By Steve Pratt, special to USTA.com
CARSON, Calif. – Beating a top-seeded player was nothing new for Yuki Chiang, who pulled off the feat once again during the third round of the girls’ 16s singles at the USTA International Spring Championships on Wednesday, beating No. 1-seeded Katrine Steffensen of Scarsdale, N.Y., 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Chiang unseeded and from Ojai about 60 miles north of where the tournament is being played in Carson, knew the feeling of toppling a No. 1, as she beat top-seeded Brooke Austin to claim the 2009 Orange Bowl 14s title 16 months ago.
She had never played Steffensen before but asked friends who had and was provided a full scouting report.
"They said to start fast and not to make any errors," said Chiang, who trains with USTA national coaches at the USTA Training Center – West facilities in Carson, where the tournament is taking place. "They told me to keep my intensity up because once she realizes that you are getting down she plays better."
Chiang and partner Alexis Pereira also moved on to the doubles quarterfinals with a 7-6, (5), 6-0 victory against No. 6-seeded Alyza Benotto and Lauren Marker.
Austin was busy pulling off a pretty big win herself in the girls’ 18s in a rematch of a US Open junior qualifying match back in September. On Wednesday, Austin toppled No. 6 seed Lauren Herring, 6-1, 6-1.
"My groundstrokes have just really come on," said Austin, 15, of Indianapolis. "I always seem to play well in California. There’s just something about it. The weather is always so mild. The temperatures are just perfect for tennis."
Austin said the decision to play up in the 18s was an easy one after recent wins at ITF Grade 4s in Florida and Kentucky in the 18s. "I thought, what the heck, I’d give it a shot," she said. "This is a big tournament, so I’d thought I’d see how I’d do."
In the boys’ 18s, No. 3-seeded Alexios Halebian of Glendale, Calif., overcame a poor-serving second set to beat Henry Craig of Murrieta, Ga., 6-2, 7-5. He also teamed with Bjorn Fratangelo in doubles, as the top-seeded team advanced to the quarterfinals with a super-tiebreaker win after splitting sets.
"It’s always nice to come back to this event," said Halebian, who has been tagged as one of America’s top juniors and trains with an elite group at USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. "I remember playing here in the 16s when I was a 13-year-old," says Halebian, now 16. "I had a solid first set today. I hit some double faults in the second set, but overall it wasn’t too bad a day."
For more information on the tournament, including scores and draws, log onto the website at
www.usta.com/isc.
WEDNESDAY’S SINGLES RESULTS:
Note: All singles players from United States unless if noted.
Boys’ 18s Second Round
Marco Nunez (7), Mexico, def. Kai-Wen Lai, Taipei, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Emmett Egger (11) def. Thomas Pura 6-4, 6-3
Richard Del Nunzio def. Edward Nguyen, Canada, 6-2, 6-3
Mitchell Polnet def. Jack Busby, Great Britain, 6-4, 7-6(12)
Mitchell Krueger (6) def. Michael Redlicki 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Mac Styslinger (10) def. Tyler Gardiner 6-4, 6-1
Shane Vinsant (4) def. Mate Cutura, Croatian, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6(7)
Austin Smith def. Lucas Gomez, Mexic, 6-2, 6-0
Alexios Halebian (3) def. Henry Craig 6-2, 7-5
Trey Strobel def. Connor Farren (8) 6-2, 6-2
Bjorn Fratangelo (1) def