All Top 10 ITF Boys and Girls Entered in US Open Juniors; Southern Cal Wins USTA Boys 18 Team Championship; Donaldson, Kudla Advance in Atlanta

The acceptances for the US Open Junior Championships were released today, and all players in the ITF top 10, and all but one of the top 15, girls No. 15 Julieta Estable, have entered.

Nine US girls have received direct entry: Usue Arconada, Sonya Kenin, Michaela Gordon, Raveena Kingsley, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Ingrid Neel, Claire Liu, CiCi Bellis and Katerina Stewart.  Kayla Day is the first alternate, with an ITF ranking of 56.  Alexandra Sanford and Tornado Alicia Black, the 2013 US girls finalist, are in qualifying Stewart, a semifinalist in New York last year, received entry based on her WTA ranking, currently 158.  Magdalena Frech of Poland, 378 in the WTA rankings, also received her entry by that method.

Caroline Dolhide, ranked No. 16 and a semifinalist last year after advancing through qualifying, has not entered and is not playing the G18s Nationals in San Diego either. She played earlier this month at Wimbledon and reached the third round there.

Seven US boys have received direct entry: Taylor Fritz, Michael Mmoh, Reilly Opelka, William Blumberg, Tommy Paul, Nathan Ponwith and Ulises Blanch.  Sam Riffice has already assured himself of a wild card into the main draw by winning the 18s Clay Courts.

The cutoff for the boys is 45, extremely high for the US Open, but not unusual for the French.  Five players received entry via their ATP rankings, with South Africa's Lloyd Harris (609), Argentina's Juan Pablo Fichovich(706) and two Spanish 18-year-olds: European Championships finalist Bernabe Zapata Miralles(708) and Pedro Martinez Portero(691).  The fifth is 14-year-old Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime, who became the youngest player ever to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP Challenger last week in Granby. Those results moved his ATP ranking up to 749, which is one spot better than necessary for main draw acceptance.  It will be his first junior slam
appearance.

The USTA Boys 18 Team Championships finals were today in Champaign-Urbana, with the Southern California section defeating the Eastern section 5-2.  Eastern's No. 1 player William Blumberg won all his matches during the tournament, including today's over Austin Rapp, but it wasn't enough to counter the depth of coach Barry Horowitz's team.  The results of today's final are below:

The girls 18 final Wednesday gives Southern Cal an opportunity for a sweep of the USTA Team championships. They will play defending champion Southern for the title. The TennisLink site for the girls competition has all the results.

At the ATP event in Atlanta, Jared Donaldson defeated fellow qualifier Somdev Devvarman 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the second round, where he will play No. 7 seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.  Another US qualifier, Denis Kudla, outlasted wild card Ryan Harrison 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to set up a second round metting with No. 3 seed Jack Sock. Sock and Kudla have played five times, including, of course, in the US Open boys final in 2010, with Sock winning three, but Kudla has won their last two meetings, though those were in 2012.

No. 6 seed Steve Johnson advanced with a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-2 win over Lukas Lacko of Slovakia. Qualifier Austin Krajicek fell to No. 5 seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, and Frances Tiafoe saw his attempt at a first ATP-level win thwarted by Australia's Sam Groth 7-6(3), 6-4.   Mardy Fish and Donald Young both suffered straight-set losses.

Georgia Tech rising sophomore Christopher Eubanks, who received a wild card, plays his first round match against Czech Radek Stepanek on Wednesday.  For more on Eubanks, and his friendship with Donald Young, see this article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

My Wimbledon Recap; USTA Clay Court Finals Set; Nedovyesov Tops Kyrgios in Davis Cup; Zhao Wins Pan Am Gold

My recap of the Wimbledon Junior Championships is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Although Sunday was a bit bleak, in general the weather was outstanding, the best I've experienced in my four trips.  And it's always a plus for me when US juniors do well which they certainly did this year: six quarterfinalists and a singles champion and doubles finalist in Reilly Opelka.

Because Wimbledon was a week later this year, I was unable to cover the Girls 18s Clay Courts in Memphis after being there the previous seven years. All finals in the four age divisions are scheduled for Saturday. The results of today's semifinals, with full draws available by clicking the link contained in the age division heading.

Boys 18s:
Sam Riffice(1) def. Nathan Perrone(17) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2

Alexandre Rotsaert(17) def. (9) Vasil Kirkov(9)
7-6, 6-1


Girls 18s:

Ellyse Hamlin(6) def. Mia Horvit(5)

6-2, 7-6(3)

Kaitlyn McCarthy(17) def. Meible Chi

(8) 6-4, 7-5

Boys 16s:

Aleks Huryn(17) def. Kyrylo Tsygura(6) 6-3, 6-4

Danny Thomas(17) d. Robert Maciag 6-3, 6-3

Girls 16s:
Samantha Martinelli(2) def. Nicole Mossmer(4) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Natasha Subhash(1) def. Hannah Lairmore(3) 6-3, 6-4

Boys 14s:
Jenson Brooksby(4) def. JanMagnus Johnson 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3
William Grant(7) def. (17) Stefan Leustian(17) 6-1, 6-2

Girls 14s:
Hailey Baptiste(17) def. Victoria Hu(8) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
Alexa Noel(1) def.  Alana Wolfberg(4) 6-2, 6-1

Boys 12s:

Saud Alhogbani(12) def. Alexander Bernard(8) 6-4, 6-3

Karl Lee(4) def. Hugo Hashimoto(1) 7-6(4), 6-3

Girls 12s:

Elvina Kalieva(9) def. Ellie Pittman(17) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1

Charlotte Owensby(1) def. Rachel Arbitman(17) 6-2, 6-3

Davis Cup is underway, and Bobby Knight has all the results involving current and former collegians from World Group to Group III competition at College Tennis Today.  The biggest win for a college player was that of former Oklahoma State star Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan. Nedovyesov defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 to give Kazakhstan a 2-0 lead over the Australians in a World Group quarterfinal in Darwin.

Also playing Davis Cup this week is 16-year-old Hady Habib, who is representing Lebanon in its relegation playoff with Sri Lanka. Habib, currently 91 in the ITF world junior rankings, is a regular on the ITF circuit here in the United States.

Other international tennis competitions concluded today, with gold medals decided at the Pacific Games and the Pan American Games.  Papua New Guinea's Abigail Tere-Apisah, the former Georgia State All-American and 2014 NCAA semifinalist, collected four gold medals, winning singles, doubles, mixed and team events.

At the Pan American Games in Toronto, the women's doubles gold went to the Canadian team of Carol Zhao(Stanford) and Gaby Dabrowski. They defeated the Mexican team of Victoria Rodriguez and Marcela Zacarias 6-1, 4-6, 10-5.  Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia won the singles gold medal, beating Rodriguez 6-4, 6-4.  Monica Puig of Puerto Rico took the bronze with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Lauren Davis.

Reilly Opelka Wins Wimbledon Boys Title

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

The wardrobe providers for Sunday night’s Wimbledon Champions Dinner may need to make a few alterations to accommodate Reilly Opelka’s 6-foot-10 frame, but the unseeded 17-year-old from Florida proved he belonged with the world’s best Sunday, defeating No. 12 seed Mikael Ymer of Sweden 7-6(5), 6-4 to claim the Wimbledon boys singles title.

Opelka’s parents and sister had booked their flights back to Palm Coast, Florida for Saturday, and when he was down a match point in the first round, several days of London sightseeing looked more likely for them than attending Sunday’s championship match on Court 1.

“It was in like a 15-, 20-ball rally, which usually shouldn’t favor me too much,” Opelka said of the match point he faced in his 4-6, 6-3, 13-11 win over Australian qualifier Alex De Minaur. “I kind of got lucky. Just kind of had to find a way. Luckily I was able to get through that. I progressed almost every single match from there on.”

In Sunday’s final, played under threatening skies that somehow never produced the predicted rain, Opelka’s serve proved to be the difference. Neither player faced a break point in the first set, and Ymer’s defense, including a lob winner over Opelka that drew gasps late in the first set, kept him in every game.

When Opelka double faulted to open the tiebreaker, Ymer had his opportunity, but he gave the mini-break back with a double fault of his own.  Two aces later, Opelka was up 3-2 and  after Ymer held for 3-3, the next point proved the difference in the set. Ymer averaged 12 mph less on his first serve during the match and after an 111 mph first serve, Opelka put away a forehand for 4-3 lead. Although he did not make a first serve in the next two points, Opelka won them both, the first with a great kick serve and the other with a forehand volley winner. Ymer saved two set points on his serve, but Opelka finished with a 132 mph first serve. Ymer returned it, and well, but Opelka was ready for it, putting away a bullet of a forehand to claim the set.

