 Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 18 Dec 2004 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 18 Dec 2004 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 18 Dec 2004 |  Photographer: Eleanor Preston
Date: 18 Dec 2004 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 18 Dec 2004 | |
|
| 17 Dec 2004 | |
| All-American boys semifinals at Orange Bowl; No. 2 Niculescu upset in girls quarterfinals |
For the first time in 28 years, the United States advanced four players to the semifinals of the Boys’ 18s at the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.
Timothy Neilly, Greg Ouellette, and No. 5 Donald Young, eliminated the tournament’s top three seeds, respectively, and No. 6 Mykyta Kryvonos rallied in his quarterfinal match to round out the final four in the 58th edition of the winter classic at the Crandon Park Tennis Center.
Kryvonos ended the hopes of qualifier Andrew Kennaugh (GBR) and rallied from an 0-4 deficit in the second set en route to 7-5, 7-6 (6) win. This spring, Kryvonos defeated Neilly in the quarterfinals of the Gerdau Tennis Cup in Brazil en route to the clay court final.
“I’m going to have to do the same things to beat him on hard court that I did on clay,” said Kryvonos. “He’s going to try and hit a lot of winners, so I’ll have to keep him on the baseline. He’s so strong and can put the ball away.”
Neilly held off No. 1 seed Sun Yong Kim (KOR) 6-4, 7-5, and will face Kryvonos in the other semifinals. He began working with Tarik Benhabiles, who coached Andy Roddick to the Orange Bowl title in 1999.
“He’s got all the tools,” Benhabiles said of Neilly, the No. 11 seed.
Ouellette was the last of the four to win his quarterfinal match. He rallied to defeat No. 2 seed Mihail Zverev (GER) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and end the German’s eight-match winning streak. He’ll take on much-heralded Young, 15, the reigning Orange Bowl 16s champion, for a berth in the final.
“I’m going to have nothing to lose,” Ouellette said of his semifinal match-up. “It should be a lot of fun. The crowd will be big. Our games are similar. We’re both lefties and like to use that spin to our advantage. He knows where to be on court and how to play the game.”
Young upset No. 3 Rafael Arevalo (ESA) in a spirited quarterfinals in straight sets, avenging a loss in first round of the 2003 Eddie Herr International.
The last time the United States had all four Orange Bowl semifinalists was in 1976 when John McEnroe defeated Eliot Teltscher for the title. McEnroe defeated Robert Vant’Hof in the semifinals and Teltscher defeated Brian Gottfried.
No. 3 Jessica Kirkland (USA) is the highest remaining seed in the girls’ draw. Kirkland defeated Alexa Glatch (USA), the reigning Orange Bowl 16s’ champion, 6-1, 6-0. In their only previous meeting, Kirkland defeated Glatch in the semifinals of the USTA Girls’ 18s Nationals this summer en route to the title.
“I played much better today (than in our first match),” said Kirkland, who reached the US Open girls’ singles final in September. “I had a much better game plan against her today and I don’t think she played as well. I feel like I’m playing better than I have all year.”
Kirkland’s next opponent is unseeded Ekaterina Makarova (RUS), who upset No. 2 Monica Niculescu (ROM) in the quarterfinals 7-6 (0), 1-6, 6-3.
The other girls’ semifinal pits No. 12 Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROM) against Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS). Buzarnescu defeated Vania King (USA) in the quarterfinals while Kudryavtseva upset No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova (SVK).
^ Back to Top
|
