By Andrew Labovitz, special to USTA.com
PLANTATION, Fla. -- While a number of seeded players exited the 2011 Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in quick fashion on Monday, the top players in the boys’ and girls’ 18s draws advanced with very few exceptions on Tuesday, as the first round of play came to a close. However, the boys’ and girls’ 16s draws provided drama in droves at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center, including an upset of a top-seeded player.
Two Floridians provided three-set upsets in the girls’ 18s draw on Tuesday, as Bradenton’s Stephanie Nauta came from a set down to beat No. 9 seed Kathinka Von Deichmann of Liechtenstein, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, and wild card Nadia Echeverria Alam of Doral beat No. 8 seed Ellen Allgurin of Sweden, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, in one of the longest matches of the day.
Echeverria Alam insisted after the match that she maintained a high level of play despite the lopsided second-set score but that Allgurin picked up her game. It showed in the third set, as Echeverria Alam was forced to withstand multiple break points at 4-all in a game that featured more than 10 deuce points, before breaking Allgurin to win the match one game later.
The two lone American seeds also advanced on Thursday under very different circumstances. No. 15 seed and 2010 16s champion Allie Kiick, a Plantation native and the daughter of former Miami Dolphin Jim Kiick, struggled in the second set against Romanian qualifier Ioana Ducu before emerging with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, victory.
Conversely, No. 16 seed Taylor Townsend of Stockbridge, Ga., waited on court for her opponent for nearly 20 minutes before a lucky loser was given the go-ahead in the form of close friend Mia King of Hendersonville, N.C. King and Townsend both train full-time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., but Townsend was the better player on this day and advanced with a 6-2, 6-2, victory.
The top two seeds in the girls’ 18s advanced with little issue. Top-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard won the first nine games of her match against reigning USTA Girls’ 16s National Champion Peggy Porter of Dallas en route to a 6-0, 7-5, win, while No. 2 seed Yulia Putintseva of Russia dominated Austrian Barbara Haas, 6-3, 6-4. On Wednesday, Putintseva will face Catherine Harrison of Germantown, Tenn., whom Putintseva beat one week ago in the first round of the Eddie Herr en route to the title.
In the boys’ 18s draw, while No. 1 seed and Eddie Herr champion Dominic Thiem of Austria continued his dominant play over the last month, defeating Briton Luke Bambridge, 7-5, 6-1, No. 2 seed and Wimbledon boys’ finalist Liam Broady of Great Britain struggled early against German Jannis Kahlke before restoring order with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
The two seeded Americans, No. 4 Mitchell Krueger of Aledo, Texas, and No. 13 Alexios Halebian of Glendale, Calif., each advanced with a straight-sets victory; Krueger, the French Open boys’ doubles finalist, beat Israeli Or Ram-Harel, 6-3, 6-3, while Halebian, the reigning USTA Boys’ 18s National Clay Court champion, beat Belgian Joseph Van Dooren, 6-1, 7-5.
But by and large, Tuesday was unkind to a number of other Americans, including California wild cards Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont and J.C. Aragone of Yorba Linda, as well as qualifier Thai Kwiatkowski of Charlotte, N.C., all of whom suffered brutal three-set defeats.
Both No. 1 seeds in the boys’ and girls’ 16s draws faced serious challenges in Tuesday’s second round with opposite results. Anton Desyatnik of Russia squared off against wild card Jared Donaldson of Cumberland, R.I., and after losing the first set, looked to be in total control halfway through the third, reaching match point on a number of occasions. But Donaldson, who trains full-time in Argentina, saved each and every one before ultimately securing a 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5, upset.
Donaldson is just one of three Americans to reach the round of 16, along with wild card Joseph Di Giulio of Newport Beach, Calif., and qualifier Shane Monroe of Ventnor City, N.J.
On the other hand, Americans comprise an astounding 14 of the 16 girls to reach the third round in the girls’ 16s draws, including top-seed Johnnise Renaud of North Miami, Fla. Renaud came out sluggish against Austrian qualifier Karoline Kurz but roared back to win, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Kimberly Yee of Las Vegas pulled off the draw’s biggest upset, coming from a set down to defeat No. 3 seed Valeria Bhunu of Zimbabwe, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, while lucky loser Terri Fleming of Alpharetta, Ga., recorded perhaps the most surprising result, beating No. 4 seed Maria Limanskaya of Russia, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4. A third upset came via 2011 USTA Girls’ 16s National Championships finalist Alyssa Smith of Laguna Niguel, Fla., who took down No. 8 seed Anna Maria Heil of Austria, 6-2, 6-1.
