Photo: Susan MullaneGianluigi Quinzi (ITA)
PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL: Home favourite Thiago Monteiro and Kyle McPhillipsof the USA top the seedings at the Grade A Copa Gerdau in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The tournament, which takes place at the Associacao Leopoldina Juvenil from 19th to 25th March, is the third Grade A event of the 2012 ITF Junior Circuit, forming the climax to the series of ITF events in Latin America.
As well as being the top seed, Monteiro is also the defending champion and will be looking to bounce back from a first round defeat at last week’s Banana Bowl, the Grade 1 warm up event also in Brazil. The Brazilian will face stiff competition from the second seeded Kaichi Uchida from Japan and third seed Gianluigi Quinzi from Italy. Both players are rising stars of the ITF Junior Circuit and have distinguished themselves in ITF Junior Team Competitions playing for their country. Uchida led Japan to victory in the 2010 Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Quinzi was a member of the Italian side who finished runners-up in 2011.
Other challengers include Mackenzie Macdonald (USA) who made it to the semi finals of this year’s Australian Open juniors and Mateo Nicolas Martinez (ARG) who has been in good form in the ITF Junior events in South America in the lead up to this event.
Montserrat Gonzalez from Paraguay, a quarter finalist at last year’s Junior Wimbledon and an established member of the Paraguayan Fed Cup side, will be looking to win her first ever Grade A event in Porto Alegre. Top seeded American Kyle McPhillips who has been posting strong performances on the ITF Junior Circuit, including reaching the semi finals of the Grade A Abierto Juvenil Mexicano in January and winning the Grade 2 Copa Milo in February.
Other players who will be looking to progress into the latter stages in Porto Alegre are third seed Zuzanna Maciejewska from Poland who will be looking to win her second Grade A title after winning last year’s Osaka Mayor’s Cup in Osaka, Japan. Sachia Vickery from the USA, comes into the event in good form after winning the Grade 1 Copa de Café in Costa Rica in January.