Hardebeck Beats Top-Seeded Davis For Easter Bowl Title
Just two years ago, Melanie Oudin won back-to-back ITF events at Carson and the Easter Bowl before turning pro and, well, you know the rest of the story.
Krista Hardebeck duplicated that feat on Saturday at the Easter Bowl as the 15-year-old unseeded player from Santa Ana, Calif., won her 12th match in 12 days, emphatically beating No. 1 seeded Lauren Davis on Saturday, 7-5, 6-4 to win the girls’ 18s event without dropping a set.
And now she gets a day off. Yogurt Land, Disneyland and the future of the WTA Tour beware.
Hardebeck has basically served noticed this week that she is one to watch in the future of American tennis.
“I’m going to take three days off – no tennis,” said Hardebeck, who treats herself to all the yogurt and toppings she wants at Yogurt Land after each win. “I was down 3-1 in the first set and she wasn’t giving me anything. I’m more tired mentally than physically. This feels like the last mile of a marathon.”
Hardebeck said she plans to use a Disneyland pass she was given for her birthday on Sunday. “I was having trouble finding a day off to go,” before Saturday, she said.
The 16-year-old Davis from Gates Mills, Ohio, played solidly all week and said she could never find her focus. “I’m disappointed,” a teary-eyed Davis said after the match. “I kind of came out not focused and it showed. She played well but I thought I should win. I think it was my stamina that hurt me and that I should have moved her around more, in and out and side to side.”
Gabriel Andrews lived up to her top seeding in the girls’ 14s finals as the 13-year-old from Pomona beat No. 4 seeded Kimberly Yee of Las Vegas, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Yee had Andrews on the ropes after the first set and was effectively moving her all over the court. “I never ran so much in my life,” a tired Andrews said. “I’m going to sleep for two days after this. I just had a new mindset after that first set. I thought if I could play real tennis and not just push the ball back, then I could come back and win the last two sets.”
Yee, who lost to Brooke Austin in last year’s 14s semifinal, said she expended so much energy to win the first set that she simply ran out of gas.
“I wasn’t ready for another two sets,” she said. “It was hot and I got more tired. And she started hitting harder. It was a good week win or not. I know I still have some stuff to work on.”
Jordan Belga rallied from one set down to win his first Easter Bowl, taking the boys’ 14s title defeating No. 4 seed Stefan Kozlov, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. “I was a little nervous at first but in the second set I told myself to relax and I started to play my game,” said Belga, who was also awarded the USTA Sportsmanship award. “He was tough to play but I stepped up toward the end.”
Belga believed he executed his game plan effectively throughout the week. “I worked hard to win this tournament but never got ahead of myself,” Belga said. “My mindset was one point at a time, one game at a time, one set at a time, one match at a time.”
Kozlov, who said he will only play 14-and-under events from here on out, was disappointed with his performance but is looking forward to next year. “The first set I came out sharp but he started to gain momentum and in the third set I lost my focus,” Kozlov said. “It was a good tournament for me. I beat some good players and I want to win it next year.”
Bjorn Fratangelo of Pittsburgh, Pa., advanced to his first Easter Bowl final in the boys’ 18s, defeating Alexios Halebian of Glendale, Calif., 6-2, 6-3. Fratangelo, playing his third Easter Bowl, credited the conditions for his successful run this week. “The weather has been great and overall I played well,” Fratangelo said. “I kept pushing him back and did a good job of keeping him confused.”
Fratangelo will take on No. 4 seeded Nick Chappell of Indianapolis, in the Sunday final. He beat Evan Song of Las Vegas, 6-3, 6-0. Fratangelo, who has reached the semifinals in four other major ITF junior events, said he was happy to finally get over “semi-hump” and felt a sense of relief after reaching his first final. “It feels good to get over the semi-hump,” Chappell said. “I felt pretty comfortable, won more of the longer points and served well.”
Chappell is anticipating a close final against Fratangelo, who beat Chappell in the last match they played in South Carolina. “We’re both playing well and it’s going to be a great match,” Chappell said.
Fratangelo knows he’ll have to step up his game against an improving Chappell. “I beat him last time but every day is different so we’ll see what happens.”
In the boys’ 16s final, top-seeded Nolan Paige of Fairfield, Conn., will play in his first super national final when he meets No. 10 seeded Gordon Watson of Naples, Fla. Watson beat Paige the only time they’ve met, “but that was in the 12s,” said Paige. “I want to win the Easter Bowl so bad.”
In the girls’ 16s final, the two top-seeded players meet Sunday as No. 1 Kyle McPhillips of Willoughby, Ohio, meets No. 2 Brooke Austin of Indianapolis, Ind. The two lost the same amount of games (four) in their easy semifinals wins. Ironically, the two have never played although they compete in the same USTA Midwest Section. “I’ve actually only seen her play twice,” said Austin, who has not won 13 consecutive matches at the Easter Bowl to no defeats. “I’ve heard a lot about her.”
Waking up for a morning Easter Bowl final is nothing new for both players. McPhillips lost two years ago to Sachia Vickery in the 14s final. Austin fared better in her last year winning the 14s. McPhillips was feeling a little bit better about her decision to play the 16s this year after playing up and getting beat early in the 18s last year. “I’m excited,” she said. “I’ll probably listen to some music and will be pumped up for the final.”