Ymer faced his first break point at 1-1 in the second set, but a bad bounce had Opelka swinging and missing on a first serve and Ymer held. Opelka continued to serve well, and at 4-4 Ymer faced two more break points at 15-40.  He saved both those and got to game point, but Opelka began cranking forehands, forcing errors that gave him another break point. This time he converted, or rather Ymer capitulated, double faulting to give Opelka an opportunity to serve out the match.  Although he failed to make a first serve in the opening three points of the final game, a second serve ace made it 30-15, and a 129 mph ace gave him two match points. Desperately, Ymer challenged both those aces, the 14th and 15th of the match for Opelka, but the calls were confirmed, and on the next point, Ymer sent a backhand wide, securing the championship.

With his only celebration a fist pump toward his family and coach Diego Moyano in the Court 1 players box, Opelka removed his cap as he strode to the net for the handshake, a routine he follows regardless of the circumstances.

Both Opelka and Ymer saw Opelka’s serve as key to his victory.

“I feel like I served well in the big moments,” said Opelka, who did not face a break point in the match. “Like 30-all and deuce, I came up with a service winner or an ace almost every time, which takes a lot of pressure off me.”

Ymer, a 16-year-old who trains at the Good To Great Academy in Stockholm, had lost to Opelka at the French Open last month and knew what he would be facing. Hoping to find a way to counteract Opelka’s serve, Ymer was disappointed in that part of his performance.

“Yeah, I think even if he served really good today I think I could have done a lot of changes in my returning position,” said Ymer. “I was expecting something from my coach, but I don't think he had anything either. Of course he's a tough opponent, especially on grass, he's tougher to return.”

Ymer said he was not as nervous as he expected playing in front of such a large crowd on the famous Court 1, perhaps because he had served as a hitting partner for men’s champion Novak Djokovic the past two days.

“We hit yesterday, and I think that helped me to not be so nervous during the game, because I was really nervous before hitting with him,” said Ymer, who got the opportunity when Good To Great Academy founder Magnus Norman arranged it by talking with Boris Becker. “It helped a little bit.”

Ymer was able to see firsthand just how consistent the world No. 1 is.

“He never misses, it's annoying. Really annoying, actually,” said Ymer. “You can play really good and it looks like only you are missing. It makes you think that you're missing too much and he's going to get pissed. Overall you're not missing, it's just that he's never missing, so it looks like you're screwing everything up. It was very fun, he's such a nice guy on and off court as well, and I was happy to get that opportunity.”

While Ymer, who with his older brother Elias is hoping to revive Swedish tennis fortunes, Opelka has much more company among junior boys in the United States.

American boys have won three of the last five junior slams, with Opelka joining 2014 Wimbledon champion Noah Rubin and last month’s French Open champion Tommy Paul on that exclusive list. He is not surprised that major junior titles are now starting to come in bunches.

“I knew that [quality] prior to the French Open, before Tommy won,” said Opelka, who has trained with Paul at the USTA for many years. “I knew that him and Taylor [Fritz], there’s a few of us that we’re capable of doing that. It’s just having someone that actually does it first, then all the other ones kind of follow, I think, push each other. It’s just kind of how it’s happened in the past.”

“It’s the best it’s been for the juniors in a while.” Opelka continued. “I mean, it’s great knowing that all the competition, like there’s a high level in the United States, that we have access to practice with each other whenever. I mean, that’s awesome.”

Knowing the level of competition he faces daily from his American peers, perhaps Opelka’s family could be forgiven for scheduling their return before the final.

“They really weren’t believing in me,” Opelka joked. “They just didn’t have confidence, I guess.”

Opelka, who signed with Lagardere management in April and now has an endorsement agreement with New Balance, is planning to play Kalamazoo next month and the US Open Junior Championships in September.

Just over two hours after securing the singles title, Opelka returned to Court 1 for the boys doubles final. A few sprinkles prior to the match brought out umbrellas in the crowd, but again there was no interruption of play. No. 4 seeds Opelka and his partner Akira Santillana of Japan fell to No. 8 seeds Sumit Nagal of India and Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam 7-6(4), 6-4.

Nagal and Ly, who is the first player from Vietnam to win a junior slam title, had never played together before this week.

“It just felt perfect, but I don’t know how,” said Nagal. “Our games suit. He likes to return from backhand side, I like to return from forehand side. We motivate each other. I was lucky to find a good partner like him.”

Although Nagal now joins Leander Paes(mixed) and Sania Mirza(women’s) as Indian Wimbledon champions in 2015, he does not consider himself a doubles player now, or in the future.

“Actually, I’m not a good doubles player,” said the 17-year-old, who trains in Germany. “I’ve played three matches in the past one year. I only play singles most of the time. I will just try to stay away from doubles. My first priority is singles.”

“They just kept playing really good, really solid,” said Santillan, who was playing with Opelka for the first time this week. “I think they just played better than us. I really thought we had the tiebreak, but a couple of loose balls from both of us and we went down really quickly in the breaker and that hurt us a bit.”

Opelka admitted it was difficult to refocus after the singles.

“It was tough,” said Opelka, who did a press conference, stretched and said he was eating a sandwich as he walking back out on to the court. “It was a quick turnaround and I didn’t get much time, which maybe could have helped, but those guys played great.”

The girls doubles champions are Dalma Galfi and Fanni Stollar of Hungary.  The No. 3 seeds defeated unseeded Vera Lapko of Belarus and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-2. Galfi and Stollar had ended the Grand Slam hopes of top seeds Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Kolodziejova of the Czech Republic in Saturday’s semifinals 7-6(2), 6-4. Vondrousova and Kolodziejova had won the Australian and French titles.

Complete draws can be found at Wimbledon.com. Additional coverage of the boys final is here and at the ITF Junior website.

Zhuk Claims Girls Wimbledon Title Saturday; Opelka Faces Ymer in Boys Championship Match Sunday, Advances to Doubles Final

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Fifteen-year-old Sofya Zhuk may have been competing in her first Wimbledon this week, but she handled playing on Court 1 in front of a near-capacity crowd like a seasoned veteran, defeating fellow Russian Anna Blinkova 7-5, 6-4 to claim the girls title.

The eight or nine thousands fans had barely settled in on the warm and sunny afternoon when the unseeded Zhuk ran out to a 4-0 lead, but the 12th-seeded Blinkova began working her way back into the set, getting one break back for 4-1.  Zhuk served for the first set at 5-3, but Blinkova played her best game of the match, sandwiching a forehand winner between two great returns.  Blinkova held for 5-5, but made a mess out of her next service game, with a poor drop shot, a double fault and an unforced error giving Zhuk the first set.


Blinkova fell behind 3-0 in the second set, but after the trajectory of the first set, she was by no means out of the match.  Zhuk did not surrender her lead and stayed aggressive, holding her court position and also defending well, but Blinkova was not done.

Down a match point at 5-2, Blinkova took the initiative, hitting a good first serve and drilling a forehand winner. Another forehand winner and an ace, and Blinkova had forced Zhuk to serve out the match, which she could not do.

Missing five of six first serves in the game, Zhuk double faulted on game point, but Blinkova could not seize the opportunity.  She went up 40-15, but lost the next three points when Zhuk got her forehand going. Blinkova saved a second match point with a good first serve, but Zhuk won a long rally with another forehand winner, and claimed the title on her third try, when Blinkova's forehand went long.

Zhuk dropped to her hands and knees behind the baseline, her forehead to the court, which no longer featured anything resembling grass. Only the second Russian girls champion, and the first since Vera Dushevina in 2002, Zhuk took the traditional winner's lap around the court, but in addition to the excitement and happiness there was also relief.

"In middle of second set, I started to have lot of cramping in the calves," said Zhuk, who lives in Moscow, but splits her time between there and the Justine Henin Academy in Belgium.  "I was trying to stay focused because I know if I will lose the second set, third set I cannot play because I'm really dead and stuff like that."

Blinkova said she was unable to adjust to the conditions on Court 1.

"I was a bit shocked when I saw a huge court with a big crowd there, shouting," said the 16-year-old, playing in her first junior slam final. "It even looked different. When I hit the ball I didn't see the fence. It was very different. I just tried to fight for every point, fight to the end, but she was better than me. She played very powerful and very quickly and she moved me around the court. I think I hit too much in the center of the court. Unfortunately, I couldn't show my best tennis today."

Zhuk, who made her junior slam debut last month at the French Open, losing to CiCi Bellis 8-6 in the third in the second round, had an entirely different view of the Court 1 experience.

"I'm just in love when it's so much people, everyone is supporting me, they're clapping their hands when there's a good point," said Zhuk, whose celebration plans include Sunday's Wimbledon Champions Ball, but nothing else at the moment. "I don't know what's up to her, maybe she don't like it to play like that.  I was in love and it really helps me a lot."

