Battle of Britain in girls 12s; Top seed Cohen Falls in girls 18s

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Bradenton FL--

Jessica Ren and Laura Robson of Great Britain will meet in Friday morning's girls 12 final, while Liam Broady will represent the Union Jack in the boys 12 final against Mitchell Krueger of the U.S.

Ren, a No. 1 seed, defeated No. 1 seed Ilone Kremen of Belarus 6-2, 6-2; the unseeded Robson started poorly against No. 1 seed Julia Jones of the U.S., but survived 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

"I changed tactics, and I also thought about how to win the next point, instead of thinking how I was losing," said Robson, 12. "I tried to hit more topspin to her backhand, and then step in when she hit a short ball."

Ren, also 12, has breezed through the draw, never dropping more than two games in any of her six matches, but she admitted to a few nerves on Friday. "Once I got loose I relaxed a bit, it was fine. I quite like my forehand down the line and it worked quite well for me today."

As two of the top players in England, Robson and Ren have met often. "We've got a little thing going," said the left-handed Robson, who has been working recently with Nick Saviano on her serve. "She's won the last two or three, but I think I'll win tomorrow."

Broady, another British lefty, battled fellow No. 1 seed Edward Nguyen of Canada for over an hour and 15 minutes, just to reach a conclusion to the first set. After winning that in a tiebreak, eight points to six, Broady revised his strategy in the second and closed out Nguyen 6-2.

"I made a few more balls, I was the most consistent I've been in a while," said the vocal 12-year-old. "He has a very big forehand, but I started hitting to it, and he made some errors there."

Broady was relieved to escape with a victory. "He beat me in a practice match like 6-0. I knew it would be tough."

Krueger started very slowly against Johan Skattum of Norway, like Krueger a No. 1 seed. Down early, he righted himself to take a 6-4, 6-3 decision.

"I was nervous, just pushing it," said Krueger, 12, of Aledo Texas. "But then the pressure went off and I just played."

The boys and girls 12s doubles were decided on Friday, with the U.S. team of Thai Kwiatkowski and Joseph DiGiulio defeating the Japanese team of Kazuma Kawachi and Yu Okuda 6-4, 6-4.

After her semifinal singles win, Ren teamed with Ukrainian Sophia Kovalets to take the doubles championship. Ren and Kovalets downed the U.S. pair of Victoria Duval and Jones 6-4, 6-3.

In the girls 18s, top seed Julia Cohen was ousted by No. 14 seed Katerina Kramperova 6-3, 7-5. The No. 9 seed Madison Brengle of the U.S. was also eliminated, dropping a 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 decision to No. 6 seed Nicola Hofmanova of Austria. The only U.S. girl remaining is No. 13 seed Kim Couts, who upset No. 3 seed and U.S. Open Junior semifinalist Katerina Vankova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.

Last year's girls 14s and 16s champions, Tamaryn Hendler and Michelle Larcher de Brito continued to advance through the 18s, although in decidedly different fashion Thursday. The unseeded Hendler, from Belgium, won the first set 6-2, and the match when her opponent Katarzyna Piter of Poland retired before starting the second set.

Portugal's Larcher de Brito, also an unseeded wild card, and fellow Bollettieri student Jasmina Tinjic of Croatia staged a high quality demonstration of power ground strokes in front of a large and divided crowd Thursday morning. Larcher de Brito, who seems to hit even harder and more accurately when playing from behind, dropped the first set 6-2, but didn't waiver after that, winning the next two 6-2, 6-3.

Nicolas Santos of Brazil, the boys 18s top seed, found himself tested on a isolated back court by Harry Heliovaara of Finland, but advanced to the quarterfinals by a 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-4 score. He will face No. 5 seed Roman Jebavy of the Czech Republic, who avenged his quarterfinal U.S. Open Junior loss to Canada's Peter Polansky 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Qualifier Jeff Dadamo remains the lone U.S. hopeful with his 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-1 victory over No. 8 seed Daniil Arsenov of Russia. It was a contentious match, with numerous roving umpires, the tournament referee and the trainer all making appearances. But by the end, a dispirited Arsenov, who had also lost to Dadamo recently at the ITF Grade 2 in South Carolina, was making no attempt to win points, or even return shots. Dadamo will meet another left hander, Rasid Winklaar of Curacao, who upset No. 3 seed Petru Luncanu of Romania 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4).

