CARSON, Calif. (March 30, 2016) – The top-seeded girls’ 18s player at the 12th Annual USTA International Spring Championships survived a slow start to win in three sets, while the top-seeded boys’ 18s player wasn’t as fortunate, falling in three sets.
On Day 3 of the ITF Level 1 tournament being played at StubHub Center in Carson, unseeded Jessica Livianu of Brooklyn, N.Y., got off to a quick 5-1 start and took the first set off No. 1 Amanda Anisimova of Hallandale Beach, Fla., 6-4. But the 14-year-old Anisimova rallied to take the match, 6-3, 6-2, during the second round of action.
Top-seeded boys’ 18s player Ulises Blanch of Deerfield Beach, Fla., also fell in his first set against unseeded Patrick Kypson of Greenville, N.C., 6-4, pulled out the second 7-5, but was unable to complete the comeback as Kypson got hot late to win the last four games and the match, 6-4 in the third.
“He’s top 10 in the world and he’s very established,” said Kypson, 16, of the No. 9 ITF world-ranked Blanch. “I was fortunate to get a little bit lucky to get those break points I needed in the third set.”
A finalist in the 16s two years ago, Kypson said he served well the entire match and had his served broken only twice in his first career meeting again Blanch. Kypson reminded that there are still a lot of strong unseeded players in the tournament and upsets aren’t uncommon at an ITF event like this one. “At this level anybody can take out anyone on any given day,” he said. “You take it day by day and hope you survive.”
Anisimova survived the fast-playing hard-court surface, saying said she is used to playing on slower clay courts and hard courts. “I didn’t start out very well and was making a lot of mistakes and had to get adjusted to the fast courts,” said Anisimova, ranked No. 11 in the ITF world rankings.
She added she loves California, but has been surprised how cold the temperatures have been. Asked if she was going to play next week’s ASICS Easter Bowl in the Coachella Valley where temperatures are supposed to be warmer, she said she was not. “I’m just going to go back home and take the week off,” she said. “I have a lot of tournaments coming up so I’m going to go back and rest.”
Livianu couldn’t keep up her first-set level of play. “I was up 5-1 in the first and I was happy to close it out,” she said. “I didn’t get tight but I might have gotten tired in the third set. I thought back to what Billie Jean King always says: pressure is a privilege. I just wasn’t able to close her out.”
Carson ISC defending champion William Blumberg of Greenwich, Conn., also had a tight first set, falling to Sebastian Korda of Bradenton, Fla., before coming back to win, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. The 6-foot-2 Korda, 15, is the son of former Top 10 world-ranked player Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, the last Czech player to win a Grand Slam singles title, the Australian Open in 1998.
Korda is coached by his father, and also trains with the USTA in Boca Raton, Fla., with coach Leo Azevedo, who is in Carson with him this week while his father will coach him at the ASICS Easter Bowl next week. Later in the day, Korda moved into the 18s doubles quarterfinals with partner Vasil Kirkov of Tampa, Fla.
In the Girls’ 16s, Eryn Cayetano of Corona, Calif., is the only remaining unseeded player and into Thursday’s quarterfinals. She trains with the RAMP Tennis Academy out of StubHub. In the Boys’ 16s, Matthew Segura of Los Angeles holds that same distinction as the last remaining unseeded player upset No. 3-seeded William Grant of Boca Raton, Fla., 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
All matches can be followed via Live Scoring through Tennis Ticker, the ITF’s official live scoring company at http://www.tennisticker.de/usa/usta-sb.html.
For more information on the tournament, log onto the website at www.usta.com/isc.