Zhuk plans to play the US Open juniors in September, and because she doesn't turn 16 until December and is subject to the WTA age restrictions for two more years, she may play a mix of pro events and junior slams next year as well.

The doubles semifinals for both boys and girls were held Saturday, with the top seeded teams in both divisions eliminated.

Girls No. 1 seeds Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Kolodziejova of the Czech Republic, who had won the Australian and French girls titles, lost to No. 3 seeds Fanni Stollar and Dalma Galfi of Hungary 7-6(2), 6-4, ending their quest for a Grand Slam.

Stollar and Galfi will play unseeded Vera Lapko of Belarus and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia, who beat the unseeded wild card team of Anna Brogan and Freya Christie of Great Britain 6-4, 7-5.

Fourth-seeded Reilly Opelka and his partner Akira Santillan of Japan, who decided to team up for Wimbledon just last month at the French Open, beat top seeds Taylor Fritz and Michael Mmoh 6-3, 6-4.  They will play No. 8 seeds Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam and Sumit Nagal of India, who outlasted No. 5 seeds Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6(5), 3-6, 12-10.

Before he competes in the doubles final, Opelka will take on No. 12 seed Mikael Ymer of Sweden in the singles championship match.  Both Opelka and Ymer have played outstanding tennis all week, yet were close to being out of the tournament early--Ymer before it started, and Opelka in the first round.

Ymer had forgotten to enter, and so was in the position of needing a wild card from the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which was granted.  Opelka saved a match point in his first round encounter with Australian qualifier Alex De Minaur before escaping with a 4-6, 6-3, 13-11 victory on Monday.

For more on Ymer's route to the final see Wimbledon.com.

The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Court 1 and should be available in the United States via Watch ESPN.

Opelka Defeats Fritz to Reach Wimbledon Boys Final; Russians Zhuk and Blinkova Meet Saturday in Girls Championship Match

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Up a set and a break twice in his semifinal match with fellow American and ITF World No. 1 junior Taylor Fritz, unseeded Reilly Opelka watched a 5-0 lead in the second set tiebreaker evaporate too. But on his sixth match point, the 6-foot-10 inch Floridian managed to put those missed opportunities behind him, taking a 6-3, 7-6(13) decision to reach his first junior slam final

Sunny and warm weather drew a large crowd to Show Court Court 18, but the inevitable Opelka victory when he served for the match at 6-5 and then again when he took a 5-0 lead in the ensuing tiebreaker, changed to uncertainty when Opelka made two unforced errors serving at 5-0. Fritz held his two serves to make it 5-4, but Opelka still had two serves coming. With 18 aces and no double faults, Opelka couldn't was in no position to complain about his serving stats, but again he was unable to finish it. A great forehand pass by Fritz made it 5-all and an outstanding return of a 132 mph first serve made it 6-5 for the Californian.  "Way to choke," Opelka said to himself, but it was Fritz who didn't come through on the next point, netting a makeable backhand to make it 6-6.

"It was 100 percent choking," Opelka said of his performance from 5-0 up. "He played well. It's obviously not easy to make the returns he was making, and in the big moment he made me play. But 5-0 serving to 5-6 down him serving, that's a joke."

Opelka, who saved a match point in his 4-6, 6-3, 13-11 win over qualifier Alex De Minaur of Australia, said Fritz's miss on that set point was unexpected.

"It was lucky. That's his best shot probably and I kind of got a break there," said Opelka, who will be 18 next month.

Although Fritz had two more set points, with Opelka serving at 10-11 and 12-13, Fritz thought the first was his best opportunity to extend the match.

"I really think 6-5 was my best chance to do it," said Fritz, who had a nasty scrap on his knee from an encounter with the no-longer-grassy court. "Even though I had other set points, that was the one I needed to take it on. I just didn't know what to do with that backhand."

Fritz was disappointed that he was unable to force Opelka to play a third set.

"In that tiebreaker I finally figured out some things," said Fritz, who broke back twice in the second set, when Opelka served at 3-2 and 6-5. "Toward the end of the tiebreaker, I was making every return. And I just wanted to push it to a third set so bad, because I really felt like I was on to the serve. I thought once I got the pressure off me, got a set even, I'd start serving better, but unfortunately I couldn't push it there."

Opelka was relieved that Fritz did not seize those opportunities.

"It would definitely have been tough mentally to recover and get ready to play another set," said Opelka, who reached the quarterfinals last month at the French Open. "It was definitely easier to get it done in two, but I kind of let him back in the match up 5-0 in the breaker."

Opelka's opponent in Sunday's final is No. 12 seed Mikael Ymer of Sweden, who defeated unseeded Patrik Niklas-Salminen of Finland 7-6(3), 6-3 despite a visit from the doctor before the match began.

"I think I stayed pretty cool, even though I was very dizzy in the beginning," said the 16-year-old, who was playing in his first junior slam semifinal. "Everything was spinning, I don't know what happened, that's the first time I've felt like that. But I managed to control that and I'm very happy."

Ymer lost to Opelka 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the French Open, so he knows what he's facing.

"He's a great player, huge shots," Ymer said. "I'm going to have to serve good, stay cool, take my chances. It's going to be tough, but I've talked to my team to see how I can do better than French Open, make him serve worse, so we'll see."

Opelka also knows what to expect from Sweden's top junior.

"I know he's really physical and makes a lot of balls," Opelka said. "He moves really well and he's definitely going to make me play a lot, and I just have to play my game and execute, like I did today."

The first all-Russian girls final since 2002 will take place on Saturday, with unseeded Sofya Zhuk facing No. 12 seed Anna Blinkova.

The 15-year-old Zhuk had little trouble with an error-prone Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia, needing less than an hour to post a 6-1, 6-3 victory over the qualifier.

"I had never played this girl, but I saw a couple of her matches, how she played," said Zhuk, who lives in Russia but also trains at Justine Henin's Academy in Belgium. "I knew what she was doing, so I was really ready for this match. I really pushed her from the beginning, because I know that if I go a little bit back, I let her play, she will begin to play her best tennis. But if I push her every ball, she can't do that."

Blinkova, who needed over three hours to defeat Tornado Alicia Black 1-6, 6-3, 12-10 in the quarterfinals, was poised to go three sets again when unseeded Vera Lapko of Belarus served for the second set at both 5-2 and 5-4.  Lapko began to show her nerves when she did not convert on her set points at 5-2, and was broken at love in her next opportunity.  She managed to save a match point down 5-6, but the tiebreaker was all Blinkova, who didn't have to do much to win it, with Lapko making five unforced errors, including a double fault.

"I began the match very well," said Blinkova, who will be 17 in September. "I was very aggressive, played aggressive tennis in the first set. In the second set, she began playing very well, hitting hard, hitting deep and I had some problems. I was down 2-5, but then I began fighting for every ball and somehow it went the other way and I won 7-6."

Blinkova has two ITF junior victories over Zhuk in the past two years, but their rivalry goes back farther than that.

"When we were little we played against each other and she won twice or three times," Blinkova said. "Then I won two or three times. I know her quite well. It's very good for us that two Russian girls are in the final."

Zhuk, who is playing only her second junior slam, is looking forward to getting an opportunity to compete on Wimbledon's famous No. 1 Court.

"I was there for Maria's (Sharapova's) match with Zarina Diyas, and I was like, oh my god," said Zhuk, who has yet to drop a set in tournament. "When you're coming on the court, what feelings you have, playing first time Wimbledon and playing final on the first court. I really like to play here at Wimbledon, because there'a lot of people. I'm in love with that. I'm really playing better when there's a lot of people."

The doubles semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with at least one American boy assured of reaching Sunday's final. Fritz and Michael Mmoh, the top seeds, defeated Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France and Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and will play Opelka and Akira Santillan of Japan, the No. 4 seeds.  Opelka and Santillan defeated Niklas-Salminen and Viktor Durasovic of Norway 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-2.

The other boys semifinal features No. 5 seeds Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and Casper Ruud of Norway against No. 8 seed Sumit Nagal and Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam.  Kecmanovic and Ruud downed No. 3 seed Tommy Paul and Will Blumberg 4-6, 6-3, 9-7.

The junior girls double Grand Slam watch continues, with top seeds Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Kolodziejova of the Czech Republic rolling to their 13th consecutive junior slam victory.  Vondrousova and Kolodziejova, who won the Australian and the French, will play No. 3 seeds Dalma Galfi and Fanni Stollar of Hungary in the semifinals. Galfi and Stollar took out the last American girl remaining by beating Ingrid Neel and her partner Maia Lumsden of Great Britain 6-0, 6-2.

The wild card team of Freya Christie and Anna Brogan of Great Britain will face Lapko and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia in a match that scheduled for Court 1.

