Florida’s Stefan Kozlov Advances @USTA_ISC Spring Championships
Kozlov Outlasts Escobedo To Advance At USTA International Spring Championships CARSON, Calif., (Tuesday, April 2, 2013) – If past results are any indication, the future of American tennis is on display this week at the ninth annual USTA International Spring Championships being played at the Home Depot Center. Sam Querrey, Vania King, Melanie Oudin…
CARSON, Calif., (Tuesday, April 2, 2013) – If past results are any indication, the future of American tennis is on display this week at the ninth annual USTA International Spring Championships being played at the Home Depot Center.
Sam Querrey, Vania King, Melanie Oudin and Sloane Stephens are just a few of the players who made stopovers at this event as juniors before enjoying success soon after on the pro tour.
Two young pro prospects who may someday follow that same path as those listed met in the first round on Tuesday in the Boys’ 18s and battled for more than two and a half hours before No. 2-seeded Stefan Kozlov, 15, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., pulled away from 16-year-old wild-card Ernesto Escobedo from West Covina, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Kozlov was a finalist here last year as a 14-year-old, a year before he turned professional. He currently trains at the USTA National Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla.
“I really like playing here, the conditions fit my game great,” Kozlov said. “I had never played Ernesto before but he has a big game. I’ve seen forehands like that in the juniors, but not that often.
Just two weeks ago, Kozlov made the final of an ITF Grand A event at the Copa Gerdau tournament in Porto Alegre, Brazil, losing to the top-seeded player from Italy in the final.
Escobedo, 16, is currently ranked in the 900s on the ATP Tour and was playing in his first ITF junior event of the year. He has instead decided to concentrate on ITF Pro Futures level events playing in four of them already this year, including two in Southern California.
In the top Girls’ 18s matchup on the day, Peggy Porter of Dallas beat Tornado Ali Black, 7-5, 7-5. Porter had beaten Black in the only other time they played back in 2011 in an ITF event in Waco, Texas.
“We played once before and I won in three sets,” Porter said. “We’ve both developed so much since then. I knew she had a big forehand.
Porter will next play Laguna Niguel, CA’s Alyssa Smith in the second round. Porter has beaten Smith in both their meetings, including in the final of the USTA Hardcourt 16s Nationals in 2011 in San Diego and again last week in the semifinals of the Claremont ITF event.
Torrance, CA’s Connor Hance, the No. 15 seed in the boys’ 16s, opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Evan Zhu. He next takes on top-seeded William Blumberg. Hance’s sister Kenadi also had a nice win on Tuesday, upsetting No. 8-seeded Alexa Corcoleotes of Hillsborough, Calif., in the Girls’ 16s, 6-1, 6-3.
In an 18s matchup on Wednesday of last year’s Easter Bowl winners in the 18s and 16s, respectively, No. 3-seeded Mackenzie McDonald takes on wild-card and UCLA recruit Joseph DiGiulio.
For a complete run down of Tuesday’s scores and updated draws, log onto the website at www.usta.com/isc.
Boys’ 18 Singles (Round of 64)
Gage Brymer, Irvine, CA def. Aidan Jiang, Ojai, CA 7-6(7), 7-6(5)
Jake Stefanik, Coral Springs, FL def. Michael Mmoh (12), Temple Hills, MD 6-3, 6-2
Ciro Riccardi, Los Angeles, CA def. John Mee, Dallas, TX 6-2, 7-5
Terrance Whitehurst, Tallahassee, FL def. Jose Pablo Gil, Honduras 6-2, 6-2
Daniel Kerznerman (10), Brooklyn, NY def. Gregory Garcia, Poway, CA 6-2, 6-1
Mackenzie McDonald (3), Piedmont, CA def. Justin Butsch, Miami Beach, FL 6-1, 6-2
Spencer Papa (6), Edmond, OK def. Steven Chen, San Diego, CA 6-3, 6-3
Ayla Aksu / Emma Critser def. Lauren Proctor / Sydney Riley 7-5, 6-2
Mingxiu DU / Johnnise Renaud def. Ellie Halbauer / Alexandra Morozova (6) 6-4, 6-2
Boys’ 16 Singles (Round of 32)
Robert Levine (5), Bedford, NY def. Maxwell Cancilla, Huntington Beach, CA 6-2, 6-1
Jake Devine (4), Boca Raton, FL def. Daniel Gealer, Los Angeles, CA 6-2, 6-3
Charles Pei, San Diego, CA def. Johnathan Small (14), Midland, MI 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Alexander Lebedev, Island Park, NY def. Spencer Furman (6), Woodinville, WA 6-4, 0-6, 7-5
Catalin Mateas (7), Braintree, MA def. Michael Genender, Los Angeles, CA 6-2, 6-2
Ethan Young-Smith, Ojai, CA def. Brian Tsao (9), Sparks Glencoe, MD 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
Taylor Fritz (13), Rancho Santa Fe, CA def. James Wasserman, New York, NY 6-0, 6-2
Kalman Boyd, Rancho Santa Fe, CA def. Jack VanSlyke (3), Toronto, Canada 6-3, 6-1
Jake Gabay (11), Safety Harbor, FL def. David Goulak, Oak Park, CA 6-0, 6-1
Return Serve?