10s Heaven

YOUR Year in the Rear View

2011-12-07T13:51:00.001-05:00

I recently blogged about the Pro Circuit's 2011 in review. But I had a chance to read my Tennis magazine today and Stephen Tignor had an article about his own personal year in review. And why not? We all have earned some retrospection. So in honor of all of you hardworking, hard-playing league players out there, I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on some of your own personal best tennis moments of 2011.

My brain has always retained memories of the Big Picture variety rather than absorbing every minute detail. Not to mention I play a lot of tennis. So I had to really dig for some of my favorite memories from 2011. I have two goodies and one baddie.

The two good memories are instructive because they were both situations in which I was not expecting to win. rant alert I know, I know - 'if you are planning what you will do if you lose, you have already lost' - sounds very lofty as a quote but the reality is, sometimes your opponent is better than you and you need to accept that so that you can plan an appropriate strategy. My strategy that day was to play as well as possible against a quality opponent and part of that strategy was to make it as difficult as possible for them to win. I don't think it's a crime to accept the possibility that you might lose. Giving up is a crime, but planning a strategy against a tough opponent is nowhere near the same thing as giving up. rant concluded

ANYWAY - Therefore the unexpected victories meant more, even though one of the two was not particularly dramatic. I don't mean to say we didn't play to win - we did! - but the opponents were very skilled and I would not have been surprised to lose and in fact had in mind to just get out of there without being embarrassed. In fact I remember thinking if we could take at least 4 games per set, I would have been very pleased. One match I blogged about earlier this year. The other I haven't talked about yet, just suffice to say when it was over my partner and I looked at each other like, 'wow - did that just happen - did we just win this thing?'. Big smiles, sweaty hug, yes life was good that day.

The unpleasant memory from 2011 was related to an ass-whipping my 4.0 senior team received at North Carolina state championships last spring in Asheville. I don't think any of us were prepared for the level of talent we faced there. We earned the right to advance to state by winning what I thought was a pretty tough division out of the Charlotte metro area. But we just got thumped at state and there wasn't much fun for us on the courts there (off the courts was fine!). Still very inexplicable considering our roster. And I know what you are thinking, and no, none of us gave up. Just got outplayed.

Here's hoping you have plenty of positive tennis memories from 2011, regardless of the outcome. Was it a beautiful day/evening? Did you have the Most Fun Ever with your tennis friends? Was the tennis average, but lunch after was a blast? Did you make a new friend? Did you learn a new trick? Were the beverages cold? As long as you were on the court somewhere, it beat the heck out of lots of other things you could have been doing. Yes, toilet brush, I am talking to you.

The Ratings Are Coming! The Ratings Are Coming!

2011-11-29T17:03:00.001-05:00

Ahh, it's that time of year (in my part of the country, at least - South Carolina) when the unique aromas of a cheery fire, a hearty pumpkin pie, and flop sweat permeate the home. Yes, the NTRP results were revealed yesterday and every league tennis player in South Carolina worth their salt went hard at the TennisLink servers all day long.

The NTRP rating system is a miracle of human psychology. With just a few digits, it judges you, defines you, ranks you among your peers. No subjective interpretation of clothing, vehicle, occupation, hair style, zip code, or brand of cell phone muddies the waters. In the tennis world, when asked by complete strangers to describe yourself, no convoluted Shakespearean prose is required. Just a simple numerical designation will do: "I'm a 3.5." That's all needs be said. With those precious digits, you have communicated all that is pure and certain about yourself to a complete stranger, and they in turn will understand and evaluate you instantly. A very efficient system, don't you think?

I have met more than a few newbies who, upon hearing about this cold-blooded, impersonal numerical system we cavalierly use to judge each other, are usually some combination of fascinated, repulsed, and a little frightened by the concept. Doesn't take long for their hearts to harden and they get over that. Usually about the time they get destroyed in their first 2.5 spring league match by the cute little senior lady who looks like she rode the Assisted Living Center van to the match, then cleans their clock and takes their lunch money.

Yes, on the surface it is a simple, efficient, and effective system. But what if your rating does not equate with your personal opinion of yourself? Ah, there's the rub. The numbers don't lie. According to the USTA/TennisLink, the ratings are purely objective complex algorithm based on three things and three things only: your rating, your opponent's rating(s), and the score of your match. That's all. Nothing to do with what line you played, or how long it took, or what court surface, or how much your racquet cost, or how many lessons you've taken, or how many complaints the League Coordinator got about you. Every time you play a qualifying match (usually the spring adult league or in some cases the Mixed Doubles league but never ever Combo or Singles or Flex), the vast TennisLink computer network subtly recalculates your rating to four decimal places. Your rating fluctuates slightly every time you play. These tea leaves are revealed only once a year unless the fluctuation exceeds your rating level three times within the season, in which case you are 'promoted' or 'DQ'd' (disqualified), depending on how you arrived at the higher rating. Personally I think it is a solid system most of the time. Sometimes things happen that are hard to understand or explain. Everybody has a story about someone who got moved up or down under mysterious circumstances, but they are rare exceptions IMO.

So for the majority of league players, they know this year-end Ratings Revelation is coming, and every time they play a match, you can bet your bottom dollar they are thinking about The Big Reveal after Thanksgiving. How they think about it in itself revealing. Most players, if they are honest, conform with human nature and hope to improve and be 'bumped up' when the new ratings are revealed, whether they admit it or not. There is an interesting minority twist to this hopefulness: a small number of players say they hope NOT to be bumped up. They claim to dread being bumped up as they 'want to play with their friends' and threaten to 'appeal immediately!' if the USTA dares nudge them to the higher level they have earned. This makes sense at the higher levels, 4.5 and above, where the talent is thin and it is sometimes difficult to find teams/partners. But in the middle of the pack, with hundreds of thousands of players rated at the 3.0-4.0 levels, I personally think it is utter hogwash. Fakey-fake pleas not to be moved up are a smokescreen for those fearing they will not make the grade. Yeah, I went there.

How we each handle our own NTRP rating often says more about us than the rating itself. Are you
The Obsessive-Compulsive - Did you program The Reveal date into your phone and stay up until 12:01am to be the first on your block to find out if you got bumped?
The Machiavelli - Even better, did you employ one of the numerous online cheats (Southern Section players, you know what I'm talking about!) to find out your rating ahead of time?
The Overachiever - did you jump for joy and scream like a girl when you saw your rating?
The Slacker - Or did you completely forget about The Reveal until you saw a few congratulatory mentions on Facebook (some of them self-congratulatory and hey, nothing wrong with that - good on 'ya!)??
The Passive-Aggressive - Did you feel your heart sink when you clicked on the Appeal button and it actually went through?
The Bitch - Did you get an unseemly rush of adrenaline reading the ratings lists to see who DIDN'T get bumped up? Or even better, who got bumped down??? Extra points if you manufactured some crocodile tears either in person or electronically to comfort the afflicted.

In the interest of full disclosure, this year I was a combination of Slacker, semi-Overachiever, and Bitch. Now that I have made it abundantly clear that I, too, have deeply troubling issues - Rating Envy?? - about my own personal rating and how it got that way, I will leave you to ponder, go forth, and hit the stuffing out of the ball. Trust me - you'll feel better.

USTA Focus Is On Kids

2011-11-29T16:57:00.001-05:00

In a determined effort to rebuild a U.S. presence in professional tennis, and recapture some of the audience lost to soccer, lacrosse, etc., the USTA is opening up their pocketbook and going all-out to recruit young players. At its core the concept is solid - kid-sized courts and equipment will go a long way toward making the game more enjoyable for youngsters, as well as improving the retention rate. If you've been meaning to get your little ones into tennis, now's a great time to start.

