[PTWahoo14]

16U Junior Davis cup starting up shortly. 25 - 30 September 2012.
Here are the teams that qualified:http://www.itftennis.com/media/127028/127028.pdf
And their 3 member roster: http://www.itftennis.com/media/130006/130006.pdf


ARGENTINA......................................... .............KOREA
1 FRANCO EGEA 01.01.1996...............................1 HYEON CHUNG 19.05.1996
2 FRANCISCO BAHAMONDE 07.11.1996...............2 KUKEON KANG 02.01.1997
3 LAUTARO PANE 28.02.1996.............................3 SEONGCHAN HONG 30.06.1997
CAPTAIN........................................... ...............CAPTAIN MR HYUNG TAIK LEE

AUSTRALIA......................................... .............MEXICO
1 THANASI KOKKINAKIS 10.04.1996..................1 KEVIN JACK CARPENTER 23.05.1996
2 BLAKE MOTT 21.04.1996................................2 NIGEL JIMENEZ 18.06.1996
3 HARRY BOURCHIER 24.01.1996.......................3 ANDRES ILLESCAS 25.03.1996
CAPTAIN MR MARK WOODFORDE........................CAPTAIN MR ALAIN LEMAITRE

BRAZIL............................................ .................MOROCCO
1 RAFAEL FABRIS DE MATOS 06.01.1996............1 AMINE ZAHOUD 24.06.1996
2 MARCELO ZORMANN DA SILVA 10.06.1996......2 MEHDI LAALEJ 11.06.1996
3 MARCELO TEBET FILHO 23.02.1996................3 THAMI BENBOUBKER 08.05.1996
CAPTAIN MR LUIZ PENIZA NETO........................CAPTAIN MR MEHDI TAHIRI

CHINA............................................. ................PERU
1 ZHE ZHOU 19.10.1996...................................1 WILDER PIMENTEL 24.05.1996
2 SU-HAO ZHONG 19.03.1997...........................2 NICOLAS ALVAREZ 08.06.1996
3 TIAN-JIA GUO 05.12.1996..............................3 PETR IAMACHKINE 03.04.1996
CAPTAIN MR WEN-BIN ZHOU.............................CAPTAIN MR AMERICO VENERO

EGYPT............................................. ................RUSSIA
1 OMAR GAMAL EL DIN 05.11.1996....................1 KAREN KHACHANOV 21.05.1996
2 YOUSSEF SHERIF 14.06.1996.........................2 DANIIL MEDVEDEV 11.02.1996
3 OMAR ARGOUN 07.05.1996...........................3 ANDREY RUBLEV 20.10.1997
CAPTAIN MR MOSTAFA NAIM............................CAPTAIN MR IVAN PRIDANKIN

FRANCE............................................ ..............SPAIN
1 JOHAN SEBASTIEN TATLOT 26.03.1996..........1 ALBERTO BARROSO 04.06.1996
2 QUENTIN HALYS 26.10.1996..........................2 FERRAN CALVO 10.03.1996
3 BENJAMIN BONZI 09.06.1996........................3 JAUME ANTONI MUNAR 05.05.1997
CAPTAIN MR JEAN-CHRISTOPHE FAUREL...........CAPTAIN MR CARLES VICENS

ITALY............................................. ...............SWEDEN
1 GIANLUIGI QUINZI 01.02.1996.....................1 ELIAS YMER 10.09.1996
2 FILIPPO BALDI 10.01.1996...........................2 DANIEL WINDAHL 20.07.1996
3 DOMENICO MIRKO CUTULI 16.05.1996..........3 PHILIP MOEBIUS 15.10.1996
CAPTAIN MR SIMONE COLOMBO......................CAPTAIN MR CHRISTIAN BERGSTROM

