All the 18s seeded players had byes on the opening day of the USTA Boys’ 18 & 16 National Championships in Kalamazoo, and at least one player is looking forward to playing the top seed on Saturday. Cal Hilsman, Spartanburg, S.C,., defeated Wyatt McCoy, Shoreview, Minn., 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(4), on Friday in a match that lasted three hours. Hilsman, who didn’t compete in the Nationals last year because of an injury, said the biggest difference between 16s and 18s is “There aren’t any easy matches and you have to be a lot fitter. People just hit harder.” Hilsman’s match was the first one called Friday morning and, playing on Centre Court, “I was a little nervous in the beginning, then you get used to it,” he said. After winning the first set in a tiebreak, Hilsman said he lost his focus in the second. “Sometimes I just lose sets, don’t really focus,” he said. CI knew I’d won the first set, so I knew I could do it. It’s all about concentration. “I just started focusing a little more because he’s so tough. He was making me play a lot.” Hilsman takes on top-seeded Alex Domijan, Wesley Chapel, Fla., on Saturday.

Freddy Quintos, Murrieta, Calif., also faces a seed on Saturday — No. 11 Junior Ore, Gaithersburg, Md. Quintos defeated Yevgeny Pereverzin, Clackamas, Ore., 6-2, 6-4, on Friday. “In the first set, (Pereverzin) was spraying balls a little bit,” Quintos said. “In the second set, he got more into a rhythm where he was getting more balls back. I had to work a little harder.”

The 16s draw, except for the seeded players, begins play on Saturday.

Source: USTA Nationals Staff