2011 Pro Circuit Year In Review

2011-11-28T14:28:00.001-05:00

The bags are unpacked, the laundry is done, and everyone is typing away on Cyber Monday, focusing on the future and the great deals on tennis stuff online today. Unless they are getting loads of freebies from their endorsements, that is. In the spirit of looking forward, let's look back for a minute. Perhaps by understanding how the Americans did on the circuit this year we can get a feel for how 2012 is going to play out.

Bjorn Fratangelo and his
French Open trophy

Since I focus on Pro Circuit events I will not talk much about the higher level events other than to mention players who did well at those levels but are still playing Pro Circuit events as well. For example: some of the biggest news along those lines was 18-year-old Bjorn Fratangelo's win at the French Open Juniors. As has been reported frequently, but since it is big news let's say it again: this was the first win at the FO by an American junior since John McEnroe in 1977 which of course was long before Fratangelo was born. Here's an interview with Bjorn prior to the final. Bjorn is coached by his father, Mario. His overall record in singles this year is 25-5 in junior events including reaching the semifinal or final round six times. His record at adult events is a less impressive 9-7.

Jack Sock and Melanie Oudin

Speaking of slams, Melanie Oudin and Jack Sock won the US Open mixed doubs title this year. Both are still teenagers. They got into the draw on a wild card, beat defending champs and top seeds Bob Bryan and Leizel Huber in the second round, and won the championship in a tiebreak. Oudin is struggling to reclaim her career high performance reaching the quarters at the 2009 US Open. During 2011 she played a variety of levels of events, from a 25K in Pelham, AL to all four grand slams. Sock had modest success with futures and did play some high level events as well, with no singles wins yet and just one finals appearance.

As for the Pro Circuit itself, it maintained a full schedule with close to 50 events for the men and more than 40 for the women. Of those, American players won 17 of the womens' events and 25 of the mens'. The results were evenly distributed with few players winning more than one event. However some players did reach the quarters or better fairly regularly. In my highly unscientific statistical survey, Wayne Odesnik led the pack with 4 event wins this year. Jesse Levine had 3 wins. Steve Johnson, James Blake, Blake Strode and Tennys Sandgren each had two. The field was pretty broad - more than 50 different players advanced to the quarters or better at least once.

For the ladies, the winning results were even more spread out. Chi Chi Scholl and Lauren Davis each won two events this year. Thirteen other players each one once. More than 60 different women advanced to the quarters or better at least once.

To sum up, we have many talented players winning at least a couple of rounds. Getting past the quarters, that's the difficulty. But it is difficult for all players, regardless of the country they represent. For 2012 let's see those tournament wins increase per player. It will be fun to see who breaks through in the new year. Watch the qualifying rounds for the Aussie Open and stay tuned for the Pro Circuit events in Florida that usually kick off the season. Good luck to all!

Winning Tennis - Do You Walk the Walk?

2011-11-25T16:46:00.001-05:00

Are you a winner? Is your opponent? Check out this article by Paul Meyer and see if you can spot the difference on both sides of the net.

Kuznetsov Takes Year-End 50K

2011-11-21T20:34:00.001-05:00

Alex Kuznetsov

What a great way to wrap up the 2011 Pro Circuit, with a win by Alex Kuznetsov at the JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana. Woot! Only nine Americans entered this event, and their herd was pretty thin after R1. But it only takes one to win, and win he did.

This event was held at the Atkins Tennis Center on the campus of University of Illinois. They did a nice job of putting great info on their website, too, if you want more of the nitty gritty.

Kuznetsov entered unseeded and landed in the bottom half of the draw. His first match was against #5 Victor Estrella (DOM) which he won 6 and 1. That brought up Jesse Levine who had a Special Entry into this event. AK won the first set easily, 6-1 and that was all he needed as Levine retired with a groin pull. Quite a different story in the quarters versus Chris Guccione (AUS). Guccione had some momentum going, having knocked out #2 Izak van der Merwe in the first round. No retirements here - quite the opposite. It was a three setter complete with breaker. Fortunately for AK the next two sets were in straights - over Peter Polansky (CAN) in the semi and #4 Rik de Voest (RSA) in the final.

#1 Michael Russell also had a good event, making it to the semis before losing to de Voest with a retirement due to a right quad pull in the third.

Michael Russell

In addition to Russell, Levine and Kuznetsov, wild card Steve Johnson also won his first round match against #6 Uladimir Ignatik (BLR) by 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, then turned around and had to play another three-setter against Harri Heliovaara (FIN) which did not turn out as well but was still close 6-4, 3-6, 7-6. Curious to see if Johnson turns pro.

Out in the first round
Brian Baker - wild card couldn't keep the momentum from Knoxville - lost to former Illini Amer Delic (BIH) in three
Kevin Kim - qualy lost to Special Entry Mirza Basic (BIH)
Roy Kalmanovich - wild card lost to Heliovaara
#7 Michael Yani - lost with a retirement (right shoulder) to Pierre Duclos (CAN)
Dennis Nevolo - wild card and local favorite (he is a senior at U of I) lost to John-Patrick Smith (GBR) in a close one, 4 and 6

So everybody take a break, get some rest, recover, and start planning for 2012. Next up: a year-end wrap-up, who's hot and who's cold on the Pro Circuit for 2011.

Florida Curse Prevails at Amelia Island 10K

2011-11-21T20:00:00.001-05:00

The 2011 Pro Circuit Futures conclude with a 10K event at Amelia Island, FL and not a moment too soon. Let us hope in 2012 Florida Futures will be kinder to American players. Thirteen Americans made it into the main draw. Zero made it to the final. Zero made it to the semis. Zero made it to the quarters. Sheesh.

Ty Trombetta

Congratulations to the following who at least won their first round match here:
Sekou Bangoura - eliminated #3 Catalin Gard, then lost to Alexandre Lacroix (FRA)
Ty Trombetta - defeated unranked wild card Eric Graves, then lost to #8 Jason Kubler (AUS) but forced a breaker in the first set
Shane Vinsant - beat unranked wild card John Michael Busch 2 and 0, then lost to #5 Vladimir Obradovic (SRB) 2 and 2
Reid Carleton - unranked qualy defeated Pedro Graber-Anguita (CHI) who until recently was also playing unranked. Reid held off a second set charge, winning 3 and 5. He then fell to #2 Benjamin Balleret (MON) 2 and 3. Reid plays tennis for Duke but calls Naples, FL home.
Maklek Sykut - got a retirement from #4 Takanyi Garanganga (ZIM) then lost to Ryusei Makiguchi (BOL)

Early exits - assume they headed to the beach. I would have. Already mentioned Graves and Busch, above.
Chris Kwon - lost to the amazingly named Maverick Banes (AUS)

Reid Carleton

Bjorn Fratangelo - qualy defeated by Tim Puetz but at 5 and 6 - nice effort, Bjorn!
#3 Jordan Cox - lost a three setter to Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) breaker in first set, destroyed 1 and 2 in second and third
Christian Harrison - ousted by Lucky Loser #8 Jason Kubler (AUS) but took it to a breaker in the second set
Mitchell Krueger - lost to PR Herbert Wiltschnig (AUT) in straights
Alexios Halebian - defeated by #5 Vladimir Obradovic (SRB) in three

Florida Luck Continues in Pro Circuit Futures

2011-11-21T19:15:00.001-05:00

Public Service Announcement: If you are an American playing at the Futures level on the USTA Pro Circuit, save your registration fee and stay away from any event held in the Florida Panhandle. See Niceville blog entry if you are in doubt.

The venue looks nice - the Roger Scott Tennis Center with 10 clay and 18 hard, all 28 lighted. It is a previous winner of the USTA Florida Tennis Facility of the Year.

