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Monday, March 18, 2024

Seeds Begin Play Tuesday at San Diego ITF J300; Hance Saves Six Match Points to Advance to Second Straight Meeting With Top Seed Woestendick; Brantmeier Sues NCAA Over Pro Prize Money Restrictions

©Colette Lewis 2024--
San Diego CA--



The first round of the ITF J300 San Diego American Regional Championships began under clear skies Monday morning at the Barnes Tennis Center. The six boys and six girls qualifiers were in action, along with the six wild cards in each draw and 20 players with direct entry. In the 48-player draw, seeds do not play until the second round of Tuesday, but most of them were at the site to practice and scout their possible opposition.

Top seed Cooper Woestendick might have thought he was heading for a second round match against qualifier Roshan Santhosh, but instead he will be facing Keaton Hance for the second straight week, after Hance saved six match points, three at 3-5 and three more at 5-4 before going on to record a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(0) victory.

"He definitely, for sure, got a little more nervous," Hance said. "But obviously you've got to expect that on a match point. I was just trying to make as many balls as I could, make him miss. I wasn't going to make a bad error on his match points."

Santhosh, a 15-year-old from Thousand Oaks, and Hance had not played before, which Hance, a 16-year-old from Torrance, admitted was somewhat surprising, given their same birth year and USTA section. Adjusting to the lack of pace on Santhosh's rally balls, Hance decided to reign in his own game in response.

"He makes a ton a balls and you have to match it, make just as many balls as him," said Hance. "He's a grinder, but really very loose, so he can slap a little bit, and every once in a while he'd go big. You can't really do that, or the point's over. You have to get it out of his strike zone, or he'll lock on it and rip it. You can't be too aggressive, though because he's pretty scrappy and gets to a lot of balls, so you have to be aggressive, but not overly aggressive.

Although Hance didn't make a single first serve at 5-6, he held at love, the start of his 11-point streak that ended the match.

"I wasn't getting any first serves in, so I started kicking it in the tiebreaker, make him play a first serve, because it's a different mentality," said Hance, who was proud of the tweener he hit in a spectacular point he eventually won, although not quite as he had anticipated. "I was so happy I made that. I wanted to go over his head, but I won the point so I don't really care now. It was a really good point."

His reward for that comeback is another match with Woestendick, who beat him 6-0, 6-3 in the second round last week at the J300 in Indian Wells.

There was another first round boys match that went to a third set tiebreaker, with wild card Jack Satterfield managing to fight through cramps to defeat qualifier Paris Pouatcha 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(3). Pouatcha also wasn't in great physical shape near the end of the three-hour match, and both struggled to move with any energy, but Satterfield managed to win six straight points from 2-0 down to give himself four match points and he converted the second.

Second round matches begin Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., with the 16 boys matches, followed by the 16 girls matches, and the second round of doubles. Thea Frodin and Shannon Lam are the No. 1 seeds in the girls doubles draw, with Roy Horovitz and Alex Razeghi the top seeds in the boys doubles draw.

Boys seeds:
1. Cooper Woestendick
2. Alex Razeghi
3. Roy Horovitz
4. Max Exsted
5. Matthew Forbes
6. Jagger Leach
7. Ian Mayew
8. Jack Kennedy
9. Noah Johnston
10. Nikita Filin
11. Matisse Farzam
12. Kase Schinnerer
13. Maximus Dussault
14. Connor Church
15. Jack Secord
16. Jordan Reznik

Girls seeds:
1. Iva Jovic
2. Thea Frodin
3. Shannon Lam
4. Aspen Schuman
5. Kate Fakih
6. Christasha McNeil
7. Alanis Hamilton
8. Claire An
9. Monika Ekstrand
10. Maya Iyengar
11. Kristina Penickova
12. Capucine Jauffret
13. Olivia Center
14. Trinetra Vijayakumar
15. Annika Penickova
16. Leena Friedman

University of North Carolina sophomore Reese Brantmeier, who is out for the season with a torn meniscus, filed a lawsuit today against the NCAA, arguing the organization should not be allowed to prohibit student-athletes in individual sports from collecting prize money at professional events they compete in.

In addition to a synopsis of the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, which runs to 54 pages, the article at The Athletic provides details on the eligibility issues the NCAA raised on the expenses she declared while competing at the 2022 US Open, which kept her from playing in the fall of her freshman year. The pettiness of the NCAA on issues like this, while the Name Image and Likeness model and Transfer Portal has led to complete chaos in college athletics, is not likely to help the NCAA's image, nor to strengthen its position as an organization that actually is beneficial for student-athletes.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Unseeded Glozman Beats Top Seed Kostovic, Wild Card Quan Comes Back to Defeat Kennedy for ITF J300 Indian Wells Titles; San Diego J300 Begins Monday

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Indian Wells California--


Next spring Valerie Glozman and Rudy Quan will be in the midst of their first collegiate dual match season, but they will need to carve out a few days to compete in the women's and men's BNP Paribas Open qualifying after winning those wild cards with titles at the ITF J300 FILA International Junior Championships.


The unseeded Glozman, who has signed with Stanford, made quick work of top seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-2, while wild card Quan, who will be competing for UCLA this fall, took a more circuitous route to the title, beating No. 10 seed Jack Kennedy 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.

The girls final on a sunny Sunday morning was Glozman's first look at Stadium 2, but the 17-year-old from Seattle Washington looked comfortable from the beginning, running out to a 4-0 lead with a major assist from an error-prone Kostovic.

"It was my first time in a stadium this big for sure," Glozman said. "I was warming up here this morning and I was already feeling it. I'm super grateful to have pulled that out because it was kind of scary for the first time."

Of the two finalists, it was Glozman who would have been projected to have trouble in the first few games, as she had cramped late in her nearly three-hour win over No. 2 seed Iva Jovic.

"I super sore this morning, but I got treatment and I took a few ibuprofren, so I was managing it throughout the match," Glozman said. "I did get pretty exhausted physically, just not to the point of cramping."

