Tag: Tommy Paul

American Juniors – Future Champions or Pretenders?

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Taylor Fritz’s win in the 2015 U.S. Open Boys’ Juniors marked the third consecutive Grand Slam won by an American boy in 2015. The finals were a repeat of the French Open; however, Fritz defeated countryman Tommy Paul in their most recent matchup in the finals.

For the record, Russian Roman Safiullin won the Australian Open. Tommy Paul won the French Open, and Reilly Opelka captured the Wimbledon title.

Overall the 15 American boys had a 24-14 win-loss record in the U.S. Open.

American Boys 1st Round 0-1 2nd Round 1-1 3rd Round 2-1 Quarters 3-1 Semis 4-1 Finals 5-1/6-0
Taylor Fritz W
Ulses Blanch X
Alex Rybakov X
Vasil Krikov X
Patrick Krypson X
Ganni Ross X
Reilly Opelka X
Tommy Paul X
Nathan Ponwith X
Sam Riffice X
Eduardo Nava X
Alexandre Rotsaeart X
Jeff Wolf X
Michael Mmoh X
William Blumberg X
Total W-L 9-6 6-3 4-2 2-2 2-0 1-1

Overall the 19 American girls were impressive, but not quite as dominant as the boys. Their combined win-loss record was 19-19.

Sofia Kenin reached the finals before bowing out to Hungarian Dalma Galfi in the finals. This was the first time a Hungarian had won the U.S. Open – Girls Juniors.

In addition to having Kenin in the finals, Francesca DiLorenzio was defeated in the semifinals and Kylie McKenzie lost in the quarterfinals.

American Girls 1st Round 0-1 2nd Round 1-1 3rd Round 2-1 Quarters 3-1 Semis 4-1 Finals 5-1/6-0
Abigail Desiatnikov X
Alexa Graham X
Tornado Alicia Black X
Sofia Kenin X
Kelly Chen X
Kylie McKenzie X
Amanda Anisinova X
Natasha Subhash X
Claire Liu X
Hurricane Tyra Black X
Ravenna Kingsley X
Francesca DiLorenzo X
Michaela Gordon X
Kayla Day X
Usue Maitane Arconada X
Caty McNally X
Carson Branstine X
Ingrid Neel X
Alexsandra Sanford X
Total W-L 9-10 4-5 3-1 2-1 1-1 0-1

American tennis fans should be encouraged by the increased number of solid junior boys and girls and the success they enjoyed in 2015.

Will the current group of American juniors move on to be the next round of journeymen? Or, will some of them make the transition to the professional game and become the Grand Slam champions of the next decade?

Next stop, 2016!

American and Russian Juniors Dominate Wimbledon

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The American and Russian juniors dominated the 2015 Wimbledon Junior Championships.

The Russians dominated the girls event. Of the seven players, three made it to the quarters and the two who made it to the semifinals met in the finals. Unseeded Sofya Zhuk defeated fellow Russian Anna Blinkova in the finals in straight sets and gave the Live@Wimbledon Studios a poised and charming interview afterwards. It was refreshing to hear her passion for life and tennis.

Nine of the ten American girls won their first round matches. Unfortunately, Tornado Black and Michaela Gordon were the only girls who made it as far as the quarterfinals. Overall the American girls were 17-10.

American Girls 1st Round 0-1 2nd Round 1-1 3rd Round 2-1 Quarters 3-1 Semis 4-1 Finals 5-1/6-0
Francesca DiLorenzo X
Kayla Day X
Ravenna Kingsley X
Carolyn Dolehide X
Sofia Kenin X
Usue Maitane Arconada X
Claire Liu X
Tornado Black X
Ingrid Neel X
Michaela Gordon X
Total W-L 9-1 6-3 2-4 0-2 0-0 0-0

The American boys owned the tournament. Combined, they had a 21-7 record.

All eight entrants were victorious in their first round matches. Taylor Fritz (#1 seed), Reilly Opelka, William Blumberg, and Tommy Paul (#7 seed) reached the quarters. Blumberg and Paul lost in the quarters and Opelka knocked out Fritz in the semis. The 6’10″Reilly Opelka defeated Mikael Ymer of Sweden, 7-6,6-4. It is great to see an American junior hoist the trophy at the end of the tournament; however, it may not bode well for the entertainment value of the sport when the victor had 15 aces in the championship match and there was only 1 service break in 2 sets.

On a positive note, it was encouraging to see  anAmerican junior win back-to-back Grand Slam events. (Tommy Paul won the French in June). Time will tell whether the recent success of the boys translates to titles for American men in future Grand Slams events.

American Boys 1st Round 0-1 2nd Round 1-1 3rd Round 2-1 Quarters 3-1 Semis 4-1 Finals 5-1/6-0
Taylor Fritz X
Ulses Blanch X
Reilly Opelka X
William Blumberg X
Emil Reinberg X
Nathan Ponwith X
Michael Mmoh X
Tommy Paul X
Total W-L 8-0 5-3 4-1 2-2 2-2 1-0

Next stop, the U.S. Open!  Will the American and Russian juniors have a repeat performance?

American Juniors Dominate French Open

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In the online version of Tennis Briefs Bob Larson recently reported that Patrick McEnroe, former director of player development for USTA, said that he believes the current gang of teenagers is a good reason for optimism.  In other words, McEnroe expects to see American juniors dominate the Grand Slams in the not-to-distant future.

McEnroe was correct, at least as it pertains to the French Open Junior Championships.

Eight of the 64 boys were Americans – of which Tommy Paul and Harry Taylor Fritz met in the finals. Paul was the upset winner.

William Blumberg was ousted in the first round and Alex Rybakov, Ulises Blanch and Nathan Ponwith won their initial matches before losing in the second round.

The remaining four players won their matches in the round of 16. Reilly Opelka was defeated in the quarterfinals and Michael Mmoh was ousted in the semifinals. Three of the four semifinalists were Americans.

Overall the American boys were 21-7.

There were also eight American girls. The following four girls lost in the first round: Raveena Kingsley, Sofia Kenin, Francesca Dilorenzo, and Michaela Gordon. After winning her first match Usue Maltane Arconada was defeated in the second round.

Carolyn Dolehide won two matches before losing in the third round and Katherine Steward was defeated in the fourth round.

The last American girl standing was C.C. Bellis. She won four matches before bowing out in the semifinals.

Overall the American girls were 10-8.

Hats off to the American Juniors. Hopefully Patrick McEnroe is correct and we will see American juniors dominate the Grand Slams for many years to come.