Elsewhere, No. 14 seed Rasheeda McAdoo, the daughter of basketball Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, wasted little time in beating wild card Kaitlyn McCarthy of Cary, N.C., 6-2, 6-0, and in a matchup of two girls who train full-time at the USTA Training Center-Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., reigning girls’ 16s Easter Bowl champion Caroline Doyle beat Tornado Ali Black, who won the girls’ 16s title at the Eddie Herr last week, 7-5, 6-2.
Play resumes on Wednesday with the second round of the boys’ and girls’ 18s draws, as well as the third round of the boys’ and girls’ 16s draws.
Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship
Frank Veltri Tennis Center, Plantation, Fla.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Girls 18s Singles – First Round
(1) Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) def. (WC) Peggy Porter (Dallas), 6-0, 7-5
(12) Ganna Poznikhirenko (UKR) def. Blair Shankle (Comfort, Texas), 6-3, 6-2
(Q) Stefania Hristov (ROU) def. Ferny Angeles Paz (PER), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
(Q) Petra Uberalova (SVK) def. Victoria Rodriguez (MEX), 6-4, 6-2
(16) Taylor Townsend (Stockbridge, Ga.) def. (LL) Mia King (Hendersonville, N.C.), 6-2, 6-2
Elizaveta Ianchuk (UKR) def. (10) Victoria Kan (RUS), 6-4, 6-3
(WC) Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) def. Clementina Riobueno de Paola (VEN), 6-4, 6-3
(5) Anett Kontaveit (EST) def. Kelsey Laurente (Miramar, Fla.), 6-3, 6-3
(6) Zuzanna Maciejewska (POL) def. (Q) Belinda Bencic (SUI), 6-3, 6-0
Stephanie Nauta (Bradenton, Fla.) def. (9) Kathinka Von Deichmann (LIE), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
(15) Alexandra Kiick (Plantation, Fla.) def. (Q) Ioana Ducu (ROU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Varvara Flink (RUS) def. (Q) Lynn Chi (Weston, Fla.), 7-6(4), 6-1
(WC) Nadia Echeverria Alam (Doral, Fla.) def. (8) Ellen Allgurin (SWE), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
(Q) Maci Epstein (Windermere, Fla.) def. (Q) Elena Maltseva 6-2, 6-0
Catherine Harrison (Germantown, Tenn.) def. Olga Ianchuk (UKR), 6-3, 6-4
(2) Yulia Putintseva (RUS) def. Barbara Haas (AUT), 6-3, 6-4
Boys’ 18s Singles – First Round
(1) Dominic Thiem (AUT) def. Luke Bambridge (GBR), 7-5, 6-1
(16) Hassan Ndayishimiye (BDI) def. (Q) John Harrison Richmond (Pawley’s Island, S.C.), 6-0, 6-4
Borna Coric (CRO) def. Edward Nguyen (CAN), 6-2, 6-2
(4) Mitchell Krueger (Aledo, Texas) def. Or Ram-Harel (ISR), 6-3, 6-3
(Q) Martins Podzus (LAT) def. (Q) Vasco Mensurado (POR), 6-0, 7-5
(Q) Mateo Martinez (ARG) def. Joshua Ward-Hibbert (GBR), 6-3, 7-5
Kevin Kaczynski (GER) def. (14) Marco Aurelio Nunez (MEX), 7-5, 6-1
(5) Kyle Edmund (GBR) def. Trey Strobel (Bradenton, Fla.), 6-2, 7-5
Evan Hoyt (GBR) def. (Q) Mazen Osama (EGY), 6-2, 6-2
(13) Alexios Halebian (Glendale, Calif.) def. (Q) Joseph Van Dooren (BEL), 6-1, 7-5
(7) Patrick Ofner (AUT) def. (WC) Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont, Calif.), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
Jorge Panta Herreros (PER) def. Jonathan Cornish (GBR), 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3
Thien Nguyen Hoang (VIE) def. (Q) Thai Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