In the boys 16s, unseeded Alex Domijan, a boys 14s finalist last year, and No. 10 seed Devin Britton are the U.S. representatives in the round of 16. Domijan defeated wild card Michael Davis of Great Britain 6-3, 6-4, while Britton upset No. 5 seed Borut Puc of Slovenia 6-2, 4-2, ret. inj. Top seed Alex Llompart of Puerto Rico was upset by No. 14 seed Gilad Ben Zvi of Israel 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Half the girls 16s quarterfinalists call the U.S. home. Lucky loser Marianna Milchutske, unseeded Ester Goldfeld and wild cards Mary Clayton and Nicole Bartnik advanced, with only Milchutske having a straight set win. The others came from a set down to earn their victories.

In the boys 14s, No. 2 seed Dennis Kudla is the lone U.S. player in the boys division. He ended the run of U.S. qualifier Billy Pecor 6-4, 6-2. The girls 14s quarterfinals, like the 16s, feature four Americans. JoJo Sanford, Jenny Falcone (who won a 22 point third set tiebreak to advance), Sloane Stephens and Kayla Rizzolo were winners on Thursday.

For complete draws, including doubles, see eddieherr.com.

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Grand Slam Champions Everywhere at Eddie Herr

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Bradenton FL--

The junior players are usually the stars at the Eddie her, but Wednesday was Grand Slam champions Day at the IMG Bollettieri Academy site.

I was introduced to 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, who has been a frequent visitor to the tournament this week. Later in the morning I saw eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Ivan Lendl taking in some of the action. Lendl's daughters are golfers training at the Academy. In the afternoon, I spotted 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Chris Evert and her brother John watching Brooke Bolender, who trains at their Boca Raton academy. Since she is the publisher of Tennis magazine, I thought I should introduce myself, and we chatted briefly, but then who should arrive but Martina Navratilova! So if my math is right, that was 45 Grand Slam singles titles on the premises today. Inspiration, I hope, for all the juniors still in the draws.

Early Wednesday morning matches decided the 12s semifinalists, and despite five U.S. players in both the boys and girls quarterfinals, only one from each division advanced. Mitchell Krueger, a No. 1 seed from Texas, dominated unseeded Floridian Justin Butsch 6-3, 6-2. He will face another No. 1 seed, Johan Skattum of Norway, who outlasted unseeded Thai Kwiatkowski of the U.S. 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-5. As the match ended, neither player could hold serve reliably, but Skattum finally took his second chance to close it out. Kwiatkowski is often emotionally volatile on the court, but it rarely carries over from point to point, and his ability to snap back to attention must baffle his opponents as much as it does spectators. Skattum kept his wits about him but after two three-setters in succession, he'll be at a disadvantage on Thursday.

The other two matches in the 12s were less dramatic, with No. 1 seed Edward Nguyen of Canada defeating No. 1 Joseph DiGiulio of the U.S. 7-5, 6-2 and No. 1 Liam Broady of Great Britain taking a 6-2, 6-4 decision over unseeded TJ Pura of the U.S.

I didn't see much of the girls 12s semifinals because they were played a great distance from the boys (and at the same time), but I did watch a little of Great Britain's Laura Robson's 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over Jacqueline Crawford of the U.S. Robson has been training with Nick Saviano recently in Sunrise, and he was optimistic about her chances of winning the tournament, despite being unseeded. She'll face No. 1 seed Julia Jones of the U.S., who scored a tense 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Yuki Chiang of the U.S. In the other half of the girls 12s, Great Britain's Jessica Ren, a No. 1 seed, will face No. 1 Ilona Kremen of Belarus. Ren rolled over Jessie Pegula of the U.S. 6-0, 6-0, while Kremen took out No. 1 Sachia Vickery of the U.S. 7-5, 6-3.

There were a few surprises today in the older divisions, but I'm not sure unseeded wild card Philip Bester's 6-3, 6-3 victory over 18s second seed Kellen Damico of the U.S. fits that description. Bester, who decided to play the Eddie Herr only a couple of weeks ago as the last tournament of his junior career, can dominate when he's on, and he was firing at his best Wednesday.

Qualifier Jeff Dadamo of Tampa is the only U.S. boy to make the round of 16. Dadamo struggled with lucky loser Deni Zmak of Croatia, but prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Another qualifier, Milos Raonic of Croatia also advanced to the round of 16, defeating No. 12 seed Ricardo Urzua of Chile 6-4, 6-4.

