madison Tedford 6-1, 6-1
Caroline Dolehide / Alexis Nelson (8) def. Marjorie Antohi / Rylie Cox 6-0, 6-0
Paulina Ferrari / Jada Hart (6) def. Alexa Corcoleotes / Vanessa Nommensen (2) 6-2, 6-4

Redondo Beach's Manasse Ousts No. 4 Seed in Second Round of ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships; Dolehide Takes Out Top Seed to Reach 16s Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2013--

Carson, CA--

Maegan Manasse has only played four ITF junior tournaments prior to this week's International Spring Championships, and all but one of those were in Southern California. Living just 15 minutes away from the Home Depot Center, the Redondo Beach senior has used the short commute to her advantage, as she upset No. 4 seed and ITF No. 42 Sandra Samir of Egypt 7-6(6), 6-4 in second round action Wednesday.

"It's really nice having home-cooked meals and sleeping in my own bed," said Manasse, who is joining the Cal Bears this fall. 

With such limited exposure to ITFs, Manasse hasn't played many of those in the draw, so she must figure out the best strategy on the fly.

"I always start out with the same thing, trying to control the points, go to the backhand," Manasse said. "Unless I realize that playing to the forehand is better. I'll play more angles, just see little things here or there."

Manasse trailed 5-3 40-0 in the first set, so she counted herself lucky to take the tiebreaker.

"I actually thought [about strategy] a little too late at the end of the first set, but I picked it up," Manasse said. "I was making too many errors in the beginning, but I was able to control the point with my forehand. In the second set, we just kept breaking each other, but I held one more time than she did."

Samir was the highest girls seed to fall in the second round, but hardly the only one, with eight seeds losing Wednesday. Qualifier Kimberly Yee, the 2012 16s national champion, defeated No. 7 seed Dasha Ivanova 6-1, 6-2, wild card Spencer Liang ousted No. 10 seed Usue Arconada 6-3, 6-1, and Nicole Frenkel came back to post a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 9 seed Johnnise Renaud. Ines Vias rolled past No. 16 seed Cassandra Vazquez 6-4, 6-0, Adeliya Zabirova of Russia defeated No. 13 seed Marie Norris 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 and Ellyse Hamlin advanced when No. 15 seed Kaitlyn McCarthy had to retire with blisters at 5-5 in the first set.  

Unseeded Mayo Hibi celebrated her 17th birthday with a 6-1, 6-0 win over No. 6 seed Rianna Valdes. The match, the last of the day, featured quite a few close games, but Hibi obviously won them.

Top seed Christina Makarova trailed 4-1 in both the first and second sets against Ayla Aksu, but won the last five games in each instance to claim a 6-4, 6-4 victory that wasn't as routine as the score would suggest.

After losing six seeds in the first round, the boys draw saw only one exit on Wednesday, with No. 8 seed Martin Redlicki dropping a 7-6(5), 6-4 decision to Ciro Riccardi.

That's not to imply the seeds had an easy time however, as No. 2 seed Stefan Kozlov, No. 3 seed Mackenzie McDonald and No. 6 seed Spencer Papa all were taken to three sets.

After his long, physical win over Ernesto Escobedo on Tuesday, Kozlov was no doubt hoping for a less taxing contest against qualifier Stefan Doehler, but he didn't get it, and he again was on court for more than two hours before posting a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win.

McDonald was up against fellow UCLA recruit Joe DiGiulio, a wild card, on the featured court, court 4.  McDonald, the 18s Easter Bowl champion in 2012, and DiGiulio, the 16s Easter Bowl champion last year, were evenly matched throughout the contest, but it was McDonald that maintained his focus in the later stages, taking a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Papa also needed to rebound from a first set loss, but he kept calm as the afternoon breeze made its usual appearance, overcoming an erratic opponent in Diego Nunez Felix of Mexico 5-7, 7-4, 6-3.

Top seed Noah Rubin was challenged by wild card Gage Brymer, another UCLA recruit who was featured on court 4, but Rubin survived 7-6(6), 6-3. Rubin served for the first set at both 5-4, and 6-5, and neither time did he get to set point. Neither player had more than a one-point lead in the tiebreaker, with Brymer saving one set point serving at 5-6. But he netted a forehand on his next serve and Rubin cranked a forehand winner to take the set.

Brymer was up a break at 3-2 in the second set, but gave it right back, and in his next service game, at 3-4, Brymer threw in two double faults, including one on game point to give Rubin a chance to serve for the match.  After taking a 40-0 lead, Rubin couldn't convert on his first two match points, but he found a winner when he needed it, this time on the backhand side, on the third match point.

While Rubin and Makarova kept the hopes of the top seeds alive in the 18s, the girls 16s lost their No. 1 in the third round, with No. 14 seed Caroline Dolehide defeating Ally Miller-Krasilnikov 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.  

Dolehide, who is just 14 and lost in the first round of the tournament last year, was wearing warm clothing to begin her 8 a.m. match in the cloudy morning chill, but once she shed that after losing the first set, the match turned in her favor.