After the first four games, Kostovic began to stay in rallies a bit longer, holding and breaking to get one of the breaks back, but she dropped serve again and Glozman closed out the set.

"She started calibrating around 4-0 and a lot of her shots started going in," said Glozman, who had beaten Kostovic 16 months ago at the Junior Billie Jean King Cup in Turkey. "I don't know if she was feeling nervous or not, but whatever it was she started making great shots. I wasn't totally relaxed yet, but having that 4-0 lead was super helpful for me."

Glozman's energy stores were low after yesterday's semifinal, so she decided to change her tactics, looping balls consistently near the baseline, especially when defending.

"I just wasn't feeling my big shots today," said Glozman, who had blasted the ball consistently against Jovic, with her two-handed forehand and backhand. "I tried to go for it a few times, but I was a little scattered. I think it's partially because I couldn't accelerate due to nerves, so I was trying to find a gear that was a little more reliable when I'm not totally on. I noticed the high balls were working for me; not only did they help me get some rhythm, I think they took away some of her rhythm as well. She will attack any short ball and plays positive tennis, and I try not to get run around too much, and throwing up the high balls kept me a little more in control of the point."

Kostovic hung tough in the early stages of the second set, but asked for a medical timeout at the 3-2 changeover, and received treatment for a left thigh injury, which she said had gotten worse over the course of the week.

"I tried not to think about it, but it was a lot of matches, lot of effort" said the 16-year-old from Serbia, who had defeated No. 3 seed Thea Frodin 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Stadium 2 in Saturday's lone singles match played there. "At one moment, I just couldn't walk, but I didn't want to retire the match, I wanted to finish the match to the end."

Kostovic didn't have any opinion on the level of her opponent, saying she was just focusing on her own pain.

"I hope next time I know how to deal with this, it's a new experience, but I heal up and go for the next match," said Kostovic, who is planning to defend her J300 title in Bulgaria next month.


Glozman now has three titles in the past three springs at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, winning the 16s Easter Bowl in 2022, the 18s Easter Bowl last year, and now this title, her first on the ITF Junior Circuit. 

"It's incredible, it feels great," Glozman said. "I honestly wasn't expecting it, but I'm super grateful for this."

Glozman was aware that a women's qualifying wild card was on the line, but promptly forgot it in order to focus on the match.

"They mentioned it right before the match, but I just wasn't thinking about it, just like I wasn't thinking about the US Open wild card," said Glozman, who was the runner-up to future Stanford teammate Eleana Yu in San Diego in 2022. "I'm just super excited to play all these great players at the tournaments."

Glozman is not playing San Diego next week, but is still deciding whether she'll defend her Easter Bowl title two weeks from now.


While Glozman was forced find a less physically taxing strategy in the final after her issues Saturday, Quan was in even worse shape coming into his first ITF J300 final. His three-set semifinal battle with top seed and future UCLA teammate Kaylan Bigun had gone three hours and produced a calf strain, finishing after 9:30 p.m. 

Starting sluggishly against the energetic Kennedy, Quan managed to locate his dynamic game in the second set, despite his physical distress.

"I did not sleep well, was throwing up a lot, felt really nauseous going into warmups," said the 18-year-old from Thousand Oaks California. "It was due to fatigue, I think, I put a lot of effort into that match and it took a toll on me. But I was so adrenalized out there, I didn't feel anything. The legs obviously get really tired in the third set, but I just kept believing in myself."

Quan also took advantage of the energy provided by several hundred specatators who had gravitated to the boys final after the women's final ended and before the men's final began.

"I love the crowd here," said Quan. "I'm a Cali kid, so I get a little bias. They were very supportive of me last year, I met a lot of people, sat and had lunch with them, and they are all very kind people. And it helped me. It helped me keep going, keep fighting out there. All the people saying you can do it, keep fighting, you got this, it really boosts your adrenaline and your will to keep going."

After gaining all the momentum with his play in the second set, Quan couldn't sustain it early in the third, but he was able to set the agenda on most points in the late stages of the match. Kennedy has an outstanding drop shot, but Quan's speed took that weapon out of his arsenal.

"He always puts pressure on you," said Kennedy, who lost to Quan 6-3, 6-1 in the third round here last year. "No matter what the score is or if it's offense he's on or defense. He likes to stay on top of the baseline and he's a great mover, so it's tough to get balls past him. Drop shots weren't that successful today."

Quan was impressed with how much the 15-year-old from New York has improved from their meeting last year. 

"I have a lot of respect for how he carries himself on the court, the way he keeps fighting, his speed, hustle and grit," said Quan, who snapped Kennedy's 14-match winning streak on the ITF Junior Circuit. "His backhand's gotten much better and he's gotten taller, I could definitely see his fitness was better. And a 14-match winning streak, that boosts any player's confidence."

Quan said he kept the BNP Paribas Open qualifying wild card out of his mind until the final point was played, dropping to his knees on the baseline, then sending his hat flying in celebration.


"I was just so tired, just focusing on where I needed to serve," Quan said of the final game. "But then I just collapsed and thought, oh my god, I'm going to qualifying. I'm going to have to miss a couple of college matches."

Quan is grateful for the opportunity and will be setting his goals on being competitive at that level of the sport. 

"The work is just starting. I've got a lot of things I need to work on, especially on the pro level," said Quan, who is not playing San Diego. "I don't want to just go there and just enjoy it. I want to go there and win."

The draws have been released for Monday's first round at the San Diego J300, which is a North American Closed event. Like the ITF J300 Indian Wells, it is a 48-draw, so no seeds will play until Tuesday.

I'll have coverage from the first round at the Barnes Tennis Center tomorrow.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Glozman Overcomes Cramps, Reaches FILA International ITFJ300 Final Against Kostovic; Quan Fights Back to Beat Bigun in Late Night Finish, Kennedy Upsets Defending Champion to Reach Boys Final; Doubles Champions Crowned

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Indian Wells CA--


A cramping Valerie Glozman had failed in her attempt to serve out the match at 5-2 in the third set of her semifinal with No. 2 seed Iva Jovic at the FILA International Junior Championships ITF J300 Saturday, so when she went up 15-40 with Jovic serving, she tapped all her reserves to close out the match. After running down shot after shot and throwing up one defensive lob after another, the 17-year-old from Washington couldn't keep Jovic from finally putting a shot out of her reach.

