USTA News
16s Singles Semifinals Set
2008-08-08 The field for Saturday\'s singles semifinals in 16s has been set and one of the 18s spots is filled as the bottom halves of the draw battled through their quarterfinals matches today.In 18s, Ryan Thacher (8) of Studio City , Calif., defeated Chase Buchanan (2) of New Albany, Ohio, 6-4, 7-5 and will play either Adam El Mihdawy (3) of Long Island City, N.Y. , or Ty Trombetta (6) of Hallandale, Fla., on Saturday.
In 16s, Evan King (2) of Chicago will play Denis Kudla (6) of Arlington, Va., in Saturday’s semifinals.
King beat Ben Guthrie (2) of Plano, Texas, 6-1, 6-0, while Kudla defeated Jack Sock (3) of Lincoln, Neb., 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
“It still wasn’t easy,” King said of the rout. “He fought pretty hard and at the end he has some game points. At the end, he hit some good shots.
"I played really well. I didn’t really make that many errors, so it was a good day."
Kudla, who won on his fourth match point, said, "My serve still isn’t a thing that I’m depending on so much (but breaking Sock’s first serve) definitely gave me a little boost."
In the other half of the 18s semifinals draw, Ryan Harrison (1) of New Braunfels, Texas, will face Austin Krajicek (5) of Bryan, Texas.
In 16s, Ben van Overbeek (5) of Boca Raton, Fla., will play Jordan Cox (7) of Duluth, Ga.
Ty Trombetta Trumps El Mihdawy
2008-08-08 Ty Trombetta (6) of Hallandale, Fla., won his fourth three-setter in a row, advancing to Saturday's semifinals with a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Adam El Mihdawy (3) of Long Island City, N.Y., today.Trombetta will play Ryan Thacher (8) of Studio City Calif., in one 18s semifinal.
Ryan Harrison (1) of New Braunfels, Texas, will face Austin Krajicek (5) of Bryan, Texas, in the other 18s semifinal.
Tournament Update
2008-08-07 Top-seeded Ryan Harrison has a spot in Saturday\'s 18s semifinals, but Rhyne Williams (12) of Knoxville, Tenn., and Austin Krajicek (5) of Bryan, Texas, are waiting to finish their match, which was interrupted by a cloudburst Thursday afternoon.Krajicek won the first set 6-1 but Harrison was leading the second 4-1 when the match was suspended.
The winner will play Harrison, a 6-4, 6-2, winner over Bradley Klahn (7) of Poway, Calif.
"Fortunately I got an early break on the first game," said Harrison. "He ended up breaking me back, but I immediately broke him back to get the game in the second.
"From then on out, when I went up 4-3 serving in the first set, I made a commitment to myself that if he was going to beat me, he was going to have to break my serve, whenever I made three or four first serves a game.
"The only game he broke me in, I missed all six first serves."
The top half of the 16s semifinals field is set with Bob van Overbeek (5) of Boca Raton, Fla., taking on Jordan Cox (7) of Duluth, Ga., on Saturday.
Both won their quarterfinals matches today, with the bottom half of the draw playing in the quarters on Friday.
Van Overbeek defeated Raymond Sarmiento (9) of Fontana, Calif., 7-5, 6-2, using his big serve to his advantage.
"(Sarmiento) was serving very well and I wasn’t getting that many opportunities,” said van Overbeek. “I just wanted to try and hold my serve. I’ve played him in practice and sometimes he’ll give you a few easy mistakes.
"I was hoping for that on his serve,"
With the first set tied 5-5, van Overbeek broke Sarmiento, then served for the set, winning on an ace.
In the second, Sarmiento was broken twice before pull ing to 5-2. On his second match point, van Overbeek won on an ace.
Cox advanced by beating Clay Thompson (11) of Venice Beach, Calif., 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
"I thought I was still in (the second set)," said Cox. "I had one loose game where I got broken, played a couple of loose points and he started playing a little better on my service game.
"I only got broken once (in the second set), so I wasn’t unhappy about it,"
Austin Krajicek v Rhyne Williams
2008-08-07 After a two-hour rain delay that interrupted his match, Austin Krajicek, the fifth seed from Bryan, Texas, advanced to Saturday\'s 18 semifinals with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over Rhyne Williams (12) of Knoxville, Tenn.The match was Krajicek\'s third three-setter of the tournament.