"I actually wore a sweat top and so I had to go to the bathroom and change into another shirt," said Dolehide, the younger sister of UCLA Bruin Courtney Dolehide. "But after that, everything was fine. I felt a lot more comfortable on court."

UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster watched some of Dolehide's match, but while Dolehide noticed that, she hasn't given much thought to that next phase of her career.

"If I get good enough to play pro, I'd love to play pro," said Dolehide, who is from Hinsdale, Illinois. "But if not, I'd love to go to college. I don't really have a specific college in mind."

Dolehide is the only seed remaining in the top half of the draw, and she will play Angela Kulikov in the quarterfinals. 

Boys top seed William Blumberg fought off a serious challenge in the first set from No. 15 seed Connor Hance, then found his form in the second to take a 7-6(5), 6-1 decision. Blumberg is competing in his first tournament of the year after rehabbing an elbow injury.

Doubles quarterfinals in both age divisions are scheduled for Thursday.

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

Second Seed Kozlov Passes Tough Test in Opening Round of ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships

©Colette Lewis--
Carson, CA--

An International Spring Championships finalist in 2012, 15-year-old Stefan Kozlov thought he was on his way out in the first round this year. Against wild card Ernesto Escobedo, Kozlov had dropped the first set, and had squandered a 3-1 lead in the second, losing three straight games.

Serving at 3-4, Kozlov was at deuce after a double fault, but he survived, winning the next two points. It was the boost of confidence he needed, and he took the next five games, and eventually, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

"In the second set, down a set and 4-3 deuce, I thought I was going down," said Kozlov, who reached the final of the ITF Grade A Copa Gerdau on Brazilian clay just ten days ago. "I started playing a lot more freely after I won that game, and I just came through some how, started playing well in the third set."

The 16-year-old Escobedo, who reached the semifinals of a Futures in Mexico in January and has an ATP ranking inside the Top 1000, immediately put Kozlov under pressure, winning the first three games of the match. Although the weather conditions on Tuesday were much better than on Monday, when the wind created havoc, Kozlov made a number of unforced errors and had difficulty staying in the longer points in the opening set.

Kozlov recovered to take the next three games, but serving at 4-5 in the first set, he threw in two double faults, the second to give Escobedo set point number two.  Kozlov tried the surprise tactic of serving and volleying, but his backhand volley went wide, giving Escobedo the first set.

Late in the second set, Kozlov took a 5-4 lead when Escobedo made a series of unforced errors in one of his few loose games and Kozlov served out the set, hitting an ace to close it out.

With Kozlov finding more rhythm on both his serve and his ground game, he challenged Escobedo early in the third set, and Escobedo was unable to stay with him.  Broken the first two times he served, Escobedo began flexing his left leg with what looked like a cramp, and Kozlov had two points to take a 4-0 lead, but Escobedo hung tough, broke and held to make it 3-2.

The match was well past two hours and many of the points included lengthy baseline rallies that challenged both players' stamina.

"I played three-hour matches in South America and doubles and felt fine," said Kozlov, who found the hard courts at the Home Depot Center more physically demanding. "Here, I played one match and am feeling it in a lot of places."

Although Escobedo, from West Covina, Calif., continued to fight, he couldn't get that second break back, with Kozlov serving better when he needed to. Kozlov held for 5-3, and Escobedo couldn't hold, netting a backhand at 30-40 to end the two and a half hour contest.

"I'm not complaining, but I thought maybe I should have made it not as long," said Kozlov, who did not play for three months at the end of last year due to an elbow injury.  "It was a long first round and when I play tomorrow, it's going to be a little tougher."

Kozlov survived, but two more boys seeds fell Tuesday, with No. 7 seed Lucas Gomez of Mexico dropping a 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 decision to qualifier Stephen Watson, and No. 12 seed Michael Mmoh eliminated by lucky loser Jake Stefanik 6-3, 6-2.

The girls draw lost its first seed today, with No. 14 seed Tornado Black going out to Peggy Porter 7-5, 7-5.  Porter had beaten Black at the ITF Grade 4 in Waco in 2011, and is coming off a trip to the final last week in the Claremont ITF.

Top seed Christina Makarova had no difficulty in her first match, beating qualifier Maia Magill 6-0, 6-2.

After the completion of the first round of singles, two wild cards remain in the boys draw: UCLA recruits Joe Di Giulio and Gage Brymer. In addition to lucky loser Stefanik and qualifier Watson, three other qualifiers advanced to the second round: Terrance Whitehurst, Thomas Mayronne and Stefan Doehler.

Girls wild cards into the second round are Spencer Liang, Alyssa Smith and Monica Robinson. Qualifiers advancing are Ellyse Hamlin, Kimberly Yee and Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer.

The seeded players in the 16s took the courts for the first time on Tuesday, and both No. 1 seeds--William Blumberg and Ally Miller-Krasilnikov--reached the third round after straight-set wins.