Harrison Adams

Winding down the Pro Circuit 2011 season with the Pensacola 10K in early November with 8 count 'em 8 Americans in the singles draw. Only two won their first round matches. That would be Ryan Young and Harrison Adams. Nice job fellas, but that's as far as you went. Adams eliminated Shane Vinsant in a great effort by both at 5 and 4, then lost to #6 Gard (ROU) 3 and 3. He is a high school junior from Austin, Texas, and has not committed to a college yet.

Qualy Ryan Young defeated #8 Erik Crepaldi (ITA) before losing to the Aussie with the fantastic name, Maverick Banes (I am so using that in my current novel-in-progress). BTW Banes was a finalist in this event. Ryan is a Charleston, SC native and played tennis at Clemson.

Ryan Young

Everybody else GBG:
Ty Trombetta - qualy lost to Alexandre Lacroix (FRA)
Mark Oljaca - wild card lost to Banes
Maclek Sykut - lost to #3 Benjamin Balleret ( who ended up winning)
Alexios Halebian - the PCFWU (Poster Child For Winning Ugly - his coach's words, not mine) lost to wild card Milan Pokrajac (CAN) in three. So if you win ugly, does that mean you lose pretty??
Christian Harrison - not to be confused with Harrison Adams above or Ryan Harrison, his older brother - lost to Jason Kubler (AUS) who has had some success in Futures recently but not today - made it to the quarters, no further.

All-American Final at Knoxville 50K

2011-11-21T17:42:00.001-05:00

Goodfriend Tennis Center, University of Tennessee
Highly amused they apparently converted a
football/soccer field to tennis courts
Yea tennis!

Somebody's on a roll - congrats to Jesse Levine, winner of the Knoxville Challenger! Seven grand (plus $200) in your hand! This event was held at the University of Tennessee's Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center. Interesting tennis tidbit - the lights for the outdoor courts were donated by former Tennessee Vol Paul Annacone, who is now a well-known tennis coach (current client: Roger Federer; past client: Pete Sampras).

Jesse was one of 10 Americans in the singles draw. He entered with a Special Entry status. His first match was his toughest, a three set rip-snorter against Alex Kuznetsov 6-7, 7-6, 7-5. One game away from a tennis trifecta! Fantastic tennis and lucky you who were there to see it live. After those fireworks the next two matches seemed a little tame. He never lost another set, eliminating #3 Rik de Voest (RSA), Vasek Pospisil (CAN), and Mirza Basic (BIH) in straight sets to set up a final against qualy Brian Baker.

Jesse Levine

You may remember Brian Baker from his win at the Pittsburgh futures earlier this year. Brian is an assistant coach at Belton University in Nashville. He has had a tough time of it, with hip surgery several years ago. Upon his return to the circuit, he suffered an elbow injury (actually at this event in 2008) and had Tommy John surgery. 2011 is the year of the return. "Mr. Comeback", as the Knoxville press named Baker, played in the qualifying rounds and then in the main draw, claiming he was feeling fine and the elbow was holding up well. He defeated Denis Matsukevich (RUS), #4 Isak van der Merwe (RSA), #6 Uladimir Ignatik (BLR), and the other Baker in this event, Jamie (GBR).

After all this buildup the final may have been an anticlimax to some, with Levine winning easily at 2 and 3. Still, an all-American final at an event of this level is a win for American tennis.

Other Americans in the draw included

Brian Baker

#1 Michael Russell who made it through the first two rounds before losing to Jamie Baker (GBR) in three
Qualy Steve Johnson - who defeated Aussie Chris Guccione before falling to Russell 4 and 5
#3 Michael Yani - beat wild card Tennys Sandgren before losing to Jamie Baker 4-6, 7-6, 6-7. Wow - so close!
Wild card Denis Kudla lost to Vincent Millot (FRA)
Wild card Rhyne Williams fell to #5 Vasek Pospisil
#2 Bobby Reynolds - surprised by qualy Mirza Basic (BIH) who had a heckuva run all the way to the semis before Levine took him out

Levine Repeats Finals Appearance at VA 75K

2011-11-21T14:46:00.001-05:00

Jesse Levine

Thank you Jesse Levine (and others, see below) for salvaging what was looking like a very grim October for the American men in Pro Circuit tennis. I still have a headache from reading the draw sheets from the Birmingham and Niceville futures. . .

But help is on the way as I see lots of lovely highlights on the singles draw sheet from Charlottesville. The event was held at the Boars Head Sports Club, an enormous fitness facility including 26 tennis courts (12 indoor) in addition to fitness center, climbing wall, swimming, golf, etc., etc. Twelve Americans in the fray including two (Levine, Kudla) in the semis and Levine in the finals. And a great effort there as he forced three sets from eventual winner #5 Izak van der Merwe (RSA). Levine was playing as a qualy here and eliminated two seeded players on his way to the final. Unfortunately they were both American players - #2 Michael Russell and #7 Michael Yani. His other victims were qualy Carsten Ball (AUS) and Harri Heliovaara (FIN). The match with Ball was in R1 and was a real dog fight, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5). Everything after that was in straights until the final.

Denis Kudla

Denis Kudla entered as a wild card and as such probably surprised a lot of people as he advanced. His first victim was Fritz Wolmarans 9RSA) in a crazy 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 win. That set up a match against #1 Somdev Devvarman (IND). They swapped sets, then Dev retired with a shoulder ailment. Next up was Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) (playing as a lucky loser in for Thiemo de Bakker (NED) who possibly was still nursing a groin strain suffured during his match against Wayne Odesnik in the Tiburon event earlier this month). Kudla took it in straights, 6. 4 before falling to van der Merwe.

#3 Bobby Reynolds and #2 Michael Russell also performed well, advancing to the quarters. Russell had a tough win over Raven Klaasen (RSA) 4 and 6 in R1 before an even tougher three setter over qualy Steve Johnson 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. Wow!! Double Wow!! Maybe not much left to face Levine in quarters, losing 4 and 1. Reynolds was in the other half of the draw of course and saw action against wild card Sanam Singh (IND) which went to three sets; then qualy and UVA star Jarmere Jenkins which also went to three. Reynolds squeaked it out, then fell to van der Merwe 6(7) and 2.

Let's see - who have we not mentioned?
Tim Smyczek - won his first match against Alex Kuznetsov in three, then lost to #8 Vincent Millot (FRA) 6-7, 6-2, 7-6. Woot! Nice! Sorry you lost, but still!
Jack Sock - wild card was Steve Johnson's first victim, 6 and 4.
Michael Shabaz - wild card fell to Millot in three in R1

What's That Smell? American Men FAIL at Niceville 10K

2011-11-21T14:06:00.001-05:00

2011 Niceville Mullet Festival King, Bubba Stringfellow

Not much tennis news to report from the Niceville 10K but I am still chuckling over the incredibly inventive name of this Florida burg, home of the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival.

I Am Not Making This Up.

Bluewater Bay TC

Niceville is in the panhandle, not far from Fort Walton and across the bay from Destin. The event was held at Bluewater Bay (another stunningly creative name . . . ) Tennis Club which in all seriousness looks fabulous, 12 clay courts, near beach, etc. Sign me up if I have not already offended the residents.

If you got any chuckles out of that opening graph, I'm glad, because there's not much to laugh about in the singles draw results. Only a paltry seven Americans entered this event, so I have room to give you their full biographies including 4th grade social studies project and who they took to the prom. However to avoid embarrassing anyone including myself will stick to the tennis news. Here are the Stagnificent Seven.
Harrison Adams - entered as a wild card, lost to Peter Heller (GER) in R1 although the second set was a 9-7 breaker

Alexios Halebian

Alexios Halebian - qualy and USTA Boca inmate (aka 'the poster child of ugly wins', according to his coach Andy Brandi) did advance to R2 beating qualy Alexandre Lacroix (FRA); then lost to #5 Olivier Sajous (HAI) 6 and 6 - nice effort!
Mitchell Polnet - unranked qualy lost to #5 Sajous in straights
Sekou Bangoura - got a retirement from Brendan Moore (AUS), then lost to Vladimir Obradovic (SRB) in three
J Richmond - unranked qualy lost to Ryusei Makiguchi (BOL) in straights
#7 Robbye Poole - lost to Andrei Daescu (ROU) 1 and 5
Evan Song - unranked wild card lost to #2 Benjamin Balleret (MON) 3 and 0

I told you it was grim.
p.s. just kidding about Mr. Stringfellow above. There is a festival, but it has nothing to do with hair. The Mullet Festival is apparently fish-related. . .
p.p.s. - the winner of this event was Jason Kubler (AUS), who if you recall was also the winner at last week's Birmingham 10K.

