Jack Sock of Lincoln, Neb., and Krista Hardebeck of Santa Ana, Calif., captured the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championship singles titles Sunday at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Fla., and the Racquet Club of Memphis (Tenn.), respectively.
The nation’s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships across the country last week. The winners of the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s events will each be invited back to the sites of their tournaments for pro events next year. Sock will receive a wild card entry into the qualifying draw of the 2010 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and Hardebeck will gain a wild card into the qualifying draw at the 2010 Cellular South Cup.
Sock, 16, entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. He defeated 17-year-old Sekou Coker Bangoura of Bradenton, Fla., the No. 4 seed, in the final, 6-3, 6-2. Sock also won the doubles title, partnering with Frederick Saba of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to defeat Zachary Leslie of San Diego and Anderson Reed of Daphne, Ala. Sock is currently ranked in the top five in both the USTA Boys’ 16s (where he is the No. 1 player) and 18s.
Hardebeck, 14, was competing in her first 18-and-under National Championship and entered the tournament unseeded. She recorded upsets over the No. 2 and 3 seeds en route to the final, where she defeated No. 17 Gabriella De Simone of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 6-2, 6-3. Hardebeck is No. 4 in the USTA Girls’ 16s National Standings, but will compete in the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships next month.
Highlights from other USTA National Junior Clay Court Championships include:
No. 2 seed Kyle McPhillips, 15 of Willoughby, Ohio, won the USTA Girls’ 16s National Clay Court Championship without dropping a single set during her seven matches. McPhillips, who won the Girls’ 14s Clay Courts in 2008, defeated No. 3 seed Ashley Dai of Temple City, Calif., in the final, 6-2, 6-2, in Virginia Beach, Va.
No. 19 seed Roy Lederman, 14, of Golden Beach, Fla., swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships, held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He upset No. 4 seed Drew Dawson of Irvine, Calif., 7-6(3), 6-1 to win the singles title, and teamed with Ryan Smith of Weston, Fla., to win the doubles title. Lederman was a Boys’ 14s finalist at the 2009 Easter Bowl in April.
Kelsey Laurente, 14, of Miramar, Fla., swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Girls’ 14s National Clay Court Championships held in Plantation, Fla. Laurente, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 7 Gabrielle Andrews of Pomona, Calif., in the final, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to win her first USTA national singles title, and teamed with Alexandra Morozova of Boca Raton, Fla., to win the doubles title. Laurente also won two ITF 18-and-under events earlier this summer.
Below is the complete list of championship results from this week’s USTA Junior National Clay Court Championships. The complete draws are available on www.usta.com.
USTA Boys’ 18s National Clay Court Championships Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., July 19-26
Singles: (2) Jack Sock, Lincoln, Neb., d. (4) Sekou Coker Bangoura, Bradenton, Fla., 6-3, 6-2.
Doubles: (1) Frederick Saba, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Jack Sock, Lincoln, Neb., d. (7) Zachary Leslie, San Diego, and Anderson Reed, Daphne, Ala., 6-2, 7-6(3).
USTA Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships The Racquet Club of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn., July 19-26
Singles: Krista Hardebeck, Santa Ana, Calif., d. (17) Gabriella De Simone, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles: Kayla Duncan, Winston Salem, N.C., and Allison Falkin, Roswell, Ga., d. (2) Whitney Kay, Alpharetta, Ga., and Ellen Tsay, Pleasanton, Calif., 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
USTA Boys’ 16s National Clay Court Championships Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., July 19-26
Singles: (1) Bjorn Fratangelo, Pittsburgh, d. (2) Jackson Withrow, Omaha, Neb., 7-6(4), 6-2.
Doubles: Joe Dorn, Washington, D.C., and Anton Kovrigin, Rockville, Md., d. (9) Jason Luu, Fairfax, Va., and Quoo-Daniel Nguyen, Dunn Loring, Va., 6-3, 6-1.
USTA Girls’ 16s National Clay Court Championships
Virginia Beach Tennis & Country Club, Virginia Beach, Va., July 19-26
Singles: (2) Kyle McPhillips, Willoughby, Ohio, d. (3) Ashley Dai, Temple City, Calif., 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles: Lindsay Graff, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Nicole Robinson, West Palm Beach, Fla., d. Fabiola Chaillo, Falls Church, Va., and Spencer Liang, Potomac, Md.., 6-3, 6-2.
USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., July 19-26
Singles: (19) Roy Lederman, Golden Beach, Fla., d. (4) Drew Dawson, Irvine, Calif., 7-6(3), 6-1.
Doubles: (9) Roy Lederman, Golden Beach, Fla., and Ryan Smith, Weston, Fla., d. (9) Gregory Garcia, Poway, Calif., and Edward Kim, La Habra, Calif., 6-1, 7-6(1).
USTA Girls’ 14s National Clay Court Championships
Frank Veltri Tennis Center, Plantation, Fla., July 19-26
Singles: (3) Kelsey Laurente, Miramar, Fla., d. (7) Gabrielle Andrews, Pomona, Calif., 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles: (4) Kelsey Laurente, Miramar, Fla., and Alexandra Morozova, Boca Raton, Fla., d. (6) Gabrielle Andrews, Pomona Calif., and Christina Makarova, San Diego, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
USTA Boys’ 12s National Clay Court Championships Spencer Love Tennis Center, Greensboro, N.C., July 19-26
Singles: (1) Tommy Paul, Greenville, N.C., d. (17) Eduardo Nava, Woodland Hills, Calif., 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles: (1) Tommy Paul, Greenville, N.C., and Henrik Wiersholm, Kirkland, Wash., d. (3) David Beasley, Greenwood, Ind., and Sameer Kumar, Carmel, Ind., 6-3, 6-4.
USTA Girls’ 12s National Clay Court Championships Polo Club of Boca Raton, Boca Raton, Fla., July 19-26
Singles: (2) Anastasia Nefedova, Palm Harbor, Fla., d. Maria Shishkina, Bradenton, Fla., 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4.
Doubles: (1) Andie Daniell, Douglasville, Ga., and Kenadi Hance, Torrence, Calif., d. (16) Kellyn Abbanat, Parkland, Fla., and Ashley Bongart, Bradenton, Fla., 6-2, 6-1.