JAPAN............................................. ..............USA
1 KEN ONISHI 18.02.1996...............................1 NOAH RUBIN 21.02.1996
2 NAOKI NAKAGAWA 19.11.1996.....................2 STEFAN KOZLOV 01.02.1998
3 JUMPEI YAMASAKI 02.07.1997......................3 JARED DONALDSON 09.10.1996
CAPTAIN MR KO IWAMOTO.............................CAPTAIN MR NICOLAS TODERO

My thoughts and expectations:
In my opinion, the strongest teams here (in no particular order) are Korea, France, Italy, and Australia. I think we are good too and can possibly make it out of round robin, but the fact that it's clay hurts us quite a bit (and probably hurts Australia as well). On the other hand, teams like Argentina and Brazil expectedly have very successful 16 and under clay court players and could possibly pull an upset IF they're lucky/bring they're A game. The rest of the teams are either not strong enough at the number 1 position (cough Japan? cough), not deep enough at the bottom of their lineup (cough Sweden and Russia? cough), or just noticeably weaker all around.

side note - I'm actually surprised that Russia chose Rublev over Safiullin since the latter has only lost three times all year. Since he was playing a tournament this week (so not injured), it could be that he rejected an offer to join the team.

In the end, I predict Italy will make the finals. Quinzi is just too good and Baldi is good enough for them to win. But I can't decide who will join them. I'd have to see the draw first to take a guess at that.

[SapELee]

Great information. You should start the thread in the junior forum .

I'm happy to see that Jared made the team. I don't expect much and just hope that they give their best effort. I hope Stefan plays every doubles match b/c I don't have much faith in Noah and Jared .

I also think Italy is the team to beat, Quinzi and Baldi are one tough combo.

[SapELee]

Come on juniors, somebody win that wildcard!

From Zootennis:

For the past two years I've been covering the (now) Audi Napa Valley Classic tournament, which for those two years has been under the auspices of USTA Player Development and features eight juniors and 24 Division I collegians in 8 round robin groups, with the winners going into a shootout for the chance to win a Futures wild card. I will not be going to Napa this year, and instead will be covering a similar event in Portland, Oregon in November with Division I women's teams and junior girls, but I will be following the tournament closely from home via updates from Steve Pratt, who will be there.

Stanford, Georgia, Harvard, Illinois, Texas and Cal will be sending players to Napa. Here is the list of juniors who will be competing:

Henry Craig, Murrieta , Calif.
Jack Murray, Beverly Hills , Mich.
Joseph Digiulio, Newport Beach , Calif.
Konrad Zieba, Glenview , Ill.
Robert Bellamy, Pacific Palisades , Calif.
Deiton Baughman, Carson , Calif.
Gage Brymer, Irvine , Calif.
TJ Pura, Brentwood , Calif.

The juniors will be coached by Nick Fustar of the USTA Regional Training Center Eagle Fustar Tennis Academy and Brian Wilson, of the RTC Northwest High Performance Tennis.

So many California guys. I hope Bellamy can win it.

[SapELee]

Originally Posted by SapELee

Main draw for Costa Mesa is out: http://www.atpworldtour.com/posting/2012/705/mds.pdf

Alex qualified, will play Mark Verryth.
Mitch got a wc, will play Dadamo . I don't see him winning this.
Connor Farren also got a wc, plays Kosakowski . Definitely don't see him winning this one.
Shane Vinsant also qualified, will play Daniel Nguyen. Maybe we should create a post-junior thread for the 93 players. I also predict a loss here.

So a 3-0 prediction for the former college players.

Alex won 7-6(0) 6-3
Mitch lost 2&1
Shane lost 5&4
Connor lost 3&1

As expected, the college players crushed our juniors . Seriously, I think they need to go somewhere else to get their ranking up like Mexico or even Australia (somewhere with smaller qualification draws).

[PTWahoo14]

Originally Posted by SapELee

I think they need to go somewhere else to get their ranking up like Mexico or even Australia (somewhere with smaller qualification draws).