As she headed to her towel to catch her breath and reset, Glozman's legs gave out, nearly unable to move, but fortunately still on her feet. When the chair umpire eventually asked if she was all right, Glozman answered honestly that she was cramping. Immediately after Glozman asked how much time she had, the chair gave her a time violation warning, so Glozman slowly walked to her returning position, the tension mounting.

"I was a little nervous, because I knew Iva was going to keep fighting until the end," Glozman said. "I was really excited to get that 40-15 lead, so it was really tricky, 40-30, I really wanted to close it out."

Glozman was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Jovic netted a backhand after a short rally, giving Glozman a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win and a spot in her first J300 final.

"I think she could have probably run me side to side a little more," Glozman said. "But I was going to commit on that point, no matter what, to be offensive, but also to get everything back. Once you lose a couple of those match points it's tough to close it out."

Glozman had watched Coco Gauff force a third set by saving match points in her semifinal against Sakkari Friday night, and knowing Jovic's reputation for comebacks, Glozman didn't want to squander her opportunity.

"I was thinking about that in my match, and thought I've got to close it out while I can, especially knowing how that second set went today," Glozman said.

Down 5-0 in the second set, Jovic refused to concede anything, holding serve, then breaking Glozman and holding again. Glozman finally closed out the set in her second attempt, in another deuce game, while fully aware that the third set would be more of the same.

"I definitely felt super relieved to close it out," Glozman said. "I've had matches in the past where you feel like it's running away from you, but I try really hard to change gears. In the first set, it felt like it was slipping away a little, so I tried to be a little more aggressive and offensive, just like she was doing."

It was 2-2 in the third when Glozman began to cramp, which she attributed to the two hours and 46 minutes on court, not nerves.

"It just progressively got worse after that," Glozman said. "It was definitely the physical element. I know it wasn't hot today, but it was probably warmer than indoor tennis, and I don't usually play that many tournaments or that many three-setters, so I was feeling it. I feel like I don't do enough fitness, I try, but not enough to constantly feel great deep into the matches."

After the match, Glozman spent the next hour with the trainer, but she was feeling fine after that session and looking forward to playing the final on Stadium 2 Sunday.

Her opponent, top seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia, has already had that experience, beating No. 3 seed Thea Frodin 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 there, after adjusting to the atmosphere that included ballrunners, two line umpires and and a master of ceremony making player introductions.

Up 4-2 in the first set, Kostovic lost the next four games, but was able to immediately identify her problem.

"I started great, then I just stopped moving my feet," said the 16-year-old, who trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. "I tried to enjoy the atmosphere and I forgot about the tennis. When I come back [for second set], I tell myself I need to play my best tennis because that's the reason that I am here."

Kostovic maintained impressive depth on her ground strokes and kept her unforced errors to a minimum, applying pressure on Frodin. Despite playing in her first J300 final, Frodin had confidently served out the first set, but she held serve only two more times, both in the second set, as Kostovic found her rhythm.

Kostovic was impressed with the 15-year-old Frodin's game. 

"She's a great player," said Kostovic, who will be playing in her fourth J300 final Sunday morning.  "She comes back from 2-4, it's not easy. She's an aggressive player, she plays smart, and I'm very happy to take this match. I think age doesn't matter."

Kostovic is the only international player to reach the boys or girls semifinal, and although she is happy to be competing during what she referred to as the "fifth slam," she is not happy that the juniors don't have access to much of what makes the tournament so popular with professional players.

"But we are just juniors, I hear that a lot of times," Kostovic said.  "In the first three days we didn't have a locker room and I want to tell you that, to let everybody know, that's a little bit disrespectful. I know we are juniors, but we're future professionals, so I would like for the next year everybody who are playing to have a locker room from the first day, that would be great. We have one now, but still we can't use the gym, we can't go on the grass to warm up. I know the rules, that maybe we're sometimes annoying, we want to ask the pro players some questions, but we are future professionals so they need to expect that also."

In spite of the fact that Glozman had played only 16 matches on the ITF Junior Circuit prior to this week, she does have a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kostovic during the semifinals of the Junior Billie Jean Cup in Turkey in 2022. 

"When I played her last time, I don't know that she expected much from me, because I was pretty unknown at the time," Glozman said. "I was super motivated because I was playing for the team and everything, and I think she just came out with the wrong expectation, and it's a little tough to change it midway. I'm expecting a totally different match this time, and I'm going to have to be on my guard the whole time."

The girls were fortunate to finish their semifinals before a three-and-a-half hour rain delay. The boys semifinals were scheduled to follow the Jovic-Glozman match, one after the other, and the rain did not come at a good time for No. 10 seed Jack Kennedy, who was leading No. 2 seed and defending champion Cooper Woestendick 6-2, 2-1 when the sprinkles turned into a light but steady rain.

"It's definitely kind of annoying when you have the momentum and the rain delay happens, it's kind of a nuisance," said the 15-year-old from New York. "But when you come back out, you have to act like it didn't bother you at all."

Kennedy did detect a difference in Woestendick's level when he returned to the court. 

"His level definitely increased a little bit after the rain delay," said Kennedy, who won two ITF J200s last month and is now on a 14-match winning streak. "He got a long time to recap and rethink everything. But when he steps up his game I have to step up mine."

Kennedy saved break points in both his service games immediately after play resumed, but Woestendick finally got that elusive break after a long deuce game to pull even at 4-all in the second set. Any hope of a comeback dimmed when he was broken in the next game, giving Kennedy the opportunity to serve it out. With a 40-15 lead, Kennedy played his final game with the confidence that two recent titles can produce, hitting a big first serve to sideline the defending champion.