Top seed Julia Cohen got a scare from qualifier Nina Pantic in girls 18s, but rebounded to take a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 decision. The entire top half of the girls draw went according to form, and No. 9 seed Madison Brengle was one of the eight seeds to advance, blitzing U.S. wild card Mallory Burdette 6-1, 6-2. In the bottom half, No. 13 Kim Couts rolled past Jamina Toljan of Austria 6-1, 6-1 to join Brengle and Cohen as Americans moving into the third round.

The boys 14s lost its top seed with No. 1 Rodney Carey of the Bahamas losing to Yahor Yatsyk of Belarus 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

In girls 14s, No. 2 seed Noel Scott of the U.S. lost to Maryna Zanevska of the Ukraine.

In the boys 16s, Alex Domijan and Devin Britton of the U.S. advanced to the round of 16, as did JT Sundling, Ty Trombetta and Bryan Swartz. In the girls 16s, the U.S. can claim more than half of the players in the round of 16, with Erin Vierra, Ester Goldfeld, Mary Clayton, Malika Rose, Hannah Berne, Carling Seguso, Nicole Bartnik, Anna Chkhikvishvili and Marianna Milschutske moving on Wednesday.

For complete draws, see eddieherr.com.

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Eddie Herr Draws Appreciative Fans Tuesday

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Bradenton FL--

The crowds were out in full force Tuesday on the 31 courts at the IMG Bollettieri Academy, and from the 12s in the morning to the boys 18s and girls 14s in the evening, there were matches to entertain everyone.

Drawing a huge audience in the morning was the girls 12 battle between Yulia Putintseva of Russia and Ilona Kremen of Belarus. Putintseva lets loose a high decibel grunt on every shot and displays an attitude that makes Lleyton Hewitt look laid-back, so it's not surprising that she draws the curious. In Tuesday's Round of 16, she was facing her second No. 1 seed in as many days, and when she took the first set 6-0, it looked like she would bag another upset. But Kremen fought back, winning the next two 6-4, 7-5, and after nearly three hours of entertainment, the spectators could grab a bite of lunch before settling on another of the myriad matches still to be played.

The girls 12s quarterfinals on Wednesday morning will feature five U.S. girls, three of them unseeded. Jacqueline Crawford, Yuki Chiang and Jessie Pegula join No. 1 seeds Julia Jones and Sachia Vickery in the final eight.

Five U.S. boys are also still alive in the 12s, with Mitchell Krueger
Justin Butsch, Thai Kwiatkowski, TJ Pura and Joseph DiGuilio earning quarterfinal berths Tuesday morning. Krueger and DiGuilio are No. 1 seeds; the other three were unseeded.

When the boys 18s took the courts in the mid-afternoon of a warm and breezy day, much of the attention was focused on the match between wild cards Philip Bester of Canada and Giacomo Miccini of Italy. Miccini, a finalist in the 12s at the 2004 Eddie Herr, won his wild card in a tourament for Bollettieri students, while Bester, a veteran of the Academy, faced the pressure of playing a 14-year-old with nothing to lose. Miccini took leads in both sets, including a 4-1 lead in the second set, before falling to the 2006 French Open Junior finalist 7-6 (5), 6-4.

There were a host of dramatic matches in the boys 18s. Second seed Kellen Damico came back to down qualifier Attila Bucko 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 in a match that finished after the sun went down on a court with lights. Wild card Rhyne Williams rolled his ankle during the final point of the second set tiebreak in his match with Dimitris Kleftakos of Greece, but despite his injury and the move to the indoor courts due to darkness, the 15-year-old from Knoxville prevailed, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (9), 6-4. Jarmere Jenkins, also a wild card, needed three hours to subdue lucky loser Cristian Tanase of Romania 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a match that also finished under the lights.

Seeded U.S. boys falling in the first round were No. 10 Dennis Lajola, who lost to 14-year-old Bernard Tomic of Australia when he retired ill at 4-6, 6-4, and No. 16 Johnny Hamui, defeated by Rasid Winklaar 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Qualifier Jeff Dadamo continued his excellent play, taking out 11th seed Rupesh Roy of India 6-3, 6-4. The highest seed to lose in the first round was No. 6 Jose Roberto Velasco of Bolivia, who was eliminated by Graeme Dyce of Great Britain 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Julia Cohen, the top seed in the girls 18s, played her first round match late Tuesday afternoon and had no trouble with qualifier Charlotte Rodier of France, taking a 6-2, 6-0 decision.

