It was an unfamiliar Sunday start to Fan Week yesterday, but the finality of anything is always alluring to me. The semifinals and finals of the US Open Wild Card Challenge made for a compact mini tournament and gave an opportunity for young Americans to showcase their talent whether they advanced to qualifying or not.
Men’s champion Jack Secord is 17 years old and ranked 1912. Still, he bested two higher ranked players to take the wild card, starting with comeback win against Onaz Baris, 3-6, 6-2, 11-9 in the super breaker before knocking out Dali Branch in straights, 6-4, 6-2 to claim the qualifying entry. For his good work on Sunday, Secord is a big underdog against Tristan Schoolkate of Australia, a fixture in US Open qualifying.
Jordyn Hazelitt won Most Congenial Player and the Women’s Wild Card Challenge on Sunday, signing more autographs than I have ever seen a player do, especially when in between matches. She also made it through higher ranked players, first winning over Shannon Lam, 6-2, 7-6(2) and then emerging victorious in her final with Chukwumelije Clarke, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.
She considered this her most important win to date and it didn’t hurt that it happened at her favorite tennis place on Earth. Hazelitt has drawn 29 seed Harriet Dart in qualifying for a Tuesday match.
–Steve Fogleman in New York
Return Serve?