KALAMAZOO, Michigan – Two doubles championship trophies were given out on day nine of the 2018 USTA Boys’ 18 and 16 National Championships on Saturday.

In 18 doubles, top-seeded Patrick Kypson (Raleigh, North Carolina) and Danny Thomas (Columbus, Ohio) claimed the tournament title and wildcard into the U.S. Open main draws with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 2 Trey Hilderbrand (San Antonio, Texas) and Govind Nanda (Cerritos, California). Thomas, also the 2017 champion in doubles, becomes the first repeat doubles champion since Rajeev Ram and Jonathan Stokke in 2001-02. In addition, Kypson entered a group of just for other individuals – Paul Goldstein, Larry Gottfried, Billy Martin and Erik van Dillen – to have won 16 singles, 18 singles and 18 doubles titles during their Kalamazoo careers.

In 16 doubles, top-seeded Keshav Chopra (Marietta, Georgia) and Maxwell McKennon (Newport Beach, California) took the first set 6-3 from No. 7 Alex Lee (Oak Brook, Illinois) and Niroop Vallabhaneni (Paradise Valley, Arizona), but Chopra fell victim to fatigue and illness in sets two and three. Also the top seed in 16 singles, Chopra valiantly finished the match, but Lee and Vallabhaneni playing well were too much to overcome as they took the last two sets 6-2, 6-0 to claim the 16 doubles title.

In 18 singles, No. 4 Jenson Brooksby (Carmichael, California) dispatched No. 6 Drew Baird (Holly Springs, North Carolina) 6-1, 6-0 in just 45 minutes to earn his spot in the final on Sunday. His opponent will be No. 3 Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, California), who ousted No. 26 Stefan Dostanic (Irvine, California) in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Nakashima, the 2017 champion in 16 singles, has not lost a match at Kalamazoo since the 2016 tournament.

In 16 singles, No. 4 Zane Khan (San Antonio, Texas) swept No. 1 Chopra 6-0, 6-2 to earn his spot in Sunday’s championship match. He will face No. 15 Martin Damm (Bradenton, Florida), who bested No. 45 Alex Kiefer (The Woodlands, Texas) 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the other semifinal.

Sunday, the final day of the tournament, begins at 8 a.m. with the semifinals in the 16 feed ins. The 16 singles championship is schedule for an 11:30 a.m. start with the 18 singles final to follow.

Source: Mitch Blankespoor