For complete draws, see eddieherr.com.

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Bollettieri Girls Upend Seeds in First Round of 18s Singles

©Colette Lewis 2006--
Bradenton, FL--

Monday brought a little bit of everything to the Eddie Herr, including a brief late afternoon rain shower that disrupted the first round of boys 14s singles and 12s mixed doubles (yes, they play mixed doubles here too).

With the boys 16s and 18s not starting until Tuesday, there were a lot of mens' college coaches here with nothing to watch, but the womens' coaches had nearly a full slate of girls 18s to study.

Bollettieri students pulled off two upsets, but with their past Eddie Herr performances, it wasn't exactly surprising. Fourteen-year-old Tamaryn Hendler of Belgium, last year's 14s winner, stepped up to the 18s this year and made an impressive debut, defeating fifth seed Dominice Ripoli 6-2, 6-3. Cheered on by many of her fellow Bollettieri students, Hendler didn't have any trouble trading groundstrokes with the German.

An even younger Bollettieri prodigy, 13-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal, who won the 16s at the Eddie Herr last year, also easily downed a seed, pounding seventh seed Reka Zsilinszka of the U.S. 6-2, 6-2. Despite a baffling first game of the second set, when she double faulted the game away, Larcher de Brito, a wild card, didn't give Zsilinszka an opportunity to play her patented defense, dominating with her flat, heavy groundstrokes.

One of the day's best matches was between third seed and U.S. Open Junior semifinalist Katerina Vankova of the Czech Republic and Mallory Cecil of the U.S. Cecil, also a Bollettieri wild card, ran out to a big first set advantage, then managed to hold off the charge of the 16-year-old left-hander to win the first set tiebreak, but couldn't sustain her excellent play, falling 6-7, (3) 6-2, 6-3. Cecil had support from Bollettieri coaches and players, but Vankova had fellow Czechs Nicole Vaidisova and Petr Korda as spectators during the lengthy match.

I also caught a bit of the U.S.'s Melanie Oudin, who defeated Irina-Alexandra Parschiv of Romania 6-4, 6-2. In the games I saw, the 15-year-old from Marietta, Ga. was able to hit a winner when she got a weak shot from her opponent, but could also play defense, a potent combination. Hendler will be her next opponent.

Other U.S. girls advancing were Madison Brengle, the No. 9 seed, Kim Couts, the No. 13 seed, qualifier Nina Pantic, and wild cards Maria Mokh and Mallory Burdette. Top seed Julia Cohen of the U.S. plays Tuesday, as does wild card Morgan Frank.

The 12s played their third round matches Monday, and there were not nearly as many love and love scores as there had been in the previous two days.

I had my first opportunity to see Californian Joseph DiGiulio, one of the 16 seeds (all 16 are designated No. 1s in the 12s). I had heard a coach marvel at his poise and technique, and I was also impressed by both. Even though DiGiulio's opponent was much bigger than he was, he controlled the match with his consistency and variety. I was happy to see many of the boys in the 12s approaching the net, hitting different kinds of shots and taking risks. I pray they keep developing in that direction.

The girls 12s didn't have that same commitment to moving forward in the matches I observed today. But I can't say I've seen more than a few games of any girls 12s match, so I may see it yet, now that we're in the round of 16.

There were errors in the original 18s draws posted, and they have been redone. Please see eddieherr.com for corrected draws.

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Smash column, Pre-Eddie Herr Edition

Bradenton, FL--
Currently Maria Sharapova and Tommy Haas are hitting on the indoor courts behind me, which is creating quite a stir with the young participants at the Eddie Herr. Camera phones are getting a workout, but Sharapova and Haas are on the far court, so their friends will have to take their word for it, I guess.

I wrote this column on Nov. 20th, but it wsn't posted until today. I hope it still has some value to you.

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Record Number of Participants Cram Eddie Herr Courts Sunday

©Colette Lewis 2006
Bradenton FL--

I spent most of the day wandering over the vast IMG/Bollettieri grounds, watching a game or two on one of the 31 courts before moving on. With a record 1750 participants, every court was in constant use all day.

