Alexios Halebian of Glendale, Calif., and Luca Corinteli of Alexandria, Va., who live together at the USTA Training Center-Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., captured the boys’ 18s and 16s singles titles, respectively, on Sunday at the 2011 USTA National Clay Court Championships at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Fla. Gabrielle Andrews of Pomona, Calif., won the girls’ 18s singles title Sunday at the Racquet Club of Memphis (Tenn.).
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 ATP World Tour and WTA events next year. Halebian will receive a wild-card entry into the qualifying draw of the 2012 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and Andrews will be given a wild card into the qualifying draw at the 2012 Cellular South Cup.
Halebian, 17, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, solidified his standing as one of the country’s top junior clay-court players. After losing last year’s Boys’ 18s National Clay Court final to reigning French Open boys’ singles champion Bjorn Fratangelo, Halebian defeated No. 10 seed Brett Clark, a 17-year-old from Naples, Fla., 7-6 (5), 6-4, in this year’s final.
Corinteli, a 16-year-old from Alexandria, Va., won the first national title of his career at the USTA Boys’ 16s National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla. Corinteli, the No. 4 seed, beat No. 3 Noah Rubin of Rockville Center, N.Y., 6-4, 6-2.
Andrews, 14, currently the No. 2 player in the USTA Girls’ 18s National Standings, was the top-seeded player in the field and beat unseeded Denis Starr of Boca Raton, Fla., 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, to win her second national singles title in the last year; she also swept the girls’ 18s singles and doubles titles at the USTA Winter National Championships in December. Additionally, last year’s girls’ 18s singles finalists, Whitney Kay of Alpharetta, Ga., and Caroline Price of Duluth, Ga., partnered to win this year’s doubles title.
Highlights from other USTA National Junior Clay Court Championships:
No. 6 seed Peggy Porter, a 15-year-old from Dallas, swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Girls’ 16s National Clay Court Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. Porter beat No. 18 Keisha Clousing of Wheaton, Ill., 6-1, 6-2, to win the singles title and partnered with Laura Patterson of Roswell, Ga., to win the doubles title.
Reilly Opelka, a 13-year-old from Palm Coast, Fla., who trains full time at the USTA Training Center-Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., beat No. 8 seed Cameron Klinger of San Jose, Calif., 6-2, 6-3, to win his second career national title at the USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Opelka won the USTA Boys’ 12s Spring National Championships in 2010.
Below is the complete list of championship results from this week’s USTA 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 17-24
Singles: (1) Alexios Halebian, Glendale, Calif., d. (10) Brett Clark, Naples, Fla., 7-6(5), 6-4.
Doubles: (2) Zack McCourt, Sunrise, Fla., and Gordon Watson, Naples, Fla., d. (8) Vikram Hundal, Alpharetta, Ga., and Alex Sidney, Baltimore, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
USTA Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships
The Racquet Club of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn., July 17-24
Singles: (1) Gabrielle Andrews, Pomona, Calif., d. Denise Starr, Boca Raton, Fla., 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles: (2) Whitney Kay, Alpharetta, Ga., and Caroline Price, Duluth, Ga., d. (4) Lynn Chi, Weston, Fla., and Chalena Scholl, Pompano, Beach, Fla., 6-3, 6-4.
USTA Boys’ 16s National Clay Court Championships
Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., July 17-24
Singles: (4) Luca Corinteli, Alexandria, Va., d. (3) Noah Rubin, Rockville Center, N.Y., 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles: (2) Yale Goldberg, Beachwood, Ohio, and Ronnie Schneider, Bloomington, Ind., d. (1) Gregory Garcia, Poway, Calif., and Thomas Pura, Pacific Palisades, Calif., 6-4, 7-5.
USTA Girls’ 16s National Clay Court Championships
Virginia Beach Tennis & Country Club, Virginia Beach, Va., July 17-24
Singles: (6) Peggy Porter, Dallas, d. (18) Keisha Clousing, Wheaton, Ill., 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles: (6) Laura Patterson, Roswell, Ga., and Peggy Porter, Dallas, d. Julia O’Loughlin, Lighthouse Point, Fla., and Cristina Rovira, Boca Raton, Fla., 6-1, 6-3.
USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships
Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., July 17-22
Singles: (16) Reilly Opelka, Palm Coast, Fla., d. (8) Cameron Klinger, San Jose, Calif., 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles: (9) Jake Devine, Boca Raton, Fla., and Nathan Ponwith, Scottsdale, Ariz., d. (2) Yancy Dennis, Reisterstown, Md., and Francis Tiafoe, College Park, Md., 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
USTA Girls’ 14s National Clay Court Championships
Frank Veltri Tennis Center, Plantation, Fla., July 17-22
Singles: Madison Bourguignon, Boynton Beach, Fla., d. (1) Katrina Stewart, Miami, 6-3, 6-2.
Doubles: (1) Lauren Goodman, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Emma Stein, Dublin, Ohio, d. (4) Emma Higuchi, Los Angeles, and Maddie Pothoff, Tucson, Ariz., 6-4, 6-1.
USTA Boys’ 12s National Clay Court Championships
Randy Pate Tennis Academy, Winston-Salem, N.C., July 17-22
Singles: (15) Connor Hance, Torrance, Calif., d. (3) Patrick Kypson, Greenville, N.C., 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles: (5) Nathan Perrone, Mount Laurel, N.J., and Alexandre Rotsaert, Villanova, Pa., d. (2) John McNally, Cincinnati, and Gianni Ross, Burr Ridge, Ill., 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
USTA Girls’ 12s National Clay Court Championships
Polo Club of Boca Raton, Boca Raton, Fla., July 17-22
Singles: (1) Catherine Bellis, Fort Worth, Texas, d. Kayla Day, Santa Barbara, Calif., 6-1, 6-4.
Doubles: (4) Anna Bright, Memphis, Tenn., and Mallory Gilmer, Woodstock, Ga., d. (12) Madeline Meredith, Vestavia, Ala., and Danielle Vines, Elizabethton, Tenn., 6-1, 6-4.