No Highlights - Literally - From Birmingham 10K

2011-11-21T13:32:00.001-05:00

I am a mix of old school and new tech when I blog. The new tech is using my laptop and Internet to scope out the scoop. Then the old school kicks in. Before I recap these events, I print out a copy of the singles main draw. This shows all the participants, some info about them such as their ranking and the country they represent, and their match scores. I highlight the Americans in the draw throughout the rounds so I can more easily see their progress.

Highland Park TC

As I am looking at the draw sheet for the Player's Choice Open 10K held in Birmingham in October, I am thinking either I got interrupted and didn't finish highlighting all the American players, or my highlighter ran out of juice. Sorry to say, neither of those appear to be the case. Our third option is what you have already figured out - no Americans advanced much here. And that's too bad because we had a pretty healthy field of 13 entrants including #2 Jordan Cox and #3 Tennys Sandgren.

This event was held at the Highland Park Tennis Center, a 12 court public facility in Birmingham, AL. Making a little lemonade here, let's start with the guys who at least made it out of R1 (but no further):

Evan King

Evan King - got to R2 because his opponent, Haydn Lewis (BAR) retired after the first set (6-1). To be fair, he might have gotten there without the retirement, looking at that first set score. Nevertheless, that set up a match with #1 Nicolas Devilder (FRA) which the Michigan Wolverine played beautifully but lost 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Nice effort!
Austin Smith - eliminated unranked qualy Mico Santiago 6 and 1. Austin also put up a valiant effort in R2, taking Artem Ilyushin (RUS) to three sets.
Nathaniel Schnugg - qualy defeated fellow qualy Tim Puetz (GER) 6 and 2. Next played a solid match against unranked qualy Pedro Graber-Anguita (CHI), losing 4 and 4.
Mitchell Polnet - in the battle of the unranked wild cards, Polnet defeated Mac Styslinger in straights, then lost to Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) 1 and 2.
Sekou Bangoura - had a nifty three setter with Christian Harrison, then lost to Guillermo Gomez-Diaz (ESP), a qualy who was fresh from eliminating #2 Jordan Cox.

GBG in R1
the aforementioned Santiago, Styslinger, Harrison, and Cox
#3 Tennys Sandgren - lost to unranked qualy Graber-Anguita in three
Patrick Davidson - qualy lost to #6 Boris Bakalov
Peter Aarts - in the battle of the Peters (I know! but i couldn't resist) fell to Peter Heller (GER) in straights
Hunter Harrington - qualy lost to Milan Pikrajac (CAN) in straights

Oh, almost forgot - the finalists were Jason Kubler (AUS) and Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) with Kubler winning 3 and 2. Neither were seeded, and Nishioka entered as an unranked qualy. :(

Levine Wins Mansfield 15K

2011-11-21T12:52:00.001-05:00

I was really hoping for an American win before the Pro Circuit left Texas and hurray! Jesse Levine came through for us. A few other strong outings from our guys so let's get to it.

Walnut Creek CC

This event was held at the Walnut Creek Country Club in Mansfield, TX. I could not find any pictures of the tennis portion of the complex (14 outdoor hard) but the main clubhouse is lovely.

Mansfield is just south of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro. Remind me to tell you about the time I got lost in Mansfield. This was 30+ years ago and there sort of was no Mansfield, just a road sign. . .

Jesse Levine

Anyway, time as passed and today there certainly is a Mansfield, complete with tennis club and Pro Circuit event. Jesse Levine came in seeded #4. He blanked Mitchell Krueger in his first match. Jesse must have felt bad about that, because he showed a little mercy against Alexandre Lacroix (FRA), letting him go with a pair of breadsticks in R2. That brought him to a quarters match against #8 Blake Strode. It took Levine the first set to figure out Strode, and once he did it was a breadstick in the second set for Mr. Strode and away he went.

Meanwhile Levine's next opponent had been slogging away in the bottom half of the bottom half. Denes Lukacs (HUN) had eliminated Jordan Cox easily (1, 1) and got a retirement in the first set from #3 Chris Guccione (AUS). But he had to work to eliminate #5 Carsten Ball (AUS) in the quarters, who would not go away without requiring three sets. Who knows, maybe that softened Lukacs up. By the time they met in the semis Levine took his measure in the first set and wiped him out in the second, another 4, 1 just like he dealt on Strode.

When at last we meet the final it is a few familiar (although non-American) faces who have fought it out to get there. Peter Polansky (CAN) and John-Patrick Smith (AUS), finalists from last week's Austin 15K, played the semifinal match in the top half of the draw, with Smith winning 4 and 4. Levine took him out in straights, 3 an 4. Not exactly a butt whippin' but looks like a solid effort from both players. A good match with a good win for our guy.

Also good efforts from Aggie Austin Krajicek and Rhyne Williams, who also advanced as far as the quarters in the top half of the draw. Williams felled two American players (#7 Dennis Kosakowski and Devin Britton) before losing to Polansky. AK got two impressive wins over Artem Sitak (NZL) and #3 Jamie Baker (GBR) before losing to finalist Smith.

Others entered in this fray:
Adam el Mihdawy - last week's winner at Austin had an early exit courtesy #3 Jamie Baker
Shane Vinsant - wild card lost to Strode in R1
Dennis Nevolo - unranked qualy beat unranked wild card Mate Zsiga (HUN), then lost to Strode
Jordan Cox - lost to Lukacs with a pair of breadsticks in R1
Jeff Dadamo - qualy lost to #2 Guccione in R1 but forced a breaker in the first set

El Mihdawy Reaches Semis at Austin 15K

2011-11-21T12:19:00.001-05:00

Adam el Mihdawy

I was feeling hopeful when I saw we had 18 Americans entered in October's Austin Hill Country Classic in my home state of Texas. That hope faded away when I saw the results. Only one third of those entered made it to Round 2. Yikes! and only two made the quarters. Congratulations #2 former Tar Heel Nicholas Monroe and #6 Adam el Mihdawy for advancing that far, and extra props to el Mihdawy for making the semis. Everybody else - try again at the 15K in Mansfield next week. BTW what is with all the British talent this week? Was there a British Airways Groupon??

At least the host facility was sweet - Polo Tennis and Fitness. I don't think they actually have polo, but check out the fancy pool in more pix at their website.

Monroe had an easy win over unranked qualy Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) in his first match. He had a scare from wild card Sekou Bangoura but pulled it together for a 6 and 3 win (Bangoura had just come from a straight set win over native Texan Shane Vinsant). Monroe started off strong in the quarters with a 6-0 schooling of John-Patrick Smith (AUS), but Smith learned plenty and took the second set 6-3. Great third set with Monroe falling just a little short in a breaker. Great tennis!