(Q) Janis Podzus (LAT) def. (WC) J.C. Aragone (Yorba Linda, Calif.), 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-4
Bernardo Casares (BRA) def. (LL) Diogo Rocha (POR), 6-3, 6-4
(2) Liam Broady (GBR) def. Jannis Kahlke (GER), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Girls’ 16s Singles - Second Round
(1) Johnnise Renaud (North Miami, Fla.) def. (Q) Karoline Kurz (AUT), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
(13) Erin Routliffe (CAN) def. Keisha Clousing (Wheaton, Ill.), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Caroline Doyle (San Francisco) def. (WC) Tornado Ali Black (Boca Raton, Fla.), 7-5, 6-2
Alyssa Smith (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) def. (8) Anna Maria Heil (AUT), 6-2, 6-1
(LL) Terri Fleming (Alpharetta, Ga.) def. (4) Maria Limanskaya (RUS), 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
(14) Rasheeda McAdoo (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) def. (WC) Kaitlyn McCarthy (Cary, N.C.), 6-2, 6-0
Lexi Borr (Westfield, N.J.) def. (Q) Anna Sokiran (RUS), 6-0, 6-0
(6) Madison Bourguignon (Issaquah, Wash.) def. Marie Norris (Burdett, Kan.), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
(5) Alexandra Morozova (Plantation, Fla.) def. Elizabeth Profit (La Habra, Calif.), 6-1, 6-0
Jessica Ho (Wexford, Pa.) def. (WC) Maia Magill (Studio City, Calif.), 6-1, 6-4
(LL) Maria Smith (Houston) def. (WC) Alexandra Miller-Krasilnikov (Boca Raton, Fla.), 6-2, 6-3
Kimberly Yee (Las Vegas) def. (3) Valeria Bhunu 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
(WC) Cassandra Vazquez (Houston) def. Jessica Simpson (RSA), 7-5, 6-4
(9) Josie Kuhlman (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) def. Dasha Ivanova (Beaverton, Ore.), 6-2, 6-3
Shannon Hudson (Virginia Beach, Va.) def. Mariana Gould (Boise, Idaho), 6-1, 7-5
(2) Katie Boulter (GBR) def. Jamie Loeb (Ossining, N.Y.), 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3
Boys’ 16s Singles – Second Round
(WC) Jared Donaldson (Cumberland, R.I.) def. (1) Anton Desyatnik (RUS), 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5
Tommy Mylnikov (CAN) def. Gregory Garcia (Poway, Calif.), 6-3, 6-2
(12) Diego Pedraza (COL) def. Lamar Remy (Roslyn, N.Y.), 6-1, 6-2
(Q) Shane Monroe (Ventnor City, N.J.) def. (Q) Chase Perez-Blanco (Miami), 6-4, 6-3
(4) Hugo Di Feo (CAN) def. (LL) Alexandru Gozun (Sarasota, Fla.), 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(0)
Andrei Stefan Apostol (ROU) def. (13) Alexander Sendegeya (GBR), 6-4, 6-1
(9) Daniel Windahl (SWE) def. Weigiang Zheng (CHN), 6-4, 6-0
(6) Aleksandr Spirin (RUS) def. (WC) McClaine Roy (San Antonio), 6-4, 6-2
Hyeon Chung (KOR) def. (7) Stefan Kozlov (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(4)
(WC) Joseph DiGiulio (Newport Beach, Calif.) def. Nicolas Jarry (CHI), 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3
(14) Lucas Miedler (AUT) def. (WC) Tommy Paul (Greenville, N.C.), 6-3, 6-2
(3) Fedor Andrienko (RUS) def. (Q) Baker Newman (Miami), 7-6(5), 6-4
(5) Brayden Schnur (CAN) def. (Q) Lucas Meirelles Guitarrari (BRA), 6-4, 6-3
(10) Patrick Ciorcila (ROU) def. (WC) Justin Butsch (Miami Beach, Fla.), 7-6(5), 6-4
(LL) Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (UKR) def. (15) Julian Zlobinsky (Greenvale, N.Y.), 6-4, 6-2
(2) Franz Sydow (NED) def. Grant Solomon (Dallas), 6-4, 7-6(2)