KALAMAZOO, Michigan – The quarterfinal in all divisions are set after day six of the 2019 USTA Boys’ 18 & 16 National Championships.

In 18 singles, Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, California) continued his dominance by not allowing more than three games in a set as the 2018 finalist rolled over No. 32 Ryder Jackson (Nicasio, California) 6-3, 6-0. He will face No. 31 Blaise Bicknell (Miami, Florida) after the native of the Sunshine State defeated No. 27 Siem Woldeab (La Mesa, California) 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4. No. 6 Zachary Svajda (San Diego, California) and No. 33 Cash Hanzlik (Portland, Oregon) also advanced to the quarterfinals via 6-3, 6-1 victories.

In the bottom half of the draw, No. 4 Cannon Kingsley (Northport, New York) edged No. 16 Andrew Dale (Leesburg, Virginia) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a three-hour match while No. 5 Govind Nanda (Cerritos, California), who will be Kingsley’s opponent in the quarterfinals, needed three sets to defeat unseeded Samuel Rubell (Miami Beach, Florida) 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1. The other quarterfinal match will feature No. 10 Eliot Spizzirri (Greenwich, Connecticut) and No. 25 Ronan Jachuck (Boca Raton, Florida).

In 16 singles, the top four seeds all advanced to the quarterfinals in straight sets. No. 1 Alexander Bernard (Bonita Springs, Florida) will meet No. 32 Hugo Hashimoto (San Diego, California) in the quarterfinals after he dispatched No. 5 Thomas Paulsell (Seattle, Washington) 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. No. 3 Samir Banerjee (Basking Ridge, New Jersey) will face No. 7 Ben Shelton (Gainesville, Florida) after he survived 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 over No. 30 Nate Bonetto (Bend, Oregon).

The bottom half of the draw will feature No. 4 Aidan Mayo (Torrance, California) vs. No. 9 Victor Lilov (Raleigh, North Carolina) and No. 2 Luke Casper (Santa Cruz, California) against No. 19 Alex Finkelstein (Raynham, Massachusetts).

The quarterfinals of the 16 singles will be played tomorrow (Thursday) with the 18 singles quarterfinals happening on Friday.

In 18 doubles, No. 1 Martin Damm (Bradenton, Florida) and Toby Kodat (Bradenton, Florida) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory, but the No. 2 seeds Tyler Zink (Bradenton, Florida) and Spizzirri had to pull out due to an illness. No. 3 Nakashima and Nanda advanced via a 6-0, 6-0 victory while the No. 7 seeds Welsh Hotard (New Orleans, Louisiana) and Benjamin Koch (Abbeville, Louisiana) and No. 8 seeds Dali Branch (Deerfield Beach, Florida) and Will Grant (Boca Raton, Florida) also advanced via straight-set victories.

In 16 doubles, only four of the top eight seeds remain. No. 2 Paulsell and Frank Thompson (Blacksburg, Virginia) advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (7) win over No. 9 James Delgado (High Point, North Carolina) and Matthew Pitts (Greer, South Carolina). They will face the No. 8 seeds Banerjee and Ozan Colak (Okemos, Michigan). The other two top eight seeds still in the tournament, No. 3 Finkelstein and Nathan Mao (Topsham, Maine) as well as No. 7 Hashimoto and Benjamin Kittay (Potomac, Maryland).

Quarterfinals in both divisions of doubles will take place on Thursday.

Source: Mitch Blankespoor