Nick Monroe

El Mihdawy dismissed his first two opponents in straights before he faced Smith in the semis. Smith was coming off that tough three set win over Monroe and had no trouble at all sending el Mihdawy packing, 2 and 1. BTW Smith had a great championship match against the eventual winner, #8 Peter Polansky (CAN) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Who else made it to R2, you ask? It's a short list.
Alexios Halebian - the USTA Boca product defeated Gilad Ben Zvi (ISR) in R1, but this wild card then faced #1 Jamie Baker (GBR) and lost 3 and 3.
Jeff Dadamo - eliminated fellow Texas Aggie Austin Krajicek in three tough sets in R1 and lost to Alexandre Lacroix (FRA) in another close three sets.
#3 Jesse Levine - beat former University of Mississippi player Devin "D-Train" Britton 6 and 4 before losing to Mark Verryth (AUS) again in a close three set match.
Harrison Adams - the high school junior and home town favorite beat #7 Denes Lukacs (HUN) before losing to finalist Smith in R2

Gone in R1 - a long list.
Already mentioned Vinsant, Britton, Krajicek
Anthony Delcore - unranked lucky loser was not so lucky in drawing #1 Baker for his first match. Bye-bye Anthony, 1 and 2. Anthony is a high school senior from Omaha, Nebraska.

Mac Styslinger

Benjamin Rogers - unranked lucky loser was not so lucky (wait - overpowering feeling of deja vu - didn't I already write this? Yes I Did) losing to Boris Bakalov (BUL) 1 and 2. Ben played tennis at University of Tennessee.
Alex Hilliard - unranked wild card lost to eventual champ Polansky. Alex is from Corpus Christi and plays for the Longhorns.
Mac Styslinger - unranked lucky loser blah blah blah lucky loser Alexandre Lacroix (FRA) blah. At least it was a great match, 7-5, 7-5. This IMG Bollitieri student had a solid performance at the Australian Open juniors this year was a finalist at the 2011 Easter Bowl. Click here to see him in action.
Nick Chappell - unranked qualy lost to ranked qualy Edward Corrie (GBR) in three. The Indiana native plays tennis for TCU.
Michael Redlicki - qualy beaten by #5 Chris Eaton (GBR). Mike has committed to Duke.
Daniel Whitehead - unranked qualy lost to qualy Matthew Short (GBR) but great scores - 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Good on 'ya, Dan! Another native Texan who plays for the Longhorns.
Joshua Zavala - qualy and former Longhorn lost to Mark Verryth (AUS) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Querrey Finalist at Tiburon 100K

2011-11-20T20:50:00.001-05:00

Sam Querrey

Another big payout on the men's Pro Circuit and another American finalist. This week it was the First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger, held at the Tiburon Peninsula Club in the San Fran area. Cool factoid - this event doubled the prize money over what was offered last year. While you're checking that out, click on their photo gallery for some great shots from this event.

Sam Querrey, a semifinalist at last week's Sacramento 100K, entered Tiburon seeded 3. He eliminated #1 Ryan Sweeting on his way to a final versus Sacramento's winner, Ivo Karlovic (CRO). Querrey took the first set in the final in a breaker but Karolovic fought back and won the next two sets. Two solid performances from Querrey on his way back up the ATP rankings.

Tiburon Peninsula Club

We had 9 Americans in the draw again this week, just not the same nine. Blake was nowhere to be found, replaced at #1 by Ryan Sweeting. Johnson, Kuznetsov, #4 Reynolds, Sock - check. Add a little Kosakowski, some Kudla, and a dash of #7 Wayne-O and there you have it.

Deja vu - once again we had five of the nine advance out of Round 1. These four didn't.
Steve Johnson - is finding the jump from 10K to 100K rough going. The wild card drew #1 Sweeting for his first match and went down swinging in three.
Daniel Kosakowski - wild card lost to Robert Farah (COL) in three very close sets
Jack Sock - lost to Alexandro Gonzales (COL) also in three but not as close
Denis Kudla - wild card retired with a sprained ankle after a tough first with Vasek Pospisil (CAN)

After R2 all of the American action was in the top half of the draw. Reynolds and Odesnik both won their R1 matches, then lost in R2 (Reynolds to Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) and Odesnik to Martin Fischer (AUT), both in three tough sets).

Only three made it to the quarters, all in the top half of the draw: Querrey, Sweeting and Kuznetsov. Of course that means American eliminating American . . . this time it was Querrey taking out Kuznetsov fairly easily. Sweeting survived Pospisil and faced Querrey in the semis. Querrey appeared to have no problem handling Sweeting with a 3,4 straight set win. He said later his elbow was feeling "100%".

That's in for California Pro Circuit events for a while. Next up: PC hits the Lone Star State.

Blake Finalist For Big Bucks At Sacramento 100K

2011-11-20T19:39:00.001-05:00

California is Pro Circuit Central in the fall, with three Futures events in September followed by two big Challengers in October. This one is the RelyAid Natomas Racquet Club 100K in Sacramento. All that prize money and only nine American players entered the singles draw . . . so this will be a short blog entry!

Of the nine who dared, #1 James Blake advanced the farthest. He pushed #2 Ivo Karlovic (CRO) to three sets before succumbing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Close scores and no doubt some great tennis from these two fine players. Two other American players made it to the semis, #3 Sam Querrey and Alex Kuznetsov. Let's break it down.

I'm going to break from my usual format (winners first, losers last) and do the complete opposite today. Here are the nine American entrants:
#1 James Blake
Steve Johnson - q
Alex Kuznetsov
Nicholas Monroe - wc
#3 Sam Querrey - wc
#4 Bobby Reynolds
Tim Smyczek
Jack Sock - wc
Blake Strode

James Blake

Out in Round 1
Johnson - fresh from two 10K wins, welcome to the bigs, Steve! Steve lost to Roman Borvanov (MDA) in three
Monroe - wild card lost to Frederik Nielsen (DEN) in three
Smyczek - lost to qualy Pierre Duclos (CAN) in straights
Strode - lost to #6 Izak van der Merwe (RSA) in straights

So R1 just about cut our field in half. Round 2 was gentler - all five made it to the quarters. Woo hoo! Nice job, guys!
Blake - over Chris Guccione (AUS)
Kuznetsov - beat Simon Greul (GER)
Querrey - outlasted Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) in three
Reynolds - in a three-setter over Carlos Salamancas (COL)
Sock - defeated #6 James Ward (GBR)

Now it gets down to the, well, you know - the quarters. Three of our guys made it through as mentioned above. Eliminated in the semis:
Reynolds - by Kuznetsov in straights but first set went to breaker
Sock - by Blake in straights

That's harsh when we are eliminated by our own guys. Def needed more balance in the draw. Oh well! That left Blake vs. Kuznetsov with Blake winning 2 and 5. Meanwhile in the bottom half Querrey fell to Ivo in three tough ones. Guess Sam's elbow is holding up okay.

So close! A do-over at next week's 100K at Tiburon!

Kudla Locks Up Laguna Niguel 10K

2011-11-20T15:32:00.001-05:00

Denis Kudla

American players' domination at a string of Cali 10Ks continued in September. #1 Denis Kudla cruised to a win at the Laguna Niguel Futures without dropping a set, hardly challenged by any of his opponents. The event was played at the Laguna Niguel Racquet Club, just down the coast from last week's event at Costa Mesa. Click here for their photo page for this event. Eleven Americans in the draw this week, but Kudla was the only one who was seeded. His victims, in order, were Boris Bakalov (BUL), Alexander Sarkissian, Christian Harrison, and Takanyi Garanganga (ZIM) before beating Dennis Lajola in the All-Dennis/Denis final.

