Coco Continues Carson Run
Both are blonde and from Orange County and work with the same coach, Robert Van’t Hof. But that’s where the similarities ended on Friday at the LA Open Women’s $50,000 Challenger as CoCo Vandeweghe ended Krista Hardebeck’s run at the USTA pro circuit event at the Home Depot Center.
The 18-year-old Vandeweghe of Newport Beach simply had too big a game for the 15-year-old qualifier Hardebeck of Santa Ana, who made all the local tournament-watchers take notice earlier in the week when she upset the No. 1 seed and the 158th-ranked player in the world, Sacha Jones. Vandeweghe registered a 6-3, 6-1 win over Hardebeck on Friday.
Another difference between the two Southern Californians is that Vandeweghe gets to keep her prize money of $2,185 for making the semifinals while the amateur Hardebeck can not accept hers but can collect expenses.
“We’ve played a lot together and have worked with Robert so it was really nice to see Krista make it all the way to the quarterfinals,” said Vandeweghe, who got some advice from one of the USTA national coaches after the match, Tom Gullikson. “Tom’s actually been traveling with me for the past two months or so,” Vandeweghe continued. “It’s something fresh and new and Tom and I really get along well together and joke around a lot.”
Vandeweghe, the 2008 U.S. Open junior champion whose previous best result in a $50,000 event was the quarterfinals, meets fellow American Lindsay Lee-Waters in the semifinals on Saturday in the opening match at 11 a.m. Vandeweghe beat Lee-Waters in a clay-court Challenger in their only meeting last year.
Vandeweghe, the niece of former UCLA and NBA star Kiki Vandeweghe, said the Home Depot Center site is special to her because she won her first WTA match on Stadium Court here last summer against Tathiana Garbin in straight sets.
“Yeah, and I only live 45 minutes from here so I’m here a lot practicing and training with the national coaches,” she said. “It’s just feels comfortable for me here.”
In the other women’s semifinal, Stanford-bound Kristie Ahn takes on the only non-American left in the women’s singles draw, Slovakia ’s Petra Rampre, who beat Las Vegas ’ Asia Muhammad, 6-4, 6-3.
In the men’s portion of the tournament, semifinalists include Robert Kendrick, Donald Young, Lester Cook and Peter Polansky.
For more information on the tournament log onto the website at www.usta.com/carsonchallenger.com.
Friday’s Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
Lester Cook ( USA ) def. Alex Kuznetsov ( USA ) [6], 6-4, 0-6, 6-4
Robert Kendrick ( USA ) [5] def. Marinko Matosevic (AUS), 6-2, 7-6 (9)
Donald Young ( USA ) [4] def. Tim Smyczek ( USA ), 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-2
Peter Polansky (CAN) [8] def. Dayne Kelly (AUS) def. 6-4, 6-4
Doubles Semifinals
Artem Sitak (RUS) / Leonardo Tavares (POR) def. Lester Cook ( USA ) / David Martin ( USA ) [2], 6-2, 6-2
Brian Battistone ( USA ) / Nick Monroe ( USA ) def. Samuel Groth (AUS) / Harsh Mankad ( IND ) [4], 6-3, 4-6, 11-9
Friday’s Women’s Singles Quarterfinals
Coco Vandeweghe ( USA ) def. Krista Hardebeck ( USA ), 6-3, 6-1
Kristie Ahn ( USA ) def. Ahsha Rolle ( USA ), 7-6 (5), 6-3
Petra Rampre (SLO) def. Asia Muhammad ( USA ), 6-4, 6-3
Lindsay Lee-Waters ( USA ) def. Alina Jidkova (RUS), 7-5, 1-6, 6-0
Doubles Semifinals
Lindsay Lee-Waters ( USA ) / Megan Moulton-Levy [2] def. Ivana Lisjak (CRO) / Asia Muhammad ( USA ), 6-3, 6-3
Christina Fusano ( USA ) / Courtney Nagle ( USA ) [4] def. Brittany Augustine ( USA ) / Jennifer Elie ( USA ), 6-3, 6-4
ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY
CENTER COURT start 11 am
C Vandeweghe (USA) vs [7] L Lee-Waters (USA)
D Young (USA) [4] vs L Cook (USA)
WOMEN’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
C Fusano (USA) / C Nagle (USA) [4] vs L Lee-Waters (USA) / M Moulton-Levy (USA) [2]
MEN’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
B Battistone (USA) / N Monroe (USA) vs A Sitak (RUS) / L Tavares (POR)
COURT 5 start 11 am
R Kendrick (USA) [5] vs P Polansky (CAN) [8]
K Ahn (USA) vs P Rampre (SLO)
Topics: Carson Run, Challenger, Clay Court, Coach Robert, Fellow American, Home Depot, Home Depot Center, Junior Champion, Kiki Vandeweghe, Lindsay Lee Waters, National Coaches, Nba Star, Newport Beach, Open Women, Orange County, Prize Money, Quarterfinals, Southern Californians, Straight Sets, Tathiana Garbin
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