"I was trying to keep the depth on him, I didn't want to give him too many balls to attack," Kennedy said. "He's really good moving forward. When I kept it deep, with good energy on the ball, I was definitely ahead in the rallies."

Kennedy will face unseeded wild card Rudy Quan, who overcame top seed Kaylan Bigun and calf strain to record a thrilling 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-5 victory in a three-hour semifinal that finished after 9:30 p.m.

Quan, who had saved three match points in his quarterfinal win over top seed Bigun last year, suffered a calf strain at the start of the second set, after grinding out the 80-minute first set.

"I was pretty discouraged," said the 18-year-old Californian. "I was thinking of pulling out, what if I reaggravate it, et cetera, but I thought at least give yourself a shot to win. That's all I can ask of myself, show some good body language out there, go for your shots, you've just got to dig and see what happens."

Down two breaks at 3-0 in the third set, Quan prospects didn't look great, but a break at love in the next game helped provide some optimism. After receiving a medical timeout and two changeover visits from the trainer to work on his left calf, Quan couldn't receive further treatment, and that seemed to spur him to hit even bigger and more aggressively.

Aside from that lackluster fourth game, Bigun continued to play well, and a rare easy hold gave him a 5-3 lead in the third. Quan held to force Bigun to serve out the match, and there's no doubt last year's match on the same court was on both their minds. In that match, hundreds of spectators had crowded the court between the women's semifinals; on a cold evening with the men's semifinal underway in Stadium 1, only a dozen people saw the last three games, which were of the highest quality, despite the desolate atmosphere.

Bigun was probably wondering just how bad the calf strain was, with Quan getting to everything in those rallies, hitting lines or playing astounding defense to go up 15-40. Bigun saved one break point with a forehand winner, but Quan continued to play flawlessly, and Bigun eventually sent a forehand long to make it 5-5. Down a break point at 30-40, Quan took the next three points to take his first lead since 1-0 in the second set, forcing Bigun to serve to get into the tiebreaker.

Down 15-30, Bigun hit a big forehand to force a rare error from Quan, but then decided to serve and volley on the next point. Bigun made his first serve, but Quan made a perfect return at his feet to earn a match point at 30-40. Bigun saved that with a deft backhand volley winner after Quan had tested him several times, but a down the line winner from Quan gave him a second match point, and he closed it out with a improbable running forehand pass, that brought Quan's small family cheering section to its feet.

"Honestly I was so focused on myself I didn't know what was happening," Quan said of those final few games. "I just kind of zoned out, I guess, and everything kind of flowed. I think it's important to mentally stay in flow, I guess, I was able to figure that out in the third set. I was able to relax, played more carefree because I was hurt. I don't know what was happening, but I guess I figured it out."

Quan and Kennedy played last year here in the third round, with Quan winning 6-1, 6-3.

Quan will not have much recovery time, with the boys singles final scheduled not before noon on Sunday, after the girls final at 10 a.m.

While the singles semifinals were being played on Stadium 3, Stadium 2 hosted the doubles finals, with two teams who had never played together before claiming the titles.

Alyssa Ahn and Bianca Molnar were a last minute pairing, as they came through qualifying in singles, and decided to play together only after they had both advanced to main draw.

That paid off in a title, with Ahn and Molnar defeating No. 5 seeds Alanis Hamilton and Claire An 5-7, 6-3, 10-4, after the long rain delay with Ahn and Molnar up a break 4-3 in the second set. When play resumed, they closed out the set, and dominated the match tiebreaker, going up 5-1 and 8-4 before closing out their first match point.

Once they had saved two match points in their 2-6, 6-3, 12-10 second round win over No. 4 seeds Monika Ekstrand and Aspen Schuman, Molnar and Ahn began to see their strengths as a team.

"My game style is pretty aggressive, I like my forehand and my serve," said Molnar, a 17-year-old left-hander from California. "Alyssa's very good at the net and consistent from the back, can rip it line as well."

"Once we figured out our game styles and how well they balanced each other out, it was definitely a high level," said Ahn, a 17-year-old from San Diego. "I think we were really confident throughout the week, and once we fought through that (second round match) we knew anything was possible."

Up 5-2 in the first set, Molnar and Ahn lost five straight games, but they preferred to look at that as a positive.

"Up 5-2 you definitely know you have the capability to play well," Ahn said. "We just knew we could come back and win, and during the rain delay, we discussed some things and although we were losing, we were very confident and I think that's what helped us in the end."

Molnar had nothing but praise for their experience at the FILA Internatonal Junior Championships this week. 

"No other junior tournament is like this," said Molnar, who has signed with Notre Dame for this fall. "This experience is unreal, being able to play during the BNP, random people come to watch and cheer. It's just like being a pro player and I really enjoyed it."

The boys doubles champions had been trying to work their schedules to pair up and it finally happened this week, with No. 4 seeds Ian Mayew and Kase Schinnerer defeating No. 3 seeds Nikita Filin and Jagger Leach 6-3, 6-4 to close out Saturday's action on Stadium 2.

Down 3-0 in the second set, Mayew and Schinnerer stayed positive, winning six of the next seven games for the title.

"We've asked each other to play multiple times at many of the US ITFs, but it's never worked out," said Mayew, a 17-year-old from North Carolina. "But we've known each other for a while, always practice together, and on the doubles court we really have good chemistry out there."

Although they dropped only one set in their four victories, Mayew and Schinnerer both expressed how small the margins are in doubles. 

"It's no-ad, it can swing in literally five minutes," Mayew said. "We were down 3-0 and then up 3-4 in like five minutes. You've just got to lock in and you can't get down, you just have to keep going with what you're doing. We both played phenomenal, it was a great level by both of us."

"You can't beat Tennis Paradise," said Schinnerer, a 17-year-old from Pennsylvania. "It's awesome they get to host an event here, and the opportunity to play on Stadium 2, in the evening with the atmosphere, we wanted the moment and we took it. It's a great experience playing here."