News from the top half of the draw
Unranked wild card Alexander Sarkissian repeated his performance at Costa Mesa last week, winning his first round match and losing in R1. He beat another Alexandre, qualy and former University of Florida player Lacroix (FRA) but fell in R2 to Kudla.
Christian Harrison - wild card defeated Rudolph Siwy (CZE) in a three setter, then eliminated #7 Michael Venus (NZL) in another three setter before falling to Kudla in the quarters
Shane Vinsant - qualy lost his first match against #3 Chris Eaton (GBR)

How 'bout that bottom half

Dennis Lajola

Dennis Lajola, playing with a Special Entry designation, had a decent outing again this week, making it to the finals. The University of Hawaii alum defeated Cameron Spearman in straights in R1, then eliminated #6 Siarhel Betau (BLR) in R2 also in straights but needed a breaker in the first to get there. The quarterfinals presented more of a challenge in the person of Aussie-American Sean Berman. Berman took the first set 6-2 but Lajola must have taken his measure, for he took the next two sets 1 and 1. That brought former University of Virginia player Sanam Singh (IND), a qualy who had surprised #2 Daniel Cox (GBR) with a couple of bagels in R1. But he had no surprises left by the time he faced Lajola in the semis, who took him out 2 and 3. Lajola had a good first set in the final against Kudla, getting a respectable 4 games off him, but Kudla was through playin' and swept the deciding set 6-0.

Wild card CA high school junior Connor Farren eliminated lucky loser UCLA's Aaron Yovan (playing for Brian Baker, who won the Pittsburgh futures event earlier this year) in R1, then lost to Kiryl Harbatsiuk (BLR) in R2.

Texan Joshua Zavala, entered here as a qualy, won his first round match against Bumpei Sato (JPN) in three close sets, then turned around and lost in three pretty close sets to qualy Singh (who was busy making his way to the semis).

Back-to-Back Wins For Johnson

2011-11-20T14:45:00.001-05:00

Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson continues his success on the Pro Circuit with another 10K victory at the Costa Mesa Tennis Classic. The event was held at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center, a public facility near the Orange County fairgrounds south of Los Angeles. Johnson's ranking prior to playing this event was 527 but he rolled through the draw like it was 52.7.

Denis Kudla

There were only 9 Americans in this event's singles draw - where was everybody? #1 Denis Kudla and #6 Johnson were the only Yanks seeded. They were in the same half of the draw and met in the quarters. Johnson sailed through at 3 and 3. He appeared to have either more trouble or more of a challenge in his first two matches. Round 1 was qualy Neal Skupski (GBR), ranked 1268 but giving Johnson fits and requiring a 6-4, 7-5 effort from the USC senior. Round 2 was no better - Yuichi Ito (GBR) demanded the exact same score. Perhaps because they were new opponents to him? IDK. Whatever the case, Kudla fell 3 and 3 in the quarters, then qualy Dennis Lajola in the semis at 2 and 4, setting up a final against @5 Artem Sitak (NZL). Though ranked more closely to Johnson at 427, Johnson had no trouble eliminating him with 3 and 3.

Lajola, Kudla and Johnson were the only Americans surviving into the quarters. Sean Berman won his first match against qualy Damon Gooch (RSA) 4 and 4 only to lose to qualy Alessandro Ventre (BRA) in R2. Wild card Alexander Sarkissian won his first match in a three setter against Rudolph Siwy (CZE), then fell to finalist Sitak with a pair of breadsticks. Dennis Novikov was here with a Special Entry rating and beat Vladimir Obradovic (SRB), but lost in R2 to #8 Takanyi Garanganga (ZIM).

That leaves us with those who lost their first matches.
Michael Sinha - wild card lost to Andrei Daescu (ROU) 2 and 2. Sinha had an interesting year, given the opportunity to serve as a hitting partner for #2 Rafael Nadal and #1 Caroline Wozniacki. You can read the details here.
Harry Fowler - wild card had the bad luck to draw #1 Kudla for his first match, losing 1 and 2. Fowler plays for Rice.
Marcos Giron - wild card fell to finalist Sitak in three

Johnson Prevails at Claremont 10K

2011-11-18T20:54:00.001-05:00

Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson was seeded #1 at September's Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center USTA Pro Circuit Event and played it like he meant it. After a highly competitive three set match against qualifier Kyle McMorrow, he cruised to straight set victories over the next four opponents to take the title. Congratulations, Steve! The USC senior and 2011 NCAA singles title champion is taking the semester off to play on the Pro Circuit.

The Pomona event was held at The Claremont Club, a snazzy 19 acre, 29 court fitness facility east of Los Angeles. It featured many area college players. 15 Americans entered the singles draw but only Johnson made it as far as the semis, much less the final. Even the quarters were lonely if you were an American player - only Dennis Novikov joined Johnson, and they were in opposite ends of the draw. Not sure but it looks like Novikov is a recent high school graduate and is playing ATP rather than committing to a college.

Lots of newcomers in this event. These guys made it Round 2.
Andre Dome - by beating Amrit Narasimhan. He followed that win with a great match against #4 Vladimir Obradovic (SRB) losing 5 and 5. Andre plays for Cal Poly.
Dennis Mkrtchian - wild card defeated JC Aragone, then took #6 Rudolph Siwy (CZE) to three sets before succumbing. Mrkrtchian is an incoming UCLA freshman and has trained at the USTA's Carson CA facility.

Dennis Novikov

Mousheg Hovhannisyan - the wild card and Pepperdine junior defeated qualy Emmett Egger in a long three sets before falling to qualy Alexandre Lacroix (FRA)
Marcos Giron - won a tough match against Javier Pulgar-Garcia (ESP), then lost to Darian King in another tough three-setter. He will be joining Mkrtchian at UCLA.
Thomas Shubert - unranked qualy won his first match against another unranked qualy, Adam Hubble (AUS) and gave the #2 Bassam Beidas a run for his money before falling in three. Shubert plays for Brigham Young.

Reynolds Rolls at Tulsa 50K

2011-11-18T18:44:00.001-05:00

Bobby Reynolds

Bobby Reynolds notched another victory to his tennis belt, taking the USTA Challenger of Oklahoma 50K event held at Philcrest Hills Tennis Club in Tulsa in September. Loads of American men in this one (19) and this time the numbers game worked for us. It was an all-American semi and with one exception an all-American quarterfinal, also. Nice job, guys!

The Georgia resident came in seeded #3 and played like it. He had some difficulty with his first round match against Blake Strode, needing three sets to vanquish his countryman. But it was relatively smooth sailing from there on out. Reynolds took out Chris Eaton (GBR) next, then #7 Tim Smyczek in an easy two sets and Michael Russell with a walkover due to leg pain. That set up a final with qualy Michael McClune, the 2007 USTA Boys 18s national champion (Reynolds was the champ in 2003).

McClune had worked a little harder to get to Sunday play. He got by with a 4 and 4 over John Peers (AUS) in R1 and a retirement from Wayne Odesnik due to a shoulder issue in R2. Click here for a first person account of that match. Daniel Kosakowski, however, refused to go quietly and it took a 6 and 4 win to send him on his way. That set up a semifinal match against #1 Sam Querrey who must be feeling better. Local fans must have been thrilled but a little surprised to see the former world #21 at their Challenger event. Querrey had bone chips cleaned out of his elbow in June. This was his first competitive match since the surgery (and his first Challenger level match in four years). And what a match! with McClune winning it 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. According to local news reports, McClune was down in the breaker and took four of the last five points for the comeback to get to a third set. Dang, I wish I could have been there, even though it was in Tulsa. Ha! Just kidding, Tulsa! Very picturesque once you get through the boring parts of OK. I understand this club is on the banks of the Arkansas River - nice!

BTW this article confirms Querrey's elbow held up just fine during this event and Sam is looking forward to finishing the rest of the year with some ATP events and qualifying for the Australian Open.

Michael McClune

So that brings us to McClune vs. Reynolds in the final, the seasoned #3 seeded vet vs the qualy. No Cinderella story here, I'm afraid - Reynolds took McClune to the woodshed, 1 and 3.