"I wasn\'t too upset that it rained because I had the momentum in the first set and then it kind of shifted over to his side a little bit," said Krajicek.
After exchanging breaks in the third set, Krajicek held serve for 2-2.
"It was a big game," he said. "That was probably \'I felt I could win the match\' difference there because he had the momentum back and I grinded out that game and that kinda gave me some momentum going into his game."
Krajicek plays top-seeded Ryan Harrison in the semis.
18s Update
2008-08-06 The field is set for the 18s quarterfinals Thursday and Friday with four of the top five seeds advancing.The fourth seed, Alexander Domijan of Wesley Chapel, Fla., was upset by Rhyne Williams (12) of Knoxville, Tenn., 1-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5 on Wednesday.
Williams said it's a good thing to know that he can rebound from a 6-1 first-set loss to win the match, but "I've got to get out tomorrow and play another one, which is a bad thing."
Top-seeded Ryan Harrison of New Braunfels, Texas, pulled out a three-setter, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, over Alex Llompart (21) of Carolina, Puerto Rico. Both attend the John Newcombe Academy and "I train with him and practice with him every day," Harrison said. "I warmed up with him today before the match, so obviously there's a little bit of a rivalry there."
"He came out playing well, serving big and got an early break on me ... I wasn’t 100 percent ready to play. I came out a little bit lackadaisical and he was ready to get on top of things and he immediately took advantage. I didn’t even have a break point in the first set."
Harrison will play Bradley Klahn (7) of Poway, Calif., in the quarterfinals. Klahn beat Kyle McMorrow (13), 6-3, 6-2, on Wednesday.
Chase Buchanan (2) of New Albany, Ohio, advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over unseeded Ian Chadwell of Franklin, Tenn., and Adam El Mihdawy (3) of Long Island City, N.Y., defeated Wil Spencer (16) of Ponce De Leon, Fla., 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-2.
"He was missing a lot in the first and I was attacking a little more," El Mihdawy said of Spencer.
In the quarters, Buchanan will play Ryan Thacher (8) of Studio City, Calif., who defeated Jarmere Jenkins (9) of College Park, Ga., 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the round of 16.
El Mihdawy takes on Ty Trombetta (6) of Hallandale, Fla., who beat Dennis Nevolo (11) of Gurnee, Ill., 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5).
Austin Krajicek (5) of Bryan Texas defeated Steve Johnson (15) of Orange, Calif, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and will face Williams in the quarterfinals.
Evan King v Casey McMaster
2008-08-05 Evan King of Chicago, the second seed in boys 16s, got off to a slow start against unseeded Casey McMaster, the 32nd seed from Fort Collins, Colo., losing the first three games before rallying for a 6-4, 6-0 win Tuesday morning."He came off on his serves, just firing serves and that definitely played a part in it," King said.
King advances to Wednesday's round of 16.
Bangoura defeats Silverman
2008-08-05 Starting the tournament with two three-set wins, Junior Bangoura finally won in straight sets to advance to Wednesday\'s round of 16.Bangoura (4) defeated unseeded Cameron Silverman, Mount Kisco, N.Y., 6-4, 6-1, in a Tuesday morning match.
"I was a lot more relaxed today. It felt good," said Bangoura, who was playing his third match on Centre Court. "I love playing earlier. You get the match done and have the afternoon off."
Top Seed Fowler defeated by 20th Seed Newman
2008-08-05 The upset of the day sent the No. 1 seed in 16s to the back draw.Spencer Newman, the 20th seed from Miami, defeated top-seeded Harry Fowler of Houston 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
After losing the first set, Newman went up 3-0 in the second and rolled into the 10-minute break with a split.
In the third set, Newman broke Fowler in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead, then broke him again to go up 5-2.
Newman was serving for the match and had triple match point, but Fowler fought back to 40-15. Newman popped a drop volley over the net for the upset.
“I just felt so good, so relieved,” Newman said after the win.
“After I lost the first set, I just kept playing,” said Newman, a first-year 16 player. “I20didn’t give up. I just kept fighting.”