Friday, March 15, 2024

Clash of Future UCLA Teammates Set in All-USA Boys ITF J300 Indian Wells Semifinals; Frodin Earns Shot at Top Seed Kostovic; Eight Americans Reach Doubles Finals; ITF J300 San Diego Wild Cards; Quinn, Crawley Win $100K Hurd Grants

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Indian Wells CA--



Kaylan Bigun and Rudy Quan will meet again at the FILA International Junior Championships ITF J300 semifinals Saturday, a rematch of their quarterfinal thriller from last year, when Quan saved three match points to upset Bigun 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-3. Bigun booked his spot in the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 9 seed Ian Mayhew, while Quan took out unseeded Bernardo Munk Mesa of Spain 6-4, 6-1.

Aside from it being a round later, and much cooler and cloudier conditions today than a year ago, there will be similarities to their match last year, with Bigun again the No. 1 seed here at Indian Wells Tennis Garden and Quan again competing as a wild card. What's different is a new bond, with both set to compete for the UCLA Bruins this fall. 

Bigun admitted that he had a few flashbacks from that quarterfinal loss to Quan last year during his win today.

"When I was up 6-3, 5-3, 40-love today, I was like here we go," said the 17-year-old left-hander, who spotted Quan checking out that last game. "I saw Rudy peeking from behind and I thought, of course this guy is here. But Rudy and I are really good friends, hang out back home a lot, so I'm looking forward to going after him tomorrow and he's going to come after me, so it should be fun."

Bigun pointed to his ability to maintain his focus throughout today's match as the primary reason he found a way to halt Mayew's ITF J300 winning streak.

"The match was close the whole time," said Bigun, who trailed 3-0 in the second set. "Coming into the match, if you look at the guy's record this year he's 16-0, so he knows how to win. The score was 3 and 3, but I think it was really competitive, every game was close and if I had lost my focus for a little bit, he would have definitely gotten the upper hand. I wanted to maintain my intensity throughout the whole match and that's something like I felt I did well; I think that might have been the difference maker."

Bigun is not defending his title next week at the J300 in San Diego, but will be competing in Southern California, using one of his ITF Junior Accelerator Program entries to compete in the USTA Pro Circuit $25K in Calabasas.

Quan started slowly against Munk Mesa, but found a way to neutralize the Spaniard's big forehand, going from 2-0 down to 5-3 up in the first set. Although Quan was broken serving for the set, he broke at love to win it, and by the time Quan had built a 4-1 lead in the second set, Munk Mesa appeared resigned to a loss, putting up minimal resistance in the last two games.

Like Carlos Alcaraz in the men's draw, defending champion Cooper Woestendick moved closer to a second final, beating wild card Mitchell Lee 7-5, 6-3.  Woestendick, the No. 2 seed, will face No. 10 seed Jack Kennedy, who defeated No. 13 seed Matisse Farzam 6-4, 6-2.

Kennedy, 15, is on a 13-match winning streak in ITF Junior Circuit competition, with two J200 titles last month in the Dominican Republic. He will be playing in his first J300 semifinal Saturday.

While Kennedy extended his winning streak, 14-year-old Christina Lyutova's ended today at 21, with the Russian qualifier losing to top seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-3. Kostovic's depth of shot, and her commitment to attacking Lyutova's second serve proved to be the difference.


Kostovic will face No. 3 seed Thea Frodin, who won the only three-set match of the day, beating unseeded Olivia Center 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

The 15-year-old Frodin, who reached the Orange Bowl 16s final in December, has posted impressive results throughout 2024, going 17-3 and winning a J200 last month in the Dominican Republic. 

The loss in the Orange Bowl final helped Frodin identify what she needed to improve, with a particular emphasis on getting over the finish line when it was in sight.

"I struggled a little bit with closing out matches," said Frodin, who still lives in Woodland Hills California, but trains regularly with the USTA in Lake Nona and has had the support of USTA's head of women's tennis Kathy Rinaldi this week. "I felt really confident, but then I get nervous toward the end. But working on the things I wasn't as strong in last year gave me confidence, and that helped me close out matches better."

Against Center, Frodin was able to put that confidence to the test after failing to convert two match points serving at 5-3, 40-15. Several forehand errors later, Center had a break point, but Frodin forced an error with a big backhand to save it, then came up with an ace out wide to earn her third match point. Showing off her variety, Frodin hit a delicate volley winner that Center could not even consider reaching, putting herself in a third J300 semifinal in 2024.

Frodin, with her relatively recent debut at the top of the junior game, doesn't have a lot of intel on Kostovic.

"I actually have never seen her play before," Frodin said. "This is my first time hearing about her, so I'm just going to try to go into the match playing aggressive, just playing my game, and hopefully that will work."

The other girls semifinal will feature No. 2 seed Iva Jovic against unseeded Valerie Glozman, after both posted straight-sets victories.

Jovic defeated No. 12 seed Monika Ekstrand 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Indian Wells J300 semifinals for the second straight year, while Glozman defeated Anita Tu 6-3, 6-2 to improve on her quarterfinal finish here last year and reach her first J300 semifinal. Jovic and Glozman were teammates, along with last year's Indian Wells champion Clervie Ngounoue, on the Junior Billie Jean Cup team that won the world 16-and-under title in 2022.

The doubles semifinals were played on Friday afternoon, with American champions assured in Saturday's finals.

Jagger Leach will be defending his 2023 title, won with Joseph Oyebog last year, with new partner Nikita Filin, after the No. 3 seeds defeated the unseeded team of Dominick Mosejczuk and Jack Secord 6-3, 7-6(4). Up 6-3, 5-4, Filin was broken serving for the match, and Filin and Leach trailed 4-1 in the tiebreaker, but raised their level to claim the final six points of the match to close it out in straight sets. 

The will face No. 4 seeds Ian Mayew and Kase Schinnerer, who defeated Noah Johnston and Benjamin Willwerth 6-3, 6-4.

The only seeded team to advance to the girls doubles semifinals have reached the final, with Alanis Hamilton returning to the final for the second straight year, this time with Claire An. Hamilton, who lost in the final last year with Kayla Chung as her partner, and An, the No. 5 seeds defeated the unseeded wild card team of Welles Newman and Maggie Sohns 6-2, 6-4. 