Some of the other guys making it through the first round:
Michael Shabaz, a wild card who narrowly eliminated Greg Ouellette 4 and 6 before falling to Querrey in R2
Chris Wettengel - Querrey's doubs partner in this event. Wettengel beat Alex Kuznetsov in R1 but lost to another Alex, Bogdanovic (GBR) in R2
Wayne Odesnik - defeated Sergei Betov (BLR) before retiring against McClune in R2
Daniel Kosakowski - won his match against Artem Sitak (NZL), then Kevin Kim before losing to McClune in the quarters
Kevin Kim - got to R2 after eliminating #5 Victor Estrella (DOM) in R2
Tim Smyczek - #7 seed booted Denis Kudla in R1 and wild card John-Patrick Smith (AUS) in R2 before falling to Reynolds in the quarters
Rajeev Ram - coming it at #6 seed, won his first match against Bumpei Sato (JPN) and took out Catalin Gard (ROU) but fell victim to Reynolds in the quarters

And a few were out early - in addition to Strode, Kudla, Kuznetsov and Ouellette previously mentioned,
Jeff Dadamo - wild card bumped out by Luis Diaz-Barriga (MEX) in a crazy three-setter - check out these scores: 6-7 (13), 6-3, 7-6 (4). Wow!
Adam Al Mihdawy - lost to wild card John-Patrick Smith (AUS)
David Martin - Reynolds' doubs partner here, lost in singles to Querrey
Jack Sock - playing as a wild card, lost to Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) in straights

Brengle Only Bright Spot at Grapevine 50K

2011-11-18T17:10:00.001-05:00

Maybe we should lower our expectations at these bigger events?

Naaaaaahhhhhhh!! We can do this, ladies! C'mon!

Madison Brengle

A healthy field of 16 Americans in the draw at this event held at the Hilton DFW Lakes, conveniently located near one of the nation's largest and busiest airports (DFW) so no excuses about transportation. Once again Madison Brengle showed she has The Right Stuff to lead the American charge at these big events. Of the 16 entered, she was the only one advancing to the semis, where she lost to Sessil Karantantcheva (KAZ) who is having some great events lately. Brengle played some very tough matches to get there. Her first match was against Ashley Weinhold, going three sets. Next up was #2 Varvara Lepchenko who had a clear advantage, barely breaking a sweat in her first round 0 and 1 rout of wild card Ryann Foster. Brengle and Lepchenko seesawed through three sets before Brengle wrapped things up with a breaker (5). Whoo that's some good tennis!

Meanwhile Chi Chi Scholl had her nose to the grindstone, fending off Elizabeth Lumpkin in R1 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (4). Her R2 match was no treat, a 6, 4 squeaker against Iona-Raluca Olaru (ROU) who had eliminated #5 Coco Vandeweghe in R1. By the time she met Brengle in the quarters, Scholl didn't have much left and Brengle took the match from her at 1 and 2 to earn the lone American spot in the semis.

Brengle may have been Only The Lonely in the semis, but she was not alone in the quarters. In addition to Scholl, Gail Brodsky had also advanced from R2. She sent #3 Jamie Hampton packing in R1 (another early exit for Hampton - not that we're counting . . .) then dealt a straight set loss on Catalina Costano (COL) before losing to Karantantcheva.

Hilton DFW Lakes

Other survivors of Round 1 (a lamentably short list)
Yasmin Schnack - breezed by Tammy Hendler (BEL), then got slammed to the mat by #7 Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO)
Madison Keys - eliminated Lauren Davis before losing to #4 Shuai Zhang (CHN) in R2

Shown the door in Round 1 (a lamentably long list)
We already mentioned Lumpkin, Foster, Weinhold, Hampton, Vandeweghe
Lindsay Lee-Waters - lost to Chanelle Simmonds (RSA)
Nicole Melichar - qualy lost to #8 Kurumi Nara (JPN). Melichar was the only American to face Nara here, who went on to win this event.
Shelby Rogers - wild card lost to #4 Zhang
Alexandra Stevenson - retired at 4-0 in the first set against Karantantcheva

Phoenix Goldwater 75K = FAIL For American Women

2011-11-18T16:23:00.001-05:00

Folks this is not how we wanted to wrap up the women's 2011 Pro Circuit season. Once again we see an event with a bigger purse slipping away from the grasp of our American women. The Goldwater Women's Tennis Classic was held at the breathtakingly beautiful, very private, very expensive-looking Phoenix Country Club. The event benefited Ryan's House, a non-profit that provides care to children with life-threatening illnesses. Sounds like a great cause!

17 Americans in the draw, and one did manage to make the semis. That would be Madison Keys. All of her victims were American players, dang it! She got there in three straight set matches, defeating #4 Jamie Hampton, wild card Victoria Duval, and qualy Grace Min. Her run was ended by Sessil Karatantcheva (KAZ), who ended up winning the entire event.

Madison Keys

Min was the only other American player beside Keys to make it to the quarters. She got there by eliminating Chi Chi Scholl pretty easily in R1, 3 and 0, then #5 Shuai Zhang (CHN) in a three setter.

We did pretty well in the first round. It was Round 2 that wiped us out. Coco Vandeweghe, seeded #6, throttled wild card June Lee 2 and 1 before losing to Olga Puchkova (RUS) 4 and 6. Amanda Fink eliminated qualy Krista Hardebeck, then lost to #3 Mandy Minella (LUX). Gail Brodsky beat Madison Brengle before losing to Petra Rampre. #2 Varvara Lepchenko beat Iona-Raluca Olaru (ROU) then lost to Monica Puig in a three-setter.

Others sent packing early:
Ashley Weinhold - by Puig
Julia Boserup - by #8 Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO)
Alexandra Stevenson - by youngster Victoria Duval
Yasmin Schnack - lost to Kurumi Nara (JPN)
and a bit of a shocker - #1 seed Irina Falconi losing to Michele Larcher de Brito (POR) in three. LdB had another strong showing here, making it to the finals again.

Puerto Rico 25K A Wasted Trip For American Women

2011-11-18T15:35:00.001-05:00

San Juan, PR

I guess I sort of gave away the farm with that blog title, huh? About the only bright side for Americans in this singles draw was the tropical island paradise setting. 14 Americans in the draw and only one made it as far as the quarters. Pfffft, that's it. Less tennis = more beach so I guess not all was lost. This event was held at the Honda Tennis Center, a 16 court public facility in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Bayamon is just south of the island's capital, San Juan, and just minutes from the ocean.

Let's give props to Madison Brengle, seeded #5. She started off with a bang, wiping out local favorite Jessica Roland-Rosario (PUR) with a bicycle. Ouch! next up was Andrea Gamiz (VEN) putting up a struggle as they went three sets before Brengle prevailed. But that's all she wrote - #3 Michele Larcher de Brito (POR) had little trouble taking their match 3 and 2. LdB ended up winning the whole thing, disappointing fans who were no doubt rooting for her opponent in the final, Puerto Rico's own Monica Puig.

Madison Brengle

Of the 14, three others in addition to Brengle at least made it out of Round 1. #2 Julia Cohen had no trouble with teenybopper qualy Katrine Steffensen, sending her to the beach early at 1 and 2. But Cohen fell to Gabriela Paz (VEN and sans Special Ranking this time) in the quarters in straights. Wild card Victorial Duval defeated fellow wild card Sherry Li 2 and 2 before losing to Olga Puchkova (RUS) in three. Sylvia Kosakowski but a whippin' on another local player, unranked qualy Koralie Etienne (PUR), again with an inhospitable bicycle. Welcome to the bigs, Koralie! The tables were turned in R2 when #8 Monica Puig (PUR) eliminated Kosakowski 2 and 2. The name Kosakowski might ring a bell if you also follow the men's Pro Circuit - her younger brother Daniel is competing there. Older brother Marcin played for UC Santa Barbra and also coaches. Sister Nicole played at Baylor. Sylvia played her college tennis at Pepperdine.