Leading 3-0 in the second set, Newman said, “I’m thinking, it’s possible. You know, I can do this. this kid is beatable.
“I had chances in the first set. I didn’t take my opportunities. I was down 5-4 and I had a bunch of ads to make it 5-all. I knew it was possible. It gave me the extra edge. It’s a good win.”
Tuesday Tournament Update
2008-08-05 Although Spencer Newman, the 20th seed from Miami, pulled the upset of the day beating top-seeded Harry Fowler of Houston, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in 16s, all the other top five seeds in both divisions advanced to today\'s Round of 16, all at Stowe Stadium.Other 16s winners were: Evan King (2) of Chicago over Casey MacMaster (32) of Fort Collins, Colo., 6-4, 6-0; Jack Sock (3) of Lincoln, Neb., over unseeded Campbell Johnson of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 6-2, 6-4; Junior Bangoura (4) of Bradenton, Fla., over unseeded Cameron Silverman of Mount Kisco, N.Y., 6-4, 6-1; and Bob van Overbeek (5) of Boca Raton, Fla., over Brian Fang (28) of Hacienda Heights, Calif., 6-0, 6-1.
In 18s, top-seeded Ryan Harrison of New Braunfels, Texas, was tested on the same stadium court that claimed Fowler, slipping past Kevin King (17) of Peachtree City, Ga., 6 -4, 7-6 (6).
Other 18s winners were: Chase Buchanan (2) of New Albany, Ohio, over Frank Carleton (32) of Naples, Fla., 6-0, 6-0; Adam El Mihdawy (3) of Long Island City, N.Y., over John Huang (29) of Irvine, Calif., 6-0, 6-2; Alexander Domijan (4) of Wesley Chapel, Fla., over unseeded Jason Lin, Irvine, Calif., 6-0, 6-3; and Austin Krajicek (5), Bryan, Texas, over unseeded Mousheg Hovhannisyan of Los Angeles, Calif.
Tournament Update
2008-08-04 In spite of a three and one-half hour rain day Monday morning, all scheduled matches were completed by the end of the day with all five top seeds in both divisions advancing.In 16s, four of the matches were straight-set wins, including the No. 1 seed, Harry Fowler of Houston, Texas, over Andrew Goodwin of Alpharetta, Ga., 6-2, 6-0.
No. 2 Evan King of Chicago beat Puerto Rico’s Gabriel Flores, 6-3, 6-0; No. 3 Jack Sock of Lincoln, Neb., beat Cameron Ghorbani of Lexington, Mass., 6-2, 6-2; No. 4 Sekou Coker Bangoura of Bradenton, Fla., pulled out a three-set win over Jimmy Roebker of Fort Mitchell, Ky., 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; and No. 5 Bob van Overbeek of Boca Raton, Fla., beat Michael Rinaldi, Palm City, Fla., 6-1, 6-2.
In 18s, No. 5 Austin Krajicek of Bryan, Texas, also needed three sets to advance, beating John Lamble of Saratoga, Calif., 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The top seed, Ryan Harrison of New Braunfels, Texas, beat Blake Barzarnik of Kildeer, Ill., 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 Chase Buchanan, New Albany, Ohio, defeated Alex Rovello of Portland, Ore., 6-3, 6-0; No. 3 Adam El Mihdawy of Long Island City, N.Y., bested Joe Young of Redlands, Calif., 6-4, 6-0; and No. 4 Alexander Domijan of Wesley Chapel, Fla., beat Bryan Weinetz of Laredo, Texas, 7-5, 6-3.
Ryan Harrison said he knows that, being the top seed, he has a target on his back.
“Everyone’s out to get you,” he said. “You’ve just got to play every match with the same intensity and fire you would if you were the underdog.
“It adds a little extra pressure, but at the end of the day, it’s just you playing against your opponent and whoever plays better that day, wins.”
Chase Buchanan has lost only four games in two matches, but he looks at the ease with which he has advanced philosophically.
“They could be challenges if I let them,” he said. “I’m not going to let somebody challenge me that shouldn’t.
“If somebody’s up to the challenge to do it, then I’m there.”