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

Hibi, Rubin and Tiafoe Post Wins at ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships Day One

©Colette Lewis 2013--
Carson, CA--

The brisk winds and cool temperatures that are the norm at the Home Depot Center did their best to make April fools of the juniors scheduled for their opening International Spring Championship matches Monday, especially those who played later in the day.

The first two rotations of courts, which were 16s first round matches, had the best of the day's conditions, but by the time Mayo Hibi and Brooke Austin took Court 4 for the day's most anticipated match, the wind was beginning to cause problems.

Hibi and Austin, both unseeded, but both among the top contenders for the title at the ITF Grade 1, had never played before.  They had practiced together on Sunday, however, and had seen each other often at junior and professional tournaments over the past several years, so surprises were few.

It was Hibi who handled the conditions better throughout the match, and she advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win.

The first three games went to the server, but in the fourth game, Hibi came up with two slices that produced errors from Austin, and Hibi took a 3-1 lead. Austin got the break back, but was then broken a second time, and Hibi was able to serve out the set.

Hibi has the full array of shots at her disposal, and her one-handed backhand, especially when sliced, gave Austin trouble.  Austin takes the ball so early and hits so flat that Hibi knew she couldn't run down Austin's best shots, but Hibi could try to keep Austin moving.

"You have to move her around," said Hibi, who trains in Irvine, Calif. "Not just side to side, but back and forward. So I tried to mix that up, especially with low balls.  It's really hard to hit it flat when it's lower than the net, so she can't hit her shots."

Hibi, who turns 17 on Wednesday, continued to play well in the second set, and even though the wind called for more conservative play, Hibi was able to adjust her game.

"It was just too windy to go for risky shots," said Hibi, who reached the quarterfinals in this tournament last year. "I kind of had the advantage when the wind was blowing, because she kind of goes for winners more, and I think her timing was off."

Austin had an opportunity to get one of the two breaks back when Hibi served up 3-0 in the second set, but she couldn't convert any of the three break points she had, and Hibi went on to win 13 of the last 14 points of the match.

Top seed Noah Rubin, a semifinalist last year, took center court next, and he handled the frustrations produced by the conditions with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Shane Monroe.

No. 5 seed Luca Corinteli was up 6-0, 4-2 in his match with Logan Smith, but he was unable to make that final push to finish it, and after losing the second set in tiebreaker, Corinteli became increasingly frustrated at himself and at the chair umpire.  When Smith held serve for a 5-4 lead in the third set, Corinteli threw his racquet and was given a point penalty, but he held in that game and in his next service game, forcing another tiebreaker.  Down 4-2 at the change of ends, Corinteli found the net with three consecutive shots, a forehand and two backhands, and Smith had advanced to the second round. Corinteli did not shake the chair umpire's hand after the match, and expressed to the umpire his hope that the chair would improve his performance in his remaining assignments.

USTA 18s Spring National champion and No. 15 seed Kaitlyn McCarthy was down 4-0 in the third set of her match with Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic, but rebounded by winning the final six games of the match in her 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 victory.

Wild card Spencer Liang faced a difficult situation in her match with Jessica Hinojosa Gomez of Mexico, who twice fell to the court with a severe cramp in her left leg.  At 5-3 in the third set, Gomez went down and was given a point penalty time violation by the umpire which resulted in her losing the game, as medical timeouts are not allowed for cramping.  She received treatment during the changeover that alleviated her pain enough to allow her to continue.  Although unable to push off her left leg or to jump into her serve, Gomez actually got to match point serving at 5-4, but Liang denied her. Unable to seize that opportunity, Gomez was broken, Liang held and Gomez, still hobbled but unwilling to retire, kept playing in obvious pain until she was broken again to give Liang a 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory.

The last match of the day in the 18s singles featured 16-year-old Walker Duncan against 15-year-old Francis Tiafoe, the No. 14 seed.

The match was scheduled as not before 1:30 p.m., but it was nearly four hours later when the match finally got started due to several lengthy matches on that court.  As the sun set, the temperature dropped and the wind continued to blow, Duncan and Tiafoe battled for over two hours, with Tiafoe posting a 7-6(6), 7-5 victory. 

Tiafoe trailed 4-2 in the second set, and Duncan had several game points to take a 5-2 lead, but Tiafoe broke, then saved a break point in the next game to make it 4-4.

With Duncan serving at 5-5, he saved two break points, but not a third, when the chair ruled a double fault on what looked like a good second serve. Tiafoe held easily in the final game to finish a difficult first round match.

Tiafoe admitted that the long wait to get on court was a problem for him.

"It was tough," said Tiafoe, who reached the 16s final last year. "I watched a lot of other matches and probably socialized more than I should have.  He started well and I wasn't mentally in it at first. And he's a good player."

As for the wind, Tiafoe didn't remember it being so disruptive in 2012.

"You can't hit the ball too hard or it will fly, and you can't play it too wide," Tiafoe said. "I've been playing indoors a lot, so it was a tough adjustment."

The remainder of the 18s first round matches will be completed Tuesday, and the seeded 16s will take the court for the first time in second round matches.

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