Results:
Boys’ 18 Singles (Round of 32)
Patrick Kypson (Greenville, NC) def. Ulises Blanch (Deerfield Beach, FL) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Joshua Peck (Armstrong, BC) def. Luke Hammond (White Plains, NY) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Liam Caruana (Austin, TX) def. Danny Thomas (Pickerington, OH) 6-0, 6-2
Brandon Holt (Rolling Hills, CA) def. Nathan Perrone (Bluffton, SC) 6-0, 6-1
Nathan Ponwith (Scottsdale, AZ) def. Sean Hill (Berkeley, CA) 6-1, 6-0
Alafia Ayeni (San Diego, CA) def. Brian Cernoch (North Bethesda, MD) 6-2, 6-2
Oliver Crawford (Spartanburg, SC) def. Jenson Brooksby (Carmichael, CA) 6-1, 6-2
Kyrylo Tsygura (North Potomac, MD) def. Vasil Kirkov (Tampa, FL) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Duarte Vale (White Plains, NY) def. Jacob Brumm (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
Alexandre Rotsaert (Boca Raton, FL) def. Maxwell Mendelsohn (Little Rock, AR) 6-0, 6-3
Trent Bryde (Suwanee, GA) def. Andrew Fenty (Washington, DC) 6-4, 6-1
Sam Riffice (Granite Bay, CA) def. Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano (Clearwater, FL) 6-2, 6-0
Zeke Clark (Tulsa, Okla.) def. Caleb Chakravarthi (Irvine, CA) 6-1, 6-3
Sebastian Arcila (Silver Spring, MD) def. Sam Turchetta (Pound Ridge, NY) 6-3, 6-2
Gianni Ross (Boca Raton, FL) def. Connor Hance (Torrance, CA) 6-4, 6-1
William Blumberg (Greenwich, CT) def. Sebastian Korda (Bradenton, FL) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
Boys’ 18 Doubles (Round of 16)
William Blumberg (Greenwich, CT) / Nathan Ponwith (Scottsdale, AZ) def. Sebastian Arcila (Silver Spring, MD) / Danny Thomas (Pickerington, OH) 3-6, 7-5, 10-6
Vasil Kirkov (Tampa, FL) / Sebastian Korda (Bradenton, FL) def. Alafia Ayeni (San Diego, CA) / Joshua Peck (Armstrong, BC) 6-1, 6-1
Andres Andrade (Bradenton, FL) / Duarte Vale (White Plains, NY) def. Ching Lam (White Plains, NY) / Ming Sou (White Plains, NY) 4-6, 6-3, 10-6
sergio hernandez (Doral, FL) / Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano (Clearwater, FL) def. Gianni Ross (Boca Raton, FL) / Alexandre Rotsaert (Boca Raton, FL) 4-6, 6-1, 10-5
Trent Bryde (Suwanee, GA) / Patrick Kypson (Greenville, NC) def. Zummy Bauer (Suwanee, GA) / Morgan Dill (Coral Gables, FL) 6-2, 6-3
Oliver Crawford (Portland, OR) / Brandon Holt (Rolling Hills, CA) def. Alexander Donski (Philadelphia, PA) / Sebastian Mermersky (Washington, DC) 6-3, 6-3
Brian Cernoch (North Bethesda, MD) / Sam Riffice (Granite Bay, CA) def. Arnav Dhingra (Darnestown, MD) / Nikolai Parodi (Takoma Park, MD) 6-1, 6-3
Ulises Blanch (Deerfield Beach, FL) / Liam Caruana (Austin, TX) def. Luke Hammond (White Plains, NY) / Jason Legall (Palm Coast, FL) 6-2, 6-3
Girls’ 18 Singles (Round of 32)
Amanda Anisimova (Hallandale Beach, FL) def. Jessica Livianu (Brooklyn, NY) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Ellie Douglas (McKinney, TX) def. Hanna Chang (Fontana, CA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Jade Lewis (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Camille Favero (Sacramento, CA) 6-3, 6-4
Carson Branstine (Orange, CA) def. Whitney Osuigwe (Bradenton, FL) 6-4, 6-4
Maria Mateas (Braintree, MA) def. Sara Choy (Palo Alto, CA) 6-1, 6-0
Abigail Desiatnikov (Atlanta, GA) def. Margaryta Bilokin (New Canaan, CT) 0-6, 6-4, 7-5
Emma Higuchi (Los Angeles, CA) def. Raquel Pedraza (Claremont, CA) 6-4, 6-1
Claire Liu (Thousand Oaks, CA) def. Layne Sleeth (Wesley Chapel, FL) 6-2, 6-1
Morgan Coppoc (Tulsa, OK) def. Dalayna Hewitt (Pepper Pike, OH) 6-4, 6-3