Complete draws are here. Saturday's order of play is here.

Additional coverage of Friday's semifinal action can be found at the Wimbledon website.

Fritz and Opelka Reach Wimbledon Boys Semifinals; Blinkova Wins 12-10 Third Set to Beat Black in Girls Quarterfinal

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Seventeen-year-old Americans Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka have only played once, and that was just two months ago, in the first round of a Futures tournament in Spain. Their second encounter will be in a much grander setting, when they take Court 18 at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club Friday with a place in the Wimbledon boys final at stake.

The unseeded Opelka advanced to his first junior slam semifinal with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 10 seed William Blumberg, while top seed Fritz reached the Wimbledon boys semifinal for the second year in a row with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 win over No. 11 seed Yunseong Chung of Korea.

Fritz had not needed more than an hour to complete his first three wins this week, but a rough patch in the beginning of the second set and Chung's improved play made him realize he would need more from his game.

"In the second set he just really upped his game," said Fritz, who was down two breaks at 3-0 in the second set. "And it didn't help that in the very first game the sun was in my eyes and I just couldn't find a way to toss it to where it got out of the sun. What I needed to do was accept the fact that he was going to play a lot better and up my game, put a lot more effort into it, but I didn't.  I took the easy way out of the points, tried to hit winners, put more on the ball, do shots I shouldn't do."

Fritz got one of the breaks back and was up 0-40 with Chung serving at 3-2, but Chung got out of that game, saving five break points and finished off the set.

Fritz held quickly to start the third set and winning a lengthy second game proved to be the turning point of the match.

"When we had that long service game, and all the points were like, there was no first ball then miss, they were all so long and tiring," Fritz said. "I knew I was tired and he was doing more running than me so I knew he must be tired too, so I figured if I could just get the break and consolidate it, that would go a long way to helping me win the match."

Fritz got just 48 percent of his first serves in play.

"I'm surprised it was that high," said Fritz. "This match was the worst I've served maybe this whole year. I served horrendously. When I got the first serve in, it did nothing. I think I only hit 130 once or twice and my average speed was like 110. It was so weak. And it was really killing me."

Opelka was happy with his serving against Blumberg, making 67 percent of his first serves, which averaged 123 mph.

"I did serve really well," said Opelka, who said he focuses more on his placement than his speed and did not look at the serve speed readout on Court 12. "I thought I served smart, kept him guessing. It really is just when I feel he has no read on what I'm doing, he's almost picking a side."

Opelka, who saved a match point in the first round, had lost to Blumberg in the their previous two matches last year, and said Blumberg beats him regularly in practice.

"He has my number pretty good," said Opelka, a semifinalist last week at the Grade 1 in Roehampton. "He beats me in practice nine out of ten times. I played really well today and he didn't play as well as I know he can. I thought I played great today, the best I've played so far. At Roehampton, I served really well, but I didn't feel like I played as well as I could have from the baseline. Today was good."

Although Fritz's 7-6(2), 6-4, win in the first round of the Futures in Spain is their only official result, Opelka is well acquainted with Fritz's game.

"I play him in practice a ton," said Opelka. "I know him well, he knows me well. We both know what to expect tomorrow and it's just a matter of who executes better. One of us has to play really well to win. He's a great competitor. Even when things aren't going his way, he still finds a way to win, which is why he's number one in the world. It's going to be a tough fight from a mental standpoint, no doubt, because he's such a good competitor."

Fritz discounted his win over Opelka in Spain.

"He wasn't at his best, he wasn't one hundred percent physically," said Fritz. "He had a bad arm or shoulder or something and he couldn't serve as big as he usually did. I still stood at the fence to return it, but it wasn't as big as usual. We both broke serve so many times. But against him, it's just serve and return. That's all you need is serve and return."

As the ITF's No. 1 junior and a semifinalist last year, Fritz is not satisfied with another trip to the last four.

"This is really where it starts for me," said Fritz, who lost to boys champion Noah Rubin in the semifinals. "I want to push farther. Whenever I can't do better in a tournament than how I did in the previous year, it really, really disappoints me."

Unlike last year and this year's French Open, there will be no all-American boys final, after No. 7 seed and French Open boys champion Tommy Paul was defeated by unseeded Patrik Niklas-Salminen of Finland 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.  Paul dropped serve in the first game of the match, and although he got the break back in a five-deuce game to make it 4-4, his first serve disappeared in the next game and Niklas-Salminen served out he set. Paul dominated the second set, as Niklas-Salminen's unforced error count rose, but the third set saw the 18-year-old left-hander get back on track. Paul had a break point at 2-2 in the third set, but missed a routine backhand wide, and Niklas-Salminen held.

No other break opportunities surfaced for either player until Paul served at 5-4. Up 30-0, Paul saw his backhand desert him and two unforced errors later, Niklas-Salminen, who beat No. 2 seed Duck Hee Lee on Wednesday, had his second straight upset victory.

Niklas-Salminen will play No. 12 seed Mikael Ymer of Sweden. Ymer, who received a wild card after forgetting to enter the tournament initially, defeated unseeded Alvaro Lopez San Martin of Spain 7-5, 7-6(3).

Both US girls lost in the quarterfinals, with Michaela Gordon dropping a 6-3, 7-6(4) decision to Vera Lapko of Belarus and wild card Tornado Alicia Black losing to No. 12 seed Anna Blinkova of Russia 1-6, 6-3, 12-10 in the longest match of this year's junior tournament.

Blinkova had lost badly to Black in Junior Fed Cup play last fall in Mexico, and trailing Thursday 6-1, 2-0, she told herself she must change her attitude.

"It was so terrible match for me," said the 16-year-old from a small town outside Moscow. "I lost 6-3, 6-0 because of my fears. I saw her and I didn't know what to do with her. She was running very fast, very quickly and I missed every ball. It was the most terrible match of my life and you know, I remember it almost every day, think about it almost every day. Today I wanted to win so much. But when it was 6-1, 2-0, I said to myself, you have to relax, because you miss every ball."

Blinkova served for the match six times in the third set, at 5-4, 6-5, 8-7, 9-8, 10-9 and 11-10.  Black's determined defense and more than a few nervous errors from Blinkova kept the Russian from getting a match point until the 9-8 game. After two forehand winners from 30-40 down (she had 63 winners in the match compared to Black's 12), Blinkova had her first match point, but couldn't put away a swing volley and then sent Black's reply wide.  Match point No. 2 was another 20 minutes away, but with a 40-15 lead, Blinkova needed only the first point, hitting her only ace of the three-hour and seven-minute match.

"I was serving for the match many times, and at last I said, I have to finish this match right now," said Blinkova. "You know, I had some problem with my serve in the third set, and I'm so happy that I could finish the match with an ace."

The other girls semifinal will feature unseeded Sofya Zhuk of Russia, who beat wild card Anastasia Potapova, also of Russia, 6-4 ,6-3, and qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia.  Kuzmova put an end to the hopes of Great Britain's Katie Swan, defeating the No. 5 seed 7-6(2), 6-0.

Five US boys have reached the doubles quarterfinals.  Top seeds Fritz and Michael Mmoh saved a match point to defeat Tim Sandkaulen of Germany and Mate Valkusz of Hungary 6-3, 6-7(6), 9-7 in two hours and 40 minutes. Opelka and Akira Santillan of Japan, the No. 4 seeds, advanced, as did No. 3 seeds Blumberg and Paul.

The only US girl remaining in doubles is Ingrid Neel, who is playing with Great Britain's Maia Lumsden.

Top seeds Miriam Kolodziejova and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic kept their quest for a girls doubles Grand Slam, beating Bianca Andreescu and Katherine Sebov of Canada 6-4, 6-2 in the second round. It is the 12th straight girls junior slam match the Czech pair has won this year.

Friday's order of play is here.  The junior draws are here. Additional coverage of today's quarterfinals can be found at the Wimbledon website.

Fritz, Opelka, Blumberg and Paul Reach Wimbledon Boys Quarterfinals; Gordon and Black Return to Girls Final Eight

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Two rain delays, along with cool and windy conditions, didn't hamper the progress of the American boys at Wimbledon, with Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, William Blumberg and Tommy Paul all earning straight-set wins to reach Thursday's quarterfinals.

Although six US girls reached Wednesday's round of 16, only two managed to advance, with both Michaela Gordon and Tornado Alicia Black returning to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

For the second time in three matches, Gordon crafted an impressive comeback, claiming 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Olesya Pervushina, after the 15-year-old Russian served for the match twice in the second set, at 5-2 and 5-4.

Gordon had trailed Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland 5-3 in the second set and 5-3 in the second set tiebreaker in her first round match on Saturday, but went on to win 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-2, and her ability to stay engaged when being outplayed was evident in Wednesday's win as well.