An and Hamilton will play Alyssa Ahn and Bianca Molnar, who defeated the only international team in the semifinals, Sarah Fajmonova of the Czech Republic and Nadia Lagaev of Canada, 7-6(4), 6-2.

Qualifying for next week's ITF J300 North American Closed in San Diego begins Saturday at the Barnes Tennis Center. The qualifying draws have been posted, with Vihaan Reddy the top seed in the boys qualifying and Maria Araoz-Gosn the No. 1 seed in girls qualifying.

The main draw wild cards awarded as of now are:

Boys:
Nischal Spurling
William Kleege
AJ Abarca
David Adamson

Girls:
Maggie Sohns
Welles Newman
Elizabeth Ionescu
Emily Deming
Rachel Lee
Alyssa Ahn

I was so busy earlier this week that I missed the announcement of the annual Universal Tennis Foundation Hurd Awards for 2024, which were given to Georgia's Ethan Quinn and North Carolina's Fiona Crawley. Quinn, who is in his first full year as a pro after winning the NCAA singles title as a freshman last year, and Crawley, a senior at UNC, will each receive $100,000 to help in their transition to the professional tours. 

New this year are $40,000 grants to the runners-up, with Ohio State senior Cannon Kingsley and Duke graduate Chloe Beck receiving those funds for 2024.  

There was also an announcement of a newly created Hurd Award Select Pro Team, described as "additional deserving elite collegiate players who, along with the Champions and Finalists, will be invited to attend a Youth Performance Institute conference this summer where Dr. Loehr will speak and offer mentorship.

The 2024 Hurd Award Select Pro Team includes Lea Ma (Georgia), Kari Miller (Michigan), Ayana Akli (South Carolina), Micah Braswell (Texas), Andres Martin (Georgia Tech), and Garrett Johns (Duke)."

See the UTR release for more on this year's recipients.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Glozman, Farzam Oust No. 4 Seeds, Wild Card Quan Rolls into Quarterfinals at ITF J300 Indian Wells; Top Seeds, Australian Open Champions Upset in Boys Doubles Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Indian Wells CA--


Cool and breezy conditions were no impediment to a trio of Americans, who took out more highly ranked players to reach Friday's quarterfinals at the ITF J300 FILA International Championships at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Valerie Glozman, Matisse Farzam and Rudy Quan all have had success on these courts in past years and continue to prove up to the challenges in the less than ideal playing conditions.


Glozman, a 17-year-old from Washington, won the Easter Bowl 16s title on these courts in 2022, the Easter Bowl 18s title last year, while also reaching the quarterfinals at the inaugural tournament here the second week of the BNP Paribas Open in 2023. Today she defeated No. 4 seed Shannon Lam 6-4, 6-2, who she had beaten last year in the Easter Bowl 18s semifinals and in the second round of the USTA 18s in San Diego.

"Every time it's a battle," said Glozman, who has committed to Stanford for this fall and had several future teammates cheering her on earlier in the week. "She's just incredibly fast and tenacious out there, she never gives up. I just find her style really challenging to play, she's super disruptive, she'll come up with some great shots at the right moments, so I know I have to be on my game the whole match. It's a little bit of a nightmare to play against her, but I guess I knew what to expect going into it and that helped."

Glozman has taken the opportunity to watch the pros play in the six days she's been onsite, including yesterday's match between Emma Navarro and Aryna Sabalenka.

"It's just really cool observing the pros," said Glozman, who has played the US Open women's qualifying the past two years and has picked up a victory each time. "Watching you think, how on earth do they do that? but some of them are a little more relatable, because when you watch the highlights you only see the crazy points, but when you watch them in person and live, you see the ebb and flow of the match and it's a little more relatable, a little more achievable."

Glozman will face 14-year-old Anita Tu, who defeated Nadia Lagaev of Canada 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach her first J300 quarterfinal.


Like Glozman, wild card Rudy Quan made a quarterfinal appearance here last year and has an Easter Bowl title on these courts as part of his junior resume, winning the boys 12s championship in 2018. Facing No. 8 seed Jagger Leach this morning, when the wind was at its worst, Quan adjusted quickly, coming from 3-1 down in the first to claim a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Quan said he has a lot of experience dealing with wind and did not find it particularly frustrating.

"I live in Thousand Oaks and in the winter and spring it's very windy," said the 18-year-old Californian. "So I'm really used to it, have already played a lot of matches in super windy conditions. You've got to accept what it is, and it probably took me three games to get used to it. When the wind dies down, you can play your game a little more, but it didn't really take too much adjusting for me."

After dropping six straight games, Leach held, but he was broken in his second service game of the set, and Quan made that lone break hold up. He didn't face a break point in the second set and made over 80 percent of his first serves in the match, closing out his first meeting with the 16-year-old Leach with another clean game.

"You've got to know where you want to serve and where the next ball is going to go," said Quan, who will join the UCLA Bruins this fall. "You have to have a clear mindset throughout the whole thing. You've got to make him hit four winners to beat you, you've got to make him raise his level to beat you. But honestly it was just to stay present, to control what you can control out there."

Quan will face the only non-American left in the draw, unseeded Bernardo Munk Mesa of Spain, who defeated Jordan Reznick 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The other quarterfinal in the top half will feature top seed Kaylan Bigun against No. 9 seed Ian Mayew. Bigun defeated No. 14 seed Kase Schinnerer 6-2, 6-2, while Mayew added to his J300 winning streak with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 4 seed Tiangui Zhang of China.

Defending champion Cooper Woestendick defeated No. 16 seed Hugh Winter of Australia 7-6(5), 6-3 and will face the other wild card to advance to the quarterfinals, Mitchell Lee. Lee defeated Benjamin Willwerth 6-4, 6-2.


The fourth quarterfinal will feature No. 10 seed Jack Kennedy and No. 13 seed Farzam, with Kennedy beating Dominick Mosejczuk 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Farzam coming from 4-1 down in the third set to take out No. 4 seed Viktor Frydrych of Great Britain 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).