Rosie Johanson (Abbotsford, BC) def. Alexandra Sanford (Westerville, OH) 6-3, 6-0
Sofia Sewing (Doral, FL) def. Helen Altick (Monroe, LA) 7-5, 6-3
Meible Chi (Weston, FL) def. Kylie McKenzie (Anthem, AZ) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
Michaela Gordon (Saratoga, CA) def. Melissa Plambeck (Bradenton, FL) 6-0, 6-1
Elysia Bolton (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) def. Hurricane Tyra Black (Boca Raton, FL) 6-4, 6-2
Ann Li (Devon, PA) def. Chiraz Bechri (White Plains, NY) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
Kayla Day (Santa Barbara, CA) def. Ena Shibahara (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) 7-5, 6-1
Girls’ 18 Doubles (Round of 16)
Nadia Gizdova (Columbia, MD) / Whitney Osuigwe (Bradenton, FL) def. Kayla Day (Santa Barbara, CA) / Alexandra Sanford (Westerville, OH) Wo (ill)
Dalayna Hewitt (Pepper Pike, OH) / Kariann Pierre Louis (Miami, FL) def. Ashley Lahey (Hawthorne, CA) / Mimi Levine (Santa Monica, CA) 6-2, 2-6, 12-10
Hurricane Tyra Black (Boca Raton, FL) / Ena Shibahara (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) def. Victoria Emma (Naples, FL) / Maria Mateas (Braintree, MA) 6-1, 4-6, 10-8
Elysia Bolton (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) / Chiara Lommer (Skokie, IL) def. Hanna Chang (Fontana, CA) / Jessica Livianu (Brooklyn, NY) 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-1
Kate Paulus (Boca Raton, FL) / Alana Smith (Fort Washington, MD) def. Hannah Altick (Monroe, LA) / Jade Lewis (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-2, 7-6(5)
Morgan Coppoc (Tulsa, OK) / Raquel Pedraza (Claremont, CA) def. Salma Ewing (Long Beach, CA) / Jada Robinson (Kennesaw, GA) 6-4, 6-3
Taylor Johnson (Redondo Beach, CA) / Carson Branstine (College Park, MD) def. Chloe Beck (Watkinsville, GA) / Emma Navarro (Charleston, SC) 6-3, 6-4
Lea Ma (Dix Hills, NY) / Emma Decoste (Stuart, FL) def. Amanda Anisimova (Hallandale Beach, FL) / Ellie Douglas (McKinney, TX) 7-5, 6-1
Boys’ 16 Singles (Round of 16)
Govind Nanda (Cerritos, CA) def. Joshua Xu (Chandler, AZ) 6-4, 6-2
Vikash Singh (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Hunter Heck (New Brighton, MN) 6-2, 7-6(6)
Tyler Zink (Bradenton, FL) def. Maximilian Wild (Murrieta, CA) 6-3, 6-3
Adam Neff (Bradenton, FL) def. Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, CA) 7-5, 6-2
Eric Hahn (Fullerton, CA) def. Bradley Frye (Overland Park, KS) 6-3, 6-4
Matthew Segura (Los Angeles, CA) def. William Grant (Boca Raton, FL) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
Jake Sands (Pacific Palisades, CA) def. Jaycer Lyeons (San Antonio, TX) 6-2, 6-1
Axel Nefve (Hinsdale, IL) def. Stevie Gould (Corte Madera, CA) 6-3, 7-6(0)
Girls’ 16 Singles (Round of 16)
Eryn Cayetano (Corona, CA) def. Alexis Merrill (Fairfax, VA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Luba Vasilyuk (Frisco, TX) def. Amy Huang (San Diego, CA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Jessi Muljat (Sacramento, CA) def. Cameron Compall (Winnetka, IL) 6-2, 6-0
Peyton Stearns (Mason, OH) def. Gabriella Price (Montebello, NY) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Hailey Baptiste (Takoma Park, MD) def. Addison Guevara (Keller, TX) 6-2, 6-3
Vivian Cheng (Santa Monica, CA) def. Niluka Madurawe (Sunnyvale, CA) 7-5, 6-4
Cali Jankowski (Carlsbad, CA) def. Dasha Kourkina (Brooklyn, NY) 6-3, 6-3
Katie Volynets (Walnut Creek, CA) def. Marcella Cruz (Marlboro, NJ) 7-5, 6-1
By Steve Pratt