Agreed. I wonder what's keeping them from doing that. Money restraints? Pressure from the usta to play American futures? If they played some easier future tournaments, not only would it improve their ranking but also their confidence, which is huge in tennis.

[SapELee]

Alex lost to Devin Britton. I was hoping that he could somehow pull the upset so he doesn't have to go thru qualifying in the upcoming futures.

I wish that they would reduce the Q draws; 4 rounds are a lot for young players and even if they qualified, they probably have nothing left in the tank for the main draw. Or at least have more than one futures per week. Right now the USA futures are dominated by college players. Can't wait til the Fall Collegiate Competition to begin . That might be the only way our juniors can have some results.

I don't understand why many of our juniors don't go to Mexico. Even Nishioka and Quinzi took advantage and Mexico is closer to us . Christian Harrison had a hard time in the futures until he went to Mexico and look at what it did to his confidence.

[SapELee]

The No.1 seed, Bogdanovic, is taken out by a college player. Guess our juniors were not the only ones having a hard time .

[SapELee]

Originally Posted by SapELee

Even Nishioka and Quinzi took advantage and Mexico is closer to us .

Nevermind, I forgot that Nishioka and Quinzi are based in IMG Bollettieri Academy so distance is not a problem for them.


Anyway, the Q draw for Irvine is out: http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/qualifying_draw202.PDF


The Irvine futures should be easier than the Costa Mesa since several players will attempt to qualify for the 100k Sacramento Challenger. Hopefully, some of our juniors can qualify. Good luck guys.

[SapELee]

COLLEGIANS TAKE SIX OF EIGHT MATCHES OVER
USTA JUNIORS ON DAY 1 OF AUDI NAPA VALLEY CLASSIC

By Steve Pratt

ST. HELENA, Calif., (Sept. 21, 2012) – Just two of eight USTA juniors managed to win singles matches with two others falling in three sets on the first day of the 12th annual Audi Napa Valley Classic being played at Meadowood Resort on Friday.

Seventeen-year-old Southern Californian’s Robbie Bellamy and Joseph DiGuilio both picked up wins in the unique event that combines eight of the top USTA juniors against four top players from six NCAA Division I programs.

Host California and Big 12 Conference representative Texas were the big winners on the day each going undefeated in four matches. The 32-man field is split into eight pools featuring three collegians and a USTA junior. The winner of each pool on Sunday advances to the quarterfinals of the PlayBrave Wild Card Shootout, a single-elimination, 10-point tiebreak tournament with the winner earning a wild card into a future.......read more

Friday’s singles results

Daniel Whitehead (Texas) def. Gage Brymer (USTA), 6-1, 6-2
Robbie Bellamy (USTA) def. Shaun Chaudhuri (Harvard), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
Lloyd Glasspool (Texas) def. Konrad Zieba (USTA), 6-4, 6-3
Joseph DiGuilio (USTA) def.Tim Kopinski (Illinois), 6-4, 6-3
Ben McLachlan (Cal) def. Deiton Baughman (USTA), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Riki McLachlan (Cal) def. Jack Murray (USTA), 6-0, 6-2
Nathan Pasha (Georgia) def. Henry Craig (USTA), 6-3, 6-2
Mads Engsted (Cal) def. T.J. Pura (USTA), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Not looking good.

[SapELee]

Audi Napa Valley Classic on radiotennis.com

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

USTA Juniors finish Day 2 solid with 5 wins and 3 losses against top teams from Cal, Stanford, Illinois, Georiga, Texas and Harvard.