SATURDAY’S SCORES
Boys’ 18 Singles (Semifinal Round)
Bjorn Fratangelo Pittsburgh, PA def. Alexios Halebian Glendale, CA 6-2, 6-3
Nick Chappell (4) Indianapolis, IN def. Evan Song Henderson, NV 6-3, 6-0
Girls’ 18 Singles (Final Round)
Krista Hardebeck Santa Ana, CA def. Lauren Davis (1) Gates Mills, OH 7-5, 6-3
Boys’ 18 Doubles (Semifinal Round)
Mitchell Krueger / Webb Dane (1) def. Anton Kovrigin / Michael Zhu 7-5, 6-1
Nick Chappell / Giron Marcos (8) def. Alexios Halebian / Hunter Harrington 6-3, 6-3
Girls’ 18 Doubles (Final Round)
Lauren Herring / Min Grace (1) def. Courtney Dolehide / Ellen Tsay (6) 6-4, 6-4
Boys’ 16 Singles (Semifinal Round)
Nolan Paige (1) Fairfield, CT def. Ross Guignon (7) Prairie Vlg, KS 1-6, 6-0, 6-3
Gordon Watson (10) Naples, FL def. Sean Karl Brentwood, TN 6-2, 6-4
Boys’ 16 Doubles (Final Round)
Anthony Delcore / Ross Guignon (1) def. Matthew Alves / Hudson Barnhart (8) 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-2
Boys’ 16 Doubles (Playoff)
Nikko Madregallejo / M. Mackenzie. McDonald (4) def. Jeff Vongman / Kristofer Yee (9) 6-1, 6-0
Girls’ 16 Singles (Semifinal Round)
Kyle McPhillips (1) Willoughby, OH def. Spencer Liang (7) Potomac, MD 6-3, 6-1
Brooke Austin (2) Indianapolis, IN def. Jennifer Brady Boca Raton, FL 6-2, 6-2
Girls’ 16 Doubles (Semifinal Round)
Kyle McPhillips / Morton Skylar (1) def. Spencer Liang / Jamie Loeb (3) 6-3, 6-3
Desirae Krawczyk / Alyssa Smith (2) def. Nicole Flower / Madeline Lipp (4) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Boys’ 14 Singles (Final Round)
Jordan Belga (11) Elk Grove Village, IL def. Stefan Kozlov (4) Pembroke Pines, FL 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
Boys’ 14 Singles (Playoff)
Noah Rubin (2) Rockville Centre, NY def. Deiton Baughman Carson, CA 6-3, 6-4
Boys’ 14 Doubles (Playoff)
Christian Garay / Kerznerman Daniel (1) def. Kevin Colopy / Mac Roy (8) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Girls’ 14 Singles (Final Round)
Gabrielle Andrews (1) Pomona, CA def. Kimberly Yee (4) Las Vegas, NV 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Girls’ 14 Singles (Playoff)
Taylor Townsend Stockbridge, GA def. Peggy Porter (5) Dallas, TX 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
Boys’ 14 Doubles (Final Round)
Matthew Mendez / Jordan Portner (9) def. Deiton Baughman / Henrik Wiersholm 7-5, 6-3
Check out the tournament’s web site at www.easterbowl.com and sign up for the tournament’s daily newsletter for the latest in results and schedules.
Topics: 18s, American Tennis, Disneyland, Easter Bowl, Gates Mills Ohio, Itf Events, Las Vegas, Lauren Davis, Marathon, Match, Melanie Oudin, Mindset, Real Tennis, Rest Of The Story, Ropes, Santa Ana, Stamina, Vegas 4, Wta Tour, Yogurt
Share this article:
Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:
10sBalls Top Stories
- Today’s Women’s Update – Rome (05/17)
- Today’s Men’s Update – Rome (05/17)
- Do You Like to Play What If Roger…
- Everything Back to Normal?
- ITF, Preparing to Expand Pro Circuit, Selects Sportradar AG for Distributing Official Data
- South African Davis Cup Waiver Sparks Controversy
- Farmers Classic Tournament News
- Today’s Men’s News – Rome (05/16)
- Today’s Women’s News – Rome Update (05/16)
- USTA Member Appreciation Day
- Sven’s Postcards – Amstelveen with Rodrigo
- NINTENDO PARTNERS WITH THE USTA IN ITS SMASHZONE MOBILE TOUR
- Bryans Bounce Back With 54-Minute Win
- WTA Looking for Host of WTA Championships
- Andy Murray Gets a Win on His Birthday
In Case You Missed It
French Open Wildcards for Hewitt and Barty
Lleyton Hewitt and Ashleigh Barty have been awarded wildcards into the main draw of the French Open.
WTA (Tues. 05/15): INTERNAZIONALI BNL D’ITALIA Results
Maria, Petra & Serena Move On.Hall-of-Famer Dodo Cheney Still Playing Singles at 95
Playing with confidence and using an aggressive all-court game, top-seeded Ros Nideffer cruised past unseeded Margaret Smith of Torrance, 6-0, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the Women’s 50 division at the USTA National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships.
MURRAY BATTLES FOR BIRTHDAY WIN; DEL POTRO TESTED
World No. 4 Andy Murray was made to work hard for his opening victory at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on his 25th birthday in Rome on Tuesday, overcoming David Nalbandian