Everybody else hit the beaches early:
Karina Rovira - unranked qualy lost to Adriana Perez (VEN) 2 and 1. Karina is from Gastonia, NC just west of Charlotte. I found a clip of her on YouTube playing in a junior tournament at Jeff Adams Tennis Center last fall. I think I was reffing this tournament but I don't remember which site I was working.
Nicole Melichar - lost to Catalina Castano (COL) in straights
Yawna Allen - qualy lost to Andrea Gamiz (VEN) in straights
Danielle Mills - lost to Puig 1 and 2. Danielle is a junior at Miami. She has a nice website with lots of pictures if you have time and want to check it out.
Grace Min - lost to Yuliana Lizarazo (COL) 2 and 4
Alexandra Kiick - qualy lost to #7 Puchkova 3 and 3
Natalie Pluskota - wild card fell to Gabriela Paz (VEN) 3 and 4

Min Reaches Rock Hill 25K Final

2011-11-18T12:23:00.001-05:00

This is the third consecutive year for the Rock Hill Rocks open, held at the Rock Hill Tennis Center. Rock Hill, South Carolina is a city of some 45,000+ about 30 miles south of Charlotte, NC. A few years ago, I spent most of my tennis playing time at this facility and I can tell you they have a great setup there as well as a great group of volunteers. They created a Facebook page for this event and took plenty of pictures, so if you have time, stop by and check it out. Shout Out to my BFF Kim Ozmon who runs the facility - great job again this year!

Grace Min

The Americans took a hard run at it but couldn't overcome the momentum Romina Oprandi (ITA) had built over the last few events. Grace Min, 2011 US Open Girls singles champion, once again exceeded expectations, The Georgia native (and pride of the Southern Section!) entered as a qualy but making it all the way to the finals. She knocked out #8 Michele Larcher de Brito (POR) 4 and 4 in her first match, and that turned out to be the toughest one she had before she got to the finals. She beat Madison Keys 4 and 2 in the second, and embarrassed Lauren Davis with a pair of breadsticks in the quarters. Perhaps most impressively, she beat #4 Camila Giorgi (ITA and last year's winner of this event) with authority, 1 and 3. In the championship match Grace had a good first set, losing 7-5, but couldn't turn it to her advantage and gave up the second with a breadstick. Click here to check out some of Grace's moves during the 2010 Orange Bowl Girls 18 final. Great follow through!

Min was not alone in reaching the semis. Danielle Collins, still playing well after her win at Williamsburg, took out Romana Tedjakusuma (INA) in R1, then rode a three setter to victory over wild card Alexandra Kiick in R2. Kiick was fresh from a big three-set win over #3 Jamie Hampton in R1, who at that time exceeded her by 650+ ranking points. Collins' win over Kiick set up a quarterfinal match against Krista Hardebeck, who had eliminated Ashley Weihnold in R1 and got a win by retirement over Alize Lim (FRA) in R2. Hardebeck v. Collins was a great match, going three sets, but Collins prevailed. She couldn't handle Oprandi in the semis and went down meekly, 1 and 1.

Danielle Collins

Let's back up a minute here to fill in on some of the other players. Madison Keys lost to Min in R2, but she had a good three-setter in R1 to eliminate Olga Puchkova (RUS) who has been playing well the last few Pro Circuit events. Lauren Davis also made a good contribution to the American cause by eliminating #2 Mirjana Lucic (CRO) in R2, 6-0, 7-6 (5) before losing to Min in the quarters.

Others winning in Round 1:
Jennifer Elie - as a qualy, took out Marie-Eve Pelletier (CAN) before falling to Oprandi in R2
Madison Brengle - eliminated #7 Timea Babos (HUN), then lost to Sessil Karatantcheva (KAZ)
Shelby Rogers - qualy beat Chanel Simmonds (RSA) in straights before losing to #4 Giorgi 3 and 4

Early exits by #6 Weinhold and #3 Hampton whom we have already mentioned, as well as Amanda Fink (falling to #2 Lucic) and Jacqueline Cako (to Lim in straights).

Battle of Troy - Lepchenko Reaches 50K Final

2011-11-18T11:09:00.001-05:00

They had so much fun at the KC 50K, they demanded a rematch. Yes, it was deja vu all over again at the USTA Tennis Classic of Troy (AL, not Turkey) 50K. This event has legs - this is its ninth straight year. It was held on the campus of Troy University at the Jimmy C. Lunsford Tennis Complex.

Jimmy C. Lunsford Tennis Complex, Troy University AL

With a slight role reversal, it was the Lepchenko-Oprandi show in the final. This time Oprandi came out on top easily, 1 and 2. Let's go back to the role reversal for a minute. I do not pretend to understand how the rankings points system works, especially when I see something like this:

October 3 50K event in Kansas City - Lepchenko is ranked 109 and seeded #1. Oprandi is ranked 114 and seeded #2. They meet in the final, and Lepchenko wins 4 and 1.
October 10 50K event in Troy AL - the very next event, Lepchenko goes in ranked 114 and Oprandi is 100 (even though Lepchenko beat Oprandi in the 10/3 event), therefore reversing their seeding from previous week. ?????? Anyway - on with the show.

Varvara Lepchenko

It is fitting these two young ladies met in the final battle at Troy, as their original homelands (Uzbekistan and Italy) are within striking distance of the original city of that name (western Turkey overlooking the Aegean Sea), way closer than we are from here. BTW isn't it cute that Romina is coached by her brother, Romeo? Love it!

Great job Varvara, putting together back-to-back appearances in 50K finals. She had some tough matches on the way to the finals at Troy, including fighting off a breaker vs Catalina Castano (COL) in R1 and a scary three-setter against Michele Larcher de Brito (POR) in R2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. Wow! Great tennis! After that, straight set wins over qualy Elena Bovina (RUS) and Sessil Karatantcheva (KAZ) were a relief.

Other Yanks at this event included two other seeds, #5 and wild card Melanie Oudin and #8 Chi Chi Scholl. Oudin lost her first match to Karatantcheva 1 and 3. Scholl got lucky drawing an unranked wild card for R1, high school sophomore Ryann Foster, and welcomed her to the Pro Circuit with a bagel and breadstick. She got a win off a retirement from Alexandra Stevenson in R2 before losing to Olga Puchkova (RUS) in three in the quarters.

Two other Americans also made it to the quarters - Grace Min and Shelby Rogers. Grace was competing here as a qualifier and stunned #4 Camila Giorgi (ITA) with a straight set loss in the first round. Next she eliminated Ahsha Rolle 3 and 3 who was coming off an exhausting 35 game three setter in her first round match. The party ended in the quarters where she lost to Karatantcheva 1 and 2. Shelby Rogers was also playing as a qualy and had a great close match versus qualy Marie-Eve Pelletier (CAN), winning 4 and 6. Round two provided her the opportunity to eliminate another Canadian, #6 Sharon Fichman, in three sets. Nice work! Too bad the semi wasn't against another Canadian! But it was Oprandi who showed up and knocked Shelby out of the running 4 and 3.

Alexis King

Who have I failed to mention??

Alexandra Stevenson, Gail Brodsky and Alexis King at least won one match before elimination. Stevenson beat Ashley Weinhold, 1 and 3. Brodsky elminated #3 Valeria Savinykh (RUS) in straights before falling to Puchkova with about the same scores. AK had hairpulling cat fight versus Petra Rampre (SLO). Playing as a lucky loser (replacing Mirjana Lucic), and with a 200 point rankings deficit, King and Rampre put on quite a show: 7-6 (3), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4). Fans got their money's worth on that one!! As often happens, the first match was a BANG! and the next was a whimper - AK lost 2 and 3 to Karatantcheva in R2.

And a few not quite making it out of R1 . . .

Madison Brengle - lost to #6 Fichman 1 and 2

Chieh-Yu Hsu - wild card lost to Puchkova but pushed to three sets

Julia Boserup - lost to Alize Lim (FRA) but almost forced a third, 0 and 6.