"Up until 5-2 in the second, she was playing so well," said Gordon, who turns 16 later this month. "I couldn't believe that she was a year younger than me. I thought if she plays like that, she'll win the tournament, easily. So I thought how is she not No. 1? There must be like, something. But up 5-2, it was pretty obvious she got nervous, because she just starting missing. It wasn't like I played better, I just stayed solid, because that was all I could really do, because she was just hitting winners."

Up 30-0 serving at 5-2, Pervushina lost the next four points, with the last a double fault. Gordon held to 15, and Pervushina second opportunity to serve out the match went no better than her first. Her first serve disappeared and the errors continued, including another double fault to make 0-40. Pervushina won the next two points, but a stellar return by Gordon ended the game.  After a hold for Gordon, Pervushina finally returned to her previous form, serving well and holding at love to retain her chance to win in straight sets. Serving at 5-4, Pervushina made a crucial error, hitting a backhand wide to give Gordon two set points. Pervushina saved the first with a good first serve, but Gordon cashed in on the second, hitting an excellent first serve down the T that had Pervushina netting a forehand return.

"The body serve worked well against her," said Gordon, who lost to finalist Kristina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in last year's quarterfinals. "So that's what I did in tight moments, and that's what I did on match point too."

Gordon took an early lead in the third set, and a discouraged Pervushina allowed the unforced errors to continue. Gordon, who got 82 percent of her first serves in during the final set, went down 15-30 in the final game, but a good first serve and a wayward forehand by Pervushina gave her the only match point she would need, converting when Pervushina couldn't handle another excellent first serve.

Gordon will play unseeded Vera Lapko of Belarus, who beat doubles partner and Australian Open girls champion Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia, the No. 10 seed, 6-2, 7-5.

Black returned to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Claire Liu, in the only all-USA match in the round of 16.

Black, who received a wild card, said she had emailed tournament director Sarah Clarke directly to request one.

"I really wanted to play Wimbledon, it's one of the my favorite junior slams," said the 17-year-old from Florida, who was initially in qualifying. "So I decided to apply for a wild card for the main draw, I wrote an email myself, and when I got the email saying I got it, I was really grateful. It was really nice of them."

Black, who lost to eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the quarterfinals last year, knew that the 15-year-old Liu would be a dangerous opponent.

"She's a really great player," said Black, who had hernia surgery and did not play in 2015 until April. "And I knew that. I was a little bit nervous going out. It was the first time I played someone that young. I felt like I've been in her position before, at US Open(where Black was a girls finalist in 2013); I played Wimbledon qualies when I was 15, but I lost. So it's really amazing, her being out here in the main draw."

Black will play No. 12 seed Anna Blinkova of Russia in the quarterfinals, after Blinkova defeated No. 6 seed Usue Arconada 6-4, 6-3.  Black defeated Blinkova 6-3, 6-0 in last year's Junior Fed Cup in Mexico.

Aside from Blinkova, the only other seeded girl remaining is No. 5 Katie Swan of Great Britain, who is the only girls junior slam finalist besides Black in the draw  Playing in front of a full house on Court 18, the 2015 Australian Open runner-up defeated No. 9 seed Sonya Kenin 7-6(1), 6-2 and will play qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia.  Kuzmova played outstanding tennis to earn a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Caroline Dolehide.

The top quarter features two young Russians, with 14-year-old Anastasia Potapova playing 15-year-old Sofya Zhuk.  Potapova defeated fellow wild card Anna Brogan 6-4, 6-4, while Zhuk took out No. 11 seed Fanny Stollar of Hungary 6-4, 6-1.

Three of the four US boys are in the top half of the draw, with top seed Fritz playing No. 11 seed Yunseong Chung of Korea and Reilly Opelka taking on No. 10 seed William Blumberg.  Fritz again needed less than an hour to advance, defeating Franco Capalbo of Argentina 6-2, 6-2, while Chung came back from a set down for the second straight match, defeating No. 8 seed Viktor Durasovic of Norway 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.  Fritz defeated Chung in the final of the Grade A Osaka Mayors Cup last fall 7-6(2), 6-3.

Opelka and Blumberg have played twice before, with Blumberg winning at the 2014 Easter Bowl and 2014 Pan American Closed in Tulsa.  After saving a match point in his first round match, the unseeded Opelka has reached his second consecutive junior slam quarterfinal, beating unseeded Yosuke Watanuki of Japan 7-6(4), 6-3.  Blumberg reached his first junior slam quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Canadian qualifier Denis Shapovalov, and the 17-year-old is not surprised by his success on grass, even with little previous experience on the surface.

"I think it suits my game pretty well," Blumberg said. "I change direction a lot, I switch the pace, make people feel uncomfortable, so I think the grass helps me. I'm still learning, since it's just my second tournament on real grass, but I think I move well on the court, understand the game well and I think that helps out on grass."

Shapovalov, a 16-year-old left-hander, is particularly dangerous on grass.

"He's very talented, a very good player," Blumberg said. "He has a great serve--on grass his serve is very tough--and I thought his second serve was going to be weaker than it was, but it was really good too. His forehand is pretty deadly and he's got a good one-y (backhand) and a good slice. He makes you hit a bunch of low balls, makes you play. I'm lucky I got the win today."

Against the big serve of the 6-foot-10 Opelka, Blumberg knows he'll need to play well to claim a third straight win against him.

"Obviously, my return will be important," Blumberg said. "Staying in points, taking the chances when I can. Reilly's obviously an unbelievable player, and one of my best friends. So I'm also excited that he won and happy that I get to play him in the quarters at Wimbledon. There's not much of a better place and I'm happy that all of us are doing well."

In the only quarterfinal not featuring an American boy, No. 12 seed Mikael Ymer will play unseeded Alvaro Lopez San Martin of Spain. Ymer defeated No. 6 seed Marcelo Barrios Vera of Chile 6-3, 6-2, while Lopez San Martin beat No. 4 seed Michael Mmoh 6-3, 7-6(5).

No. 7 seed Paul continues his quest for a second straight junior slam title after posting a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Johan Nikles of Switzerland. Paul will play unseeded Niklas-Salminen of Finland, who surprised No. 2 seed Duck Hee Lee of Korea 6-4, 6-0. Lee had served as a warmup partner for Novak Djokovic Wednesday morning.

The first round of doubles was completed Wednesday evening, with seven US girls and five US boys still alive.

Draws are available here. Thursday's order of play is here.

Additional coverage of the juniors can be found at the Wimbledon website.

Eleven American Juniors Reach Wimbledon Round of 16; Liu Saves Match Point to Advance

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Only two American girls were seeded in the Wimbledon Junior Championships this year, but those two and four others have reached the round of 16 by posting second round victories on Tuesday.

The US boys fell short of last year's effort, when seven Americans reached the round of 16, but five did advance--all four seeds and Reilly Opelka, who eliminated No. 3 seed Corentin Denolly of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Top seed Taylor Fritz posted a routine 6-1, 6-2 win over Sora Fukuda of Japan, and No. 4 seed Michael Mmoh also had no difficulty, taking out Nuno Borges of Portugal by the same score, with both matches taking less than an hour.  Mmoh was fortunate to finish before a brief shower delayed most of the day's first matches for approximately 30 minutes. Despite threatening clouds, that proved to be the only disruption on a breezy and cool day at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

French Open boys champion Tommy Paul was taken the distance by Juan Jose Rosas of Peru, but the No. 7 seed picked up his play in the third set, taking a 5-0 lead and finishing with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory. No. 10 seed William Blumberg, who had played late into the evening on Monday before recording a three-set, come-from-behind win, had a more straightforward 6-4, 6-1 decision over qualifier Alberto Lim of the Philippines Tuesday.

None of the five Americans will play a seed in Wednesday's third round. Fritz will play Franco Capalbo of Argentina, Opelka faces Yosuke Watanuki of Japan and Blumberg will take on qualifier Denis Shapovalov of Canada.  Mmoh's opponent is Alvaro Lopez San Martin of Spain, and Paul meets John Nikles of Switzerland. Fritz has a win over Capalbo, but the other four matches are first-time encounters in ITF play.

No. 2 seed Duck Hee Lee of Korea, who received his seeding based on his ATP ranking of 276, had to save a match point to survive the challenge of Australian Marc Polmans 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 9-7.  Polmans twice served for the match, the first time at 5-4 in the second set. He didn't get to match point in that game, but broke with some solid net play to earn a second chance at 6-5.  A good first serve at 30-all gave Polmans his match point, but he put a slice backhand into the middle of the net, and Lee won the next two points to get to the tiebreaker. Polmans lost the first three points there and couldn't recover, and Lee survived some close games down the stretch to eke out the win.