Farzam qualified for last year's tournament here and reached the third round before falling to top seed Bigun, a result that boosted his confidence.

"Last year I came through qualies, won two good main draw matches and lost to Kaylan, which was an amazing experience, especially then," said the 17-year-old left-hander from Connecticut, who has verbally committed to Ohio State. "I was ranked outside the Top 500 at the time, so last year was a great memory for me, when I started to set things up."

Farzam had lost to Frydrych last November at the J300 in Mexico 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, so he knew what to expect.

"I knew coming into this match I should try to get on top of him quick, but he came out firing," said Farzam, who took a break after the set to change his outfit. "I reset a bit, and decided to be more aggressive and I think that paid off because he was dictating and I did a good job of putting the pressure back on him."

Farzam went up two breaks in the second set, lost one of them, but held serving at 5-4 to send the match to a third set. Down 4-1, Farzam got back to even and had two break points with Frydrych, also a left-hander, serving at 15-40. But Frydrych served his way out of that spot to take a 5-4 lead, putting the pressure back on Farzam, who won a deuce game to pull even. After Frydrych held at love for 6-5, Farzam fell behind 15-30, but Frydrych couldn't capitalize, making an unforced forehand error and missing a volley and a backhand to send the match to a final tiebreaker.

Frydrych had won a third set tiebreaker in his second round match with Canadian Connor Church on Wednesday, but he fell behind immediately and then lost both his serves down 3-4 to give Farzam three match points. He only needed one, with Frydrych sending a backhand long to end the match.

"It was a really good match, really high level," said Farzam, who was already looking forward to playing his friend Kennedy on Friday. "We used to train together when we were younger, he's a super kid, he was cheering me on today, helped me get through that one. But we've never played before in singles or doubles, so it should be fun. He's playing great right now and I'm really excited for it."

Christina Lyutova may have needed to save a match point in the final round of qualifying, but the 14-year-old continued her impressive play in the main draw, defeating No. 9 seed Ariana Pursoo 6-1, 6-1. Lyutova, who lives in Washington but does not yet have the immigration status to compete for the United States, will play top seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia, who needed two hours and 26 minutes to get past No. 13 seed Maya Iyengar 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

That is the only quarterfinals that doesn't feature two Americans. In the top half with No. 3 seed Thea Frodin will face Olivia Center, after Frodin defeated Dune Vaissaud of France 6-3, 7-5 and Center downed Leena Friedman 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2, in three hours and 35 minutes.  

In the bottom half, it's Tu and Glozman, and No. 2 seed Iva Jovic against No. 12 seed Monika Ekstrand. Jovic defeated wild card Alexis Nguyen 6-3, 6-3, while Ekstrand beat No. 6 seed Kate Fakih 6-4, 7-5.

Several accomplished doubles teams were upset today in the quarterfinals, with both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds losing in the boys draw.

Australian Open boys doubles champions and No. 2 seeds Cooper Woestendick and Maxwell Exsted had a match point at 9-8 in the match tiebreaker against unseeded Noah Johnston and Benjamin Willwerth, but Willwerth hit a spectacular overhead winner from an awkward position to save it, and they won the next two points to claim a 7-6(4), 3-6, 11-9 victory. They will play No. 4 seeds Ian Mayew and Kase Schinnerer, who beat No. 8 seeds Rafael Botran Neutze of Guatemala and Joaquin Guilleme of Nicaragua 2-6, 6-4, 10-7.

Unseeded Dominick Mosejczuk and Jack Secord defeated top seeds Viktor Frydrych and Tianhui Zhang 6-1, 6-4 in a match that finished well after dark; they will play No. 3 seeds Nikita Filin and Jagger Leach, who beat No. 7 seeds Meecah Bigun and Alex Razeghi 6-2, 7-5 in another all-United States semifinal.

Only one seeded team remains in the girls doubles semifinals, with No. 5 seeds Claire An and Alanis Hamilton defeating No. 4 seeds Teodora Kostovic and Yichen Zhao of China 6-1, 2-6, 10-5. An and Hamilton will play the unseeded 14-year-old wild cards Welles Newman and Maggie Sohns, who beat No. 7 seeds Leena Friedman and Christasha McNeil 7-5, 6-2.

In the bottom half, the only international team still remaining is Sarah Fajmonova of the Czech Republic and Nadia Lagaev, who beat 2023 San Diego 18s champions Kate Fakih and Olivia Center 6-4, 6-3. Lagaev and Fajmonova will face unseeded Alyssa Ahn and Bianca Molnar, who beat Capucine Jauffret and Kori Montoya 6-3, 6-4. 

Play begins at 10 a.m. Friday, with the first four quarterfinals, followed the four more quarterfinals and the doubles semifinals on Stadium Courts 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Woestendick Begins Defense of ITF J300 Indian Wells Title With Win; Mosejczuk Ousts Seeds in Singles and Doubles; Top Girls Seeds Fall in Doubles; Navarro Defeats Sabalenka to Reach Women's Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2024--

Indian Wells CA--


Cooper Woestendick has already been in Indian Wells for more than ten days, after playing in the men's qualifying a week ago Monday thanks to the wild card he received for winning last year's inaugural ITF J300 title here during the second week of the BNP Paribas Open. 

Today he began his defense of the Fila International Junior Championships boys singles title as the No. 2 seed, beating qualifier Keaton Hance 6-0, 6-3 in second round action under sunny skies at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. 

Woestendick lost his first round qualifying match to Vit Kopriva of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3, yet he gained a new perspective on his own game from the experience.

"I played ok," said Woestendick, the reigning Kalamazoo 16s champion. "I didn't play my best tennis at all, but it was definitely good for me because I saw that my level is there with the pros. I didn't play very well, but I was in the match, totally in the match. It was 2 and 3, but I had lots of chances."

Woestendick also has been practicing with pros in the days since that qualifying match, which has also given him more confidence. 