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

Overall team tally in Napa: USTA Juniors: 7-9 Cal: 8-0 Texas: 5-3 Georgia: 5-3 Illinois: 4-4 Stanford: 3-5 Harvard: 0-8

[SapELee]

Cal Perfect, USTA Juniors Hold Their Own at Audi Napa Valley Classic



USTA Team (l to r) Coach Brian Wilson, TJ Pura, Gage Brymer, Robbie Bellamy, Joe DiGiulio, Konrad Zieba, Deiton Baughman, Jack Murray, Coach Nick Fustar (not pictured: Henry Craig) photo courtesy Steve Pratt

JUNIORS TAKE FIVE OF EIGHT MATCHES OVER
COLLEGE PLAYERS ON DAY 2 OF AUDI NAPA VALLEY CLASSIC
By Steve Pratt

ST. HELENA, Calif. , (Sept. 22, 2012) – It wasn’t that long ago that T.J. Pura wondered how he would ever be able to win a match against a college player.

Fast forward to Saturday, and that’s exactly what Pura did, beating Georgia’s Eric Diaz in three sets in one of five wins for the USTA Juniors against three defeats at the 12th Annual Audi Napa Valley Classic being played at the Meadowood Resort.

“It’s really cool being here,” said Pura, 17, of Pacific Palisades, Calif., who started and finished strong, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. “For a while when I would watch college guys I was like, ‘Oh, my God’ how can I compete at that level? It’s a different level but it’s one that I realize is attainable right now to compete with these guys, which is really cool. Because there was a time not long ago when I thought I’d never reach that level.”

Pura, who has committed to Duke and has recently been coached by former Texas A&M star Lester Cook, said energy was the key factor in pulling him through. “I was down an early break in the third set 2-0 but got one back and that just fired me up,” he said......

DAY 2: Saturday’s Singles Scores

Konrad Zieba (USTA) def. Daniel Ho (Stanford), 6-2, 6-0
Joseph DiGiulio (USTA) def. Sudawa Sitaram ( Texas ), 6-4, 6-3
John Morrissey (Stanford) def. Gage Brymer (USTA), 7-5, 1-6, 7-5
Ben Wagland ( Georgia ) def. Robbie Bellamy (USTA), 6-2, 6-4
T.J. Pura (USTA) def. Eric Diaz ( Georgia ), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Matt Kandath (Stanford) def. Henry Craig (USTA), 6-4, 6-1
Jack Murray (USTA), def. Casey MacMaster (Harvard), 6-3, 6-0
Deiton Baughman (USTA) def. Soren Hess Olesen ( Texas ), 6-1, 6-3

[SapELee]

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

Hess Olsen (Texas) advances to Shootout from Group 1. He and Baughman both had two wins, but Olsen better pct. of sets win.

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

@ustaplayid If Baughman, age 16 from Carson, would have won in straight set today he would have advanced to Shootout.

Deiton, so close

[SapELee]

Let's go Joe, tough one against Konigsfeldt (Cal).

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

Looks like USTA gets 1 jr into Shootout at Napa. Joe DiGiulio controls own destiny and gets in regardless of result if he doesn't retire

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

Bottom half PlayBrave Shootout pairings set: Konigsfeldt (Cal) v. DiGiulio (USTA) Glasspool (Texas) v. Pasha (Georgia) @zootennis

[SapELee]

Irvine Final Qualifying Round
KRUEGER, Mitchell [2] vs ORE, Junior Alexander
HALEBIAN, Alexios [3] vs NDIMANDE, Mbonisi
BOYCE, Charles [7] vs SMITH, Xavier
FARREN, Connor [8] vs PAPA, Spencer

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

Joe DiGiulio (USTA) def. Konigstedt (Cal), 10-7 to advance to semis

USTA College Tennis ‏@ustacollege10s

@ustaplayerid PlayBrave Shootout Semifinals Hess Olesen (Texas) def. Wagland (Georgia), 10-8 Pasha (Georgia) def. DiGiulio (USTA), 10-8

[PTWahoo14]

http://itfjuniors.tournamentsoftware...EEA77C&draw=10

USA's group for Junior Davis Cup. Didn't really expect to get the number one seed (although I guess it makes sense), but that should help them make it to the main draw play offs. It'll still be tough though as Japan, Russia, and Brazil all have great players. There won't be one or two easy matches as there are in the other groups.