Claire Liu had an even more dramatic match point save in her 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Evgeniya Levashova.  With Levashova serving for the match at 5-4 in the third, Liu failed to convert three break points and the 16-year-old Russian finally got the advantage.  Liu played several aggressive ground strokes and ultimately forced Levashova into a off-balance defensive lob that appeared to be headed well beyond the baseline.  Liu let it go, but a wind gust nearly kept it in. When the ball landed, the line umpire made the two-handed good signal, but the chair umpire overruled the call and play continued, despite Levashova's protest.

"On the match point I was trying to be aggressive because I knew she was going to be nervous," Liu said. "So I kept just trying to pressure her and I came to net. She hit a ball and I thought it was going way out, but the wind brought it in or something. It was really close. When she(the line judge) called it in, I went like, are you serious to the umpire, and he said it was out. I thought that she was probably super-mad right then, so I had to win the next one and then I played a lot better."

Liu hit two forehand winners to take the game and then saved a break point in the next game with a good first serve. Levashova got to 40-15 serving at 5-6, but her first serve deserted her and she also double faulted twice. Liu couldn't convert on her first two match points, but she got the third when Levashova's forehand went wide.

"She is really hard to play," said the 15-year-old Liu, who had lost to Levashova in the third round of the Eddie Herr last year. "She has a really good serve, especially first serve, and you can be up 40-0 and she can like serve three good serves and there's nothing you can do. I was just trying to get the first return in and trying to stay aggressive, and maybe come to net, but I didn't have to."

Liu will play wild card Tornado Alicia Black in the third round, the only Wednesday match that features two Americans. Black, a quarterfinalist last year, cruised past Maia Lumsden of Great Britain 6-1, 6-1 and has lost only five games in her first two matches.

"I've never played her," said Liu, who said she has no experience with Black's game, not even in a practice setting. "She's really good. I've heard she's a really good mover, a really good competitor. I'll just try to keep playing my game."

Caroline Dolehide advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Olivia Tjandramulia of Australia and will play qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia, who beat Raveena Kingsley 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.  No. 6 seed Usue Arconada reached the third round with her second straight three-set win, beating qualifier Lucia Wargnier of France 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Arconada's opponent Wednesday is No. 12 seed Anna Blinkova of Russia.

No. 9 seed Sonya Kenin defeated Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 7-5, 6-4, overcoming the rain delay, which stopped play when she was serving up 2-1 in the second set.

"It was tough when the rain started," said the 16-year-old, who said she had targeted Teichmann's backhand to get the advantage. "I was up 40-15, and I closed out the game. At that point her backhand was all of a sudden really good, so at that point she didn't have a weak spot at all. So I somehow just had to fight and find a way to win."

Kenin will play Katie Swan of Great Britain, who at No. 5 is the highest seed remaining in the girls draw. Kenin and Swan, who lives in the US, have played doubles together and are friends, but Kenin said she will put that aside on Wednesday.

"I know the Great Britain crowd is going to be behind her and I'll probably be on the big courts, 4 or 14 (the match is scheduled for show court 18)," said Kenin, who lost to Swan at the Eddie Herr last year. "Yes, she's my friend, but on court, we're not friends. On court is completely different. You just fight and try to win and off court you're friends."

The sixth US girl in the third round is Michaela Gordon, who defeated No. 15 seed Pranjala Yadlapalli 6-2, 6-3 in the day's last singles match.

Gordon, who reached the quarterfinals last year, did not play on grass prior to Wimbledon due to a wrist injury suffered during the Sumter $25,000 Women's Pro Circuit event last month.

"It's been fine this whole week," said Gordon, who will turn 16 later this month. "I just tape it as a precautionary thing, because it was hurt like two weeks ago. I wanted to play Maureen Connolly (Cup) and then Roehampton and Wimbledon, but I couldn't do it."

Fortunately for Gordon, she needs only a few practices to feel comfortable on the surface.

"I don't have very much trouble adjusting to grass," said Gordon, who was broken only once in her win Tuesday evening. "After a few days of practice, usually I feel pretty good. I really like how it plays, how it bounces. It fits my game style and I'm trying to be more aggressive with my game, and I think it really helps if you're more aggressive on grass and moving forward into the court."

Gordon's opponent is 15-year-old Olesya Pervushina of Russia, who defeated No. 2 seed Shilin Xu of China 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

"I'm not really sure how she plays," Gordon said. "I think some of my friends know how she plays. But I try to focus more on how I'm playing and doing the right things, because that's been working pretty well for me so far."

Fifteen first round doubles matches were played on Tuesday, with the 17 remaining first round matches scheduled for Wednesday.  Top seeds Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Kolodziejova of the Czech Republic, who are seeking the junior grand slam in doubles, have cleared the first hurdle at Wimbledon, beating Kenin and Jacqueline Cristian of Romania 6-1, 6-0.

No. 2 seeds Yunseong Chung and Seong Chan Hong of Korea lost to Yusuke Takahashi and Jumpei Yamasaki of Japan 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3.

The draws are here and the order of play for Wednesday is here.

Brogan Upsets Girls Top Seed Vondrousova; Americans 9-0 Monday and 17-1 in Junior Wimbledon's First Round

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Losses by three of the top four girls seeds and a perfect day for US players made for a memorable Manic Monday on Day Two of the Wimbledon Junior Championships.

Wild card Anna Brogan of Great Britain took out World No. 1 and top seed Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2,  while American juniors went 9-0 to give the US eight boys and nine girls in Tuesday's second round.

Brogan, who will be 18 next month, could hardly believe the result.

"It doesn't get much better than that," said Brogan, who is from Glasgow, Scotland and a protege of Judy Murray. "She's a very good player and that's why she's number one in the world, but I watched her play (at Roehampton) and felt like I had a good game plan going into the match. I knew what to expect, I got some good information from watching her last week, and I felt like I executed my game plan pretty much perfectly."

Closing out such an upset is not easy, and Brogan admitted to both butterflies and goosebumps.

"I know it's only juniors and all that, but I was playing at Wimbledon," said Brogan, who received four errors from Vondrousova in the final game. "I was up 30-15 and I messed up, missed a short ball. But I focused on each point, hit a good serve. I played a solid match."

Brogan said her serve is not always the most reliable part of her game, but it came through for her Monday.

"I think the biggest thing for me was how well I served," said Brogan, who plays qualifier Katerina Zavatska of Ukraine in the second round. "My serve can be a little in and out sometimes, but I felt like I served extremely well, and I knew I had to, because she has the good lefty serve."

Vondrousova had reached the semifinals of Wimbledon last year and the final at Roehampton last week, but she was not the only player with a grass pedigree to go out to an unseeded Scot on Monday.  Roehampton champion Dalma Galfi of Hungary lost to Maia Lumsden 7-5, 6-3.  No. 4 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia was beaten by qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia 7-6(4), 6-4.

The boys Roehampton champion Michael Mmoh managed to avoid Galfi's fate, beating Geoffrey Blancaneaux of France 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-5, despite a subpar serving day.

"I served awful," said Mmoh, who got only 58 percent of his first serves in and hit 10 doubles faults. "I didn't think I played that bad from the back, I just served horrendously, and I wasn't returning that well."

Mmoh did get a love hold to make it 5-5 in the third set, and Blancaneaux contributed two double faults, the final one on Mmoh's second break point.

"He definitely got nervous there," said Mmoh, who lost the first point in the final game but won the next four, getting all five of his first serves in. "I served well in the final game. I just tried to put all my energy into those first serves. If he hits a good return after one of my first serves that's just too good, but he'd been hitting really good returns off my second serves, so might as well try to get one of those first serves in."

Boys top seed Taylor Fritz faced his only break point of the match in the first game of his 6-3, 6-2 win over British wild card Jay Clarke, relieved that the sprained ankle he suffered in the second round at Roehampton had improved to the stage where he could push off on his serve.

"It's still bothering me, but the last two days, I've noticed a huge improvement," said Fritz, who made the semifinals here last year and considers grass his best surface. "I couldn't get up to serve, to push up off that back foot until yesterday. So when I was able to do it yesterday, it was a huge relief, because now I can actually serve well, and that's the most important thing. I'm still having a little bit of trouble moving my best, but I can play, which is good. Last week it wasn't looking too good."

French Open boys champion Tommy Paul, who beat Fritz in the Paris final, had no difficulty in his first match, defeating qualifier Benjamin Hannestad of Denmark 6-1, 6-1 in 44 minutes.

Paul, the No. 7 seed this week, lost in the third round at Roehampton, but believes he is beginning to get comfortable on grass.