"I practiced with (Cam) Norrie, I practiced with (Ugo) Humbert, I practiced with Norrie a lot actually, and I can see obviously, that they're unbelievable, but I saw that I'm not that far off," Woestendick said. "My level is getting higher and higher and I'm happy with that."

Norrie and Woestendick have two connections, one longstanding, as they both have worn the K-Swiss brand for years, and one new, with Woestendick recently committing to TCU, where Norrie competed in college.

"I'm really happy about my decision, I love the coaches," said Woestendick, who will join friend Jagger Leach in Fort Worth in 2025. "Norrie didn't try to sell it to me at all, but he was just like, yeah, if you want to play college tennis and then be a pro, you should go to TCU. That's all he said. But him and his team are some of the nicest people I've met and to have some hits and see his level, it's really impressive the way he plays."

Woestendick admits that returning to an ITF tournament as a defending champion is unusual, and he views it as a learning experience. 

"It's a different type of pressure, for sure, because there's not many tournaments where you have to defend," said Woestendick, who was always planning on returning for this year's event. "It kind of feels like Kalamazoo, there's a lot of Americans, and I'm definitely one of the favorites, but it's exciting. Today was a really good win for me today; Keaton's playing really well right now, and I played really good tennis actually."

Later in the day, Woestendick and Max Exsted, the reigning Australian Open boys doubles champions, played their first match as a team since then, with the number two seeds beating Denny Bao of Canada and Vihaan Reddy 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.

"That's still kind of surreal," Woestendick said of their title at the end of January. "At this point now, it's just something to be proud of, no one can take being a grand slam champion away from me, and me and Max are just ecstatic about it."

No. 2 seed Iva Jovic, a semifinalist here last year, also suffered a first round loss in BNP Paribas Open qualifying, but she too returned to junior competition with a impressive performance in her first match, beating qualifier Alyssa Ahn 6-2, 6-0.

Half the eight girls seeds playing their first matches Tuesday lost, and that was repeated today.  Valerie Glozman defeated No. 14 seed Kristina Penickova 6-1, 6-2; Canada's Nadia Lagaev beat No. 8 seed Alanis Hamilton 6-1, 2-6, 6-2; Alexis Nguyen downed No. 15 seed Sarah Fajmonova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 and No. 10 seed Mia Slama retired with an injury after winning the first set from Anita Tu 6-3.


Three boys seeds lost in second round play Tuesday and three more were eliminated today, with wild card Mitchell Lee defeating No. 7 seed and doubles partner Matthew Forbes 7-5, 6-2 and Benjamin Willwerth taking out No. 12 seed Nikita Filin 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Orange Bowl 16s champion Dominick Mosejczuk was particularly impressive in his 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 6 seed Max Exsted, whom he had never beaten.

"I've played him a couple of times before and he's gotten the better of me many times," said the 17-year-old from New York. "On these courts, it's definitely slower and he hits a very heavy ball. That's effective on clay and these courts bounce high as well, but I found my timing right, every forehand, every backhand, I was just ripping through the court, finding my space, finding my zone. And I didn't lose focus the entire match, stayed locked in, stuck with the game plan and it worked out."

Mosejczuk spent many months before the Orange Bowl last December training in Spain, but he has been in the United States or traveling in Central and South American tournaments since then. He is planning to return there after this US hard court run however, and this week he has his lucky charm back with him.

"I'm actually with my coach from Spain," said Mosejczuk, who trains there at BTT. "He was at Orange Bowl, so it's nice to have him here. We're going to try to keep the undefeated streak going here."

Mosejczuk hasn't played a junior slam yet, and didn't play this event last year, so this is his first real opportunity to rub elbows with the pros.

"It's an insane experience, definitely very different," Mosejczuk said. "Just walking past pros, it's very special, unique; it's the first time I'm walking the same areas as the pros, so hopefully I can stay at this level."

Mosejczuk and his partner Jack Secord also took out a seeded team in doubles, beating No. 5 seeds Maximus Dussault and Matisse Farzam 6-3, 7-5.

"We're definitely a strong team, have good chemistry together," Mosejczuk said. "We both bring very high energy. But I was definitely tired out there, so he helped me out with that."

The top two seeds lost in the girls doubles draw went out in their first matches of the tournament. No. 1 seeds Shannon Lam and Thea Frodin, who won the J300 title in Costa Rica in January lost to 14-year-old wild cards Welles Newman and Maggie Sohns 4-6, 7-5, 10-5. No. 2 seeds Ariana Pursoo and Mia Slama gave a walkover to Fajmonova and Lagaev due to Slama's injury.

All 16 round of 16 singles matches are Thursday, as are the quarterfinals in doubles. More of the big stadium courts will be used, with matches on Stadium Courts 5, 6 and 9 in additon to 7, 8 and practice courts 16, 17 and 18.

Although I spend nearly every minute of the day at the junior courts, it did work out that I was able to see the last few points of Emma Navarro's win over No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and attend the press conference, which is the first one I've gone to in my two years here. (The juniors do not follow the pro press conferences procedures here like they do at the slams). Navarro, who a year ago lost in the second round here and went back to competing in $25K events last April, is now at No. 20 in the live WTA rankings, but said she has learned that just isn't that important to her. 

"Yeah, for sure. I guess I would say that I wasn't as comfortable with the ranking, but I also just felt like once I got to this point that maybe I would care more about my ranking, and I still don't really care (smiling).

I just want to play good tennis, and just keep getting better. Yeah, I think there has been a couple of times since I've been on tour that I've lost that mindset, where it's, like, I was close to breaking top 100, and I was, like, Okay, if I can just get top 100, then I'll be happy.

Once I kind of made these milestones, I was like, okay, that's cool that I did that but what's next? A ranking, it's just a number. Yeah, realizing that I really don't care about rankings."

Known for her poise and lack of emotion on court, Navarro also joked that she's trying to learn how to celebrate more dramatically, although she may need more practice.

"Yeah, also, I think maybe that was my second or third fist pump ever. If it was a little weird, cut me some slack."

The complete transcript of Navarro's press conference can be found here.