I caught some of TJ Pura's second round match in the 12s, which he won 6-0, 6-0 and saw Maxx Lipman, Ryan's younger brother, early in his 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 second round 12s victory. Victoria Duval, the 10-year-old from Delray Beach that I had heard about earlier this month, was playing a court away from good viewing, making it difficult to watch her second round match without distractions. Although she played erratically in the few games I saw, it didn't faze her and she won easily, 6-1, 6-2.

Around noon, when the 18s qualifying began, clouds moved in, but only high, harmless ones that made for better playing conditions.

I was able to see parts of three of the matches featuring U.S. junior boys, because by a stroke of luck, they were scheduled for adjacent courts.

In an error in the draw, Attila Bucko was shown as losing his second round qualifying match on Saturday, but he had actually won it, so the Baylor-bound Floridian was facing Jared Pinsky for a spot in the main draw. Bucko managed to outlast his fellow left-hander 7-6 (9), 6-3 in a very tense match.

Jeff Dadamo, a quarterfinalist as a lucky loser in the 16s last year, didn't need any luck Sunday in qualifying for the 18s. I wasn't keeping stats, but the left-hander from Tampa seemed to hit about five winners for every unforced error, defeating Artem Gramma of the Ukraine 6-2, 6-3. Wil Spencer, playing in his first junior tournament since his ankle injury in Kalamazoo in August, dropped a 6-3, 7-5 decision to Ilya Belyaev of Russia. Spencer, with his ankle still in a brace, wasn't moving as quickly as usual and couldn't get his forehand on track.

I didn't see any of future UCLA Bruin Ahmed Ismail's 6-1, 6-4 victory over Davide Della Tommasina of Italy, but he was the third U.S. boy to advance through qualifying.

Four U.S. girls made it through qualifying: Joanna Mather, Christina McHale, Whitney Byrd and Nina Pantic. I didn't see any of those wins, because I was watching Daisha Hill-Hurtado of New Mexico and Charlotte Rodier of France. There was very little difference in the games of the two 15-year-olds, but it was Rodier, a No. 1 seed in qualifying, who prevailed, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Due to the heavy match load, the Parade of Nations Opening Ceremony, usually held on Sunday afternoon, was cancelled.

I'm apologizing in advance for not having photos of many of the players I will be writing about this week, but most of the courts are caged, making it difficult for the casual photographer.

For complete draws see eddieherr.com.

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A Long Day at the Eddie Herr

©Colette Lewis 2006
Bradenton FL--

The sun's gone down on a beautiful day at the Eddie Herr, but the tennis is continuing. Immediately behind me on the indoor courts at the IMG Bollettieri Academy there are three matches in progress, and others are being played under the lights. With main draw matches of boys and girls 12s, and qualifying in the other three age divisions, this is one of the busiest days on the junior tennis calendar, and tomorrow, with doubles starting, it will be more of the same.

I didn't realize it until I sat down to help at the results desk at the tournament headquarters this afternoon, but the boys 16s qualifying was completed today. Many of the names are new to me, but Columbia is well-represented. From the U.S., Adam Bernstein and Aaron May earned spots in the main draw which begins on Monday. For the complete boys 16 qualifying draw, click here.

In the 14s, both boys and girls, it takes four wins just to make the main draw, and not all of the boys second round qualifying matches finished on Saturday, so those final matches may extend into Monday.

The final round of 18s qualifying is Sunday, and U.S. boys still alive for a main draw berth are Jared Pinsky, Amed Ismail, Wil Spencer and Jeff Dadamo. Many U.S. girls are still in the hunt for the eight qualifying spots: McCall Jones, Nina Pantic, Katie Rybakova, Whitney Byrd, Daisha Hill-Hurtado, Jacqueline Wu, Christina McHale, Joanna Mather and Olivia Janowicz.

The weather forecast remains excellent for the next several days, so the tennis should be unrelenting.

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First Round of Eddie Herr Qualifying Complete

We're not quite there yet, having made it as far as Jacksonville after our family Thanksgiving celebration, but qualifying is underway at the Eddie Herr. Check here for the results of Friday's first round of qualifying for the 14s, 16s, and 18s. The 12s main draw begins Saturday. The wild cards have also been determined, and only the eight qualifiers remain to be decided this weekend before play begins for the older divisions on Monday.

As a preview to the tournament, which the local papers cover diligently, Mic Huber of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune profiles Gastao Elias of Portugal, the most recent high-profile IMG junior signee.

Also, Marcia Frost has posted her photos of Mark Bey's National Junior Tennis Conference & Training Camp last weekend in suburban Chicago.

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