"I went to Nottingham (the ATP 250 the week of Wimbledon qualifying) first and I didn't get into qualifying, I was the first person out, but it was really good that we came here that early," Paul said. "For me, it took me a while to get used to the grass. But now I'm finally timing the ball a lot better, which is awesome. When I first got here, it was my first time on grass, and I could not do anything. I was struggling, but the more I played on it the more comfortable I got. The way this grass is playing is nice. It stays in my strike zone, so I like it."

Ulises Blanch also kept his time on court to a minimum, defeating qualifier Charles Broom of Great Britain 6-1, 6-1.  That was in direct contrast to Reilly Opelka, who saved a match point in the third set of his 4-6, 6-3, 13-11 win over Australian qualifier Alex De Minaur.

Down 30-40 serving at 4-5 in the third, Opelka hit a big forehand to force an error from the quick and aggressive 16-year-old.  Opelka went on to hold, and got a break to take a 10-9 lead, but he was unable to serve out the match.

"I can't believe I lost my serve the first time," said Opelka, who benefitted from two net cord winners in the final two games of the match. "I shanked two short forehands and I was lucky I got another chance, to be honest.  Today was one of those days when you just have to get through it. It was ugly from the first point and it was ugly until the last point."

Opelka credited De Minaur for his good play, but couldn't find anything positive in his own performance.

"Usually there's a time in a match, especially in a long match, where you start to establish your game and it clicks, even if it's not a hundred percent, your best, you start finding something," said Opelka, who was credited with 48 winners but 72 unforced errors. "It just didn't happen, never happened today. I think he had a lot to do with it, because I was hitting the ball great, practicing well, I had a good week last week."

Opelka said he wasn't worried about the physical toll the match may have taken, which, despite the score, was only two hours and 23 minutes in length.

"Ideally I would like to win in straight sets, and if there's a third, not win it 13-11," said Opelka, who had never played in an advantage third set before today. "But I think for tomorrow, I can't get much worse than today, so that's how I'm going to go into it."

Qualifier Emil Reinberg also needed an extended third set to get his first junior slam victory, overcoming a 5-3 deficit in the final set to beat Federico Bonacia of Italy 6-4, 5-7, 8-6.

With Raveena Kingsley's 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava and No. 9 seed Sonya Kenin's 6-3, 6-1 victory over Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the quest for a perfect day for Americans fell to No. 10 seed William Blumberg.

Blumberg trailed Djurabeck Karimov of Uzbekistan 4-1 in the final set, but reeled off the final five games of the match for a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory.  The match was moved from Court 9 to Court 19, which is adjacent to Court 1. With the light fading and the spectators gasping as the scoreboard showed men's top seed Novak Djokovic going down two sets to Kevin Anderson, Blumberg found his highest level. After failing to convert break points at 3-1, Blumberg simply stopped making errors, while playing aggressively from all positions on the court. Once he broke Karimov at 4-2, Blumberg's confidence grew, and the winners began to accumulate, while Karimov's game and his attitude deteriorated. Blumberg broke again and served out the match, celebrating his first Wimbledon victory with loud roar.

The boys draw had only two seeds go out in the first round, with No. 5 seed Seong Chan Hong of Korea losing to Canadian qualifier Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 today, after No. 13 seed Nam Hoang Ly of Vietnam lost on Saturday. Seven of the 16 girls seeds lost in the first round.

The US players(in bold) in Tuesday's second round:

Yunseong Chung (KOR) [11] vs Ulises Blanch
Taylor Fritz [1] vs Sora Fukuda (JPN)
Tommy Paul [7]  vs Juan Jose Rosas (PER)
Olivia Tjandramulia (AUS) vs Caroline Dolehide
Fanni Stollar (HUN) [11] vs Kayla Day
Ingrid Neel vs Tereza Mihalikova (SVK) [10]
Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND) [15] vs Michaela Gordon
Nuno Borges (POR) vs Michael Mmoh [4]
Nathan Ponwith vs Mikael Ymer (SWE) [12]
Qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) vs Raveena Kingsley
Corentin Denolly (FRA) [3] vs Reilly Opelka
Sonya Kenin [9] vs Jil Teichmann (SUI)
Usue Arconada [6] vs qualifier Lucie Wargnier (FRA)
Claire Liu vs Evgeniya Levashova (RUS)
William Blumberg [10] vs qualifier Alberto Lim (PHI)
Wild Card Tornado Alicia Black vs Maia Lumsden (GBR)
Qualifier Emil Reinberg vs qualifier Denis Shapovalov (CAN)

Junior draws are here. Tuesday's order of play, including the first round of doubles, is here.

Former College Stars Sweep USTA Pro Circuit Events; Nine US Juniors in First Round Action Monday at Wimbledon; Four US Juniors Take ITF Titles

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

Wimbledon's Middle Sunday isn't really a break for the juniors, because only half of them have even begun the tournament, but it does provide me with an opportunity to catch up on what's gone on this week in the USTA Pro Circuit events and the lower level ITF tournaments away from SW 19.

NCAA champion Jamie Loeb won her first Pro Circuit event at the $25,000 tournament in El Paso today, defeating No. 2 seed Jennifer Brady 6-7(7), 6-4 6-2. UNC's Loeb, a qualifier, had lost to Brady, who left UCLA after her sophomore season ended in May, in the second round of the Sumter $25,000 tournament two weeks ago.  After losing in qualifying last week in Baton Rouge, Loeb won seven matches this week, beating top seed Taylor Townsend in three sets, Stanford's Carol Zhao(7) in three sets (a repeat of this year's NCAA final), and No. 3 seed Mayo Hibi in the semifinals.

Two other former college players, a bit farther removed from their university days, won the two men's Futures in Pittsburgh and Wichita.

Former USC Trojan Emilio Gomez of Ecuador(1) won his second straight title, following up his title last week in Rochester by defeating qualifier Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio State sophomore from Denmark) 6-4, 6-4 in the Pittsburgh $10,000 final today. Reigning Kalamazoo 16s champion John McNally made the quarterfinals before falling to Gomez 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Former University of Virginia standout Sanam Singh of India claimed the title at the $15,000 Futures in Wichita, with the No. 5 seed beating No. 4 seed Mitchell Krueger 7-6(6), 7-6(4). Singh had avenged his loss to NCAA finalist Noah Rubin last week in the semifinals. Jared Hiltzik (Illinois senior) reached the semifinals at the Futures level for the first time in his career.  Singh also won the doubles title with Darian King of Barbados, with the top seeds defeating No. 4 seeds Gonzales Austin(Vanderbilt) and Max Schnur(Columbia) 6-3, 6-3.

The men's USTA Pro Circuit now moves to the Winnetka $50,000 Challenger, where qualifying has begun.  Frances Tiafoe is in the field, and Stefan Kozlov, Jared Hiltzik, Tom Fawcett and Mackenzie McDonald received main draw wild cards. Be sure to check Jonathan Kelley's On The Rise blog for onsite coverage; he is credentialed media for the tournament.

There are no USTA Pro Circuit women's events this week.

After an opening day of play in which the US juniors won eight of nine matches at the Wimbledon Junior Championships Saturday, Monday has nine more Americans on the schedule. Five of the US boys are scheduled for Court 9, so if you are on the grounds, you can probably find me there. Feel free to stop and say hello. I'll have my straw hat with a leopard print hat band on, and I'll have a notebook in hand.

US juniors in action Monday are in bold.

Qualifier Alex De Minaur (AUS) v Reilly Opelka
Taylor Fritz [1] v wild card Jay Clarke (GBR)
Tommy Paul [7] v qualifier Benjamin Hannestad (DEN)
Geoffrey Blancaneaux (FRA) v Michael Mmoh [4]
Qualifier Emil Reinberg v Federico Bonacia (ITA)
William Blumberg [10] v Djurabeck Karimov (UZB)
Ulises Blanch v qualifier Charles Broom (GBR)
Sofia Kenin [9] v Bianca Vanessa Andreescu (CAN)
Raveena Kingsley v qualifier Destanee Aiava (AUS)

The complete order of play is here and the draws are here.

Four US juniors won singles titles in lower level ITF events last week. Andrew Fenty won his first ITF title at the Grade 4 in Aruba, beating fellow 15-year-old and Junior Tennis Champions Center training partner Brian Cernoch 6-1, 6-0 in the final. Both were unseeded.  Fourteen-year-old Jordan Harris won the girls title in Aruba, her first ITF title, defeating No. 8 seed Zoe Spence 7-5, 6-2 in the final. No. 2 seeds Ally Miller-Krasilnikov and Spence won the doubles title, beating Harris and partner Safiya Carrington 6-1, 6-2 in the all-USA final.

At the Grade 5 in Cuba, No. 2 seed Naomi Waters won the singles and doubles titles. She downed No. 1 seed Saya Usui of Japan 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 in the singles final. The top seeds in doubles, Usui and Waters took that championship match, defeating No. 2 seeds Karen Alvarez of Mexico and Rut Galindo of Guatemala 7-5, 6-2.

At the Grade 5 in Greece, top seed Nicole Anderson won the singles title, the first for the 17-year-old, beating unseeded Vasiliki Karvouni of Greece 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) in the final.

Eight American Juniors Celebrate Independence Day with Wimbledon Victories

©Colette Lewis--
Wimbledon--

Eight of the nine US juniors in action on a gorgeous English summer day celebrated the 4th of July with victories as the Wimbledon championship began at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Fifteen-year-old Claire Liu and 17-year-old Nathan Ponwith had markedly different paths to the second round, with Liu defeating No. 13 seed Luisa Stefani of Brazil 6-0, 6-1 in 45 minutes, while Ponwith had his first taste of an advantage third set, beating Yusuke Takahashi of Japan 4-6, 7-6(5), 8-6.

Liu, who is making her first appearance at Wimbledon, hadn't had an opportunity to practice at the site until she warmed up there this morning.

"Yesterday we practiced at another place and I was hitting at the Roehampton courts the whole time," Liu said. "But we went to Eastbourne before Roehampton for the Maureen Connolly Cup, so that was good."

Liu said she likes grass, despite her limited experience on the surface.

"Because I like to try to take time away and stuff, it's really nice that the courts are fast and it's hard to move on," Liu said. "If I can get the first good ball in, I can start the point well."

Liu said she was nervous in her Wimbledon debut, but having played the US Open juniors twice already, she wasn't overwhelmed.

"I was really nervous in the beginning, because I wanted to do well here," said Easter Bowl champion Liu, who is just returning to competition after a torn labrum that did not require surgery. "The first couple of matches in a grand slam, it's hard. The first time I was at the US Open, I was really nervous, people were watching me and that was the first time that had ever happened, but it certainly has helped me with dealing with my nerves better."

While Ponwith wasn't as convincing in his victory, he was happy with the way he played, particularly at the very end of the second set tiebreaker and in the final set. Ponwith had failed to serve out the set at 5-3, and Takahashi, serving at 5-6, saved a set point with a huge backhand winner. In the ensuing tiebreaker, Takahashi had the match on his racquet when Ponwith lost both points on his serve to go from 4-3 up to 5-4 down in the second set tiebreaker. The 17-year-old from Japan, who, like Ponwith, was playing in his first Wimbledon, netted a defensive slice for 5-5, and Ponwith got his set point with a forehand swing volley winner.  Taking his time, Ponwith collected himself, went to his towel, and hit one of his best serves of the match, which Takahashi could only get his racquet on.  Up a break at 2-1 in the third set, Ponwith lost it, but neither dropped serve until Ponwith got a break at 6-6 in the third.

"We were both playing well throughout the third, holding our serves," said Ponwith. "I faced a couple of break points at 3-4 and was lucky to not get broken. At 6-all 15-40, he hit a big serve and saved that break point, but I was able to break at 30-40 on a lucky shank return that he ended up missing. But I'm thankful for it. I played really well today and we both brought really good tennis."

Ponwith said that failing to serve out the second set never entered his mind when he went to serve out the third set. Down 0-30, he won the final four points of the match, finishing it with a forehand winner.

"I actually forgot about that," Ponwith said of his previous inability to close. "I got a little bit nervous, but after 0-30, I calmed down, maybe hit a couple of big serves. And the big forehand, that was nice."

Like Ponwith, Michaela Gordon was also two points away from defeat before she reversed her fortunes with some aggressive play to beat Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-2.  Trailing 5-3 in the second set, Gordon fell behind 5-3 in the second set tiebreaker after double faulting. But two aggressive, line-seeking winners made it 5-all and a forehand just wide by Masarova gave Gordon a set point. Another winner and she had the set, and the 15-year-old Californian, who was a quarterfinalist here last year, was into the second round.

Seconds later, Caroline Dolehide joined her there, defeating No. 14 seed Julieta Estable of Argentina 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Dolehide's ability to finish a point with her forehand providing the difference in the match.

Ingrid Neel has always thought grass would be her favorite surface, and she does have a title on grass at last year's ITF Grade 4 in Philadelphia, but Wimbledon is obviously where she would have her best chance to prove it. Her debut went well, as she used her net instincts to outmaneuver 15-year-old British wild card Lauryn John-Baptiste 6-4, 6-2.

"Even before stepping on the court, just being around here, well, one, it's beautiful," said the 17-year-old Floridian, who reached the semifinals at Roehampton Thursday. "Two, the grass. It's my favorite surface. That sounds weird, since I've only played two weeks on it or less, but I think it will be my favorite surface throughout my career. Today the match went very well. I held serve nicely, which is very key on grass. There were some nerves, but I really couldn't ask for a better first day at Wimbledon."

Neel knew nothing about her opponent, but in that situation, she prefers to focus on her own game.

"I mostly think, I'm just going to try to get into net," Neel said. "Early on I just tried to figure out her weakness and strengths. Her forehand was her big shot, she loved it. But yeah, it's different when you've played a player many times, very different than when you've never seen them before. Both can be equally tough, so I'm glad it worked out today."

Fifteen-year-old Kayla Day also had a successful Wimbledon debut, defeating Tessah Andrianjafitrimo of France 7-6(5), 6-3.  Wild card Tornado Alicia Black, who reached the quarterfinals here last year, need just over an hour to dismiss Canadian Katherine Sebov 6-2, 6-1.

No. 6 seed Usue Arconada avenged her 2014 Orange Bowl loss to Monika Kilnarova, but it was far from easy, with Arconada taking a 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 6-3 victory over the 15-year-old from the Czech Republic.

Francesca Di Lorenzo was the US junior to lose Saturday, falling to 14-year-old wild card Anastasia Potapova of Russia 7-5, 6-3.

The doubles draws are out, with Taylor Fritz and Michael Mmoh the top seeds, Tommy Paul and William Blumberg are the No. 3 seeds and Reilly Opelka and Akira Santillan of Japan are seeded No. 4.

In the girls doubles, Arconada and Canadian Charlotte Robillard-Millette are the No. 2 seeds, and Stefani and Di Lorenzo are the No. 8 seeds.

Complete draws are available at the Wimbledon website.

June Aces; Mmoh Wins Roehampton; Wimbledon Junior Championships Begin Saturday

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--

There was a lot going on today, but in my attempt to minimize my jet lag and try to get over some sort of bug I picked up on the plane(s), I'll make this brief.

My monthly collection of outstanding performances, June version, is available now at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Michael Mmoh won the ITF Grade 1 in Roehampton today. The No. 3 seed defeated No. 5 seed Viktor Durasovic of Norway 7-6(4), 6-3. No. 3 seed Dalma Galfi of Hungary took the girls title, beating top seed and world No. 1 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 6-2.

Tommy Paul and William Blumberg lost in the boys doubles final to Australians Jake Delaney and Marc Polmas 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7.  The outstanding play of top girls doubles seeds Miriam Kolodziejova and Vondrousova continued with their 6-3, 6-3 win over Australians Destanee Aiava and Olivia Tjandramulia.

Alejandro Tabilo of Canada and Tornado Alicia Black

Emil Reinberg qualified for the Wimbledon boys junior championships today, defeating Alexandar Lazarov of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-4, 8-6. Reinberg will join 17 other Americans in the boys and girls singles draws, but as with all qualifiers, he will have the day off on Saturday and will begin play on Monday, as do all the Roehampton finalists. Top seed Taylor Fritz plays a qualifier, so he too will begin play on Monday.

US boys seeded, in addition to Fritz, are Michael Mmoh(4), Tommy Paul(7) and William Blumberg(9).  Two US girls are seeded: Usue Arconada(6) and Sonya Kenin(9).

The US juniors in action on Saturday in bold:

Wild card Anastasia Potapova (RUS) vs Francesca Di Lorenzo

Luisa Stefani (BRA) [13] vs Claire Liu

Wild card Lauryn John-Baptiste (GBR) vs Ingrid Neel

Usue Arconada [6] vs Monika Kilnarova (CZE)

Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) vs Nathan Ponwith

Rebeka Masarova (SUI) vs Michaela Gordon

Kayla Day vs Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (FRA)

Katherine Sebov (CAN) vs wild card Tornado Alicia Black

Caroline Dolehide vs Julieta Lara Estable (ARG) [14]

There will be live scoring at the Wimbledon website.  The complete draws are here.  The complete qualifying results are here.

Congratulations to unseeded Americans Denis Kudla and CoCo Vandeweghe for making the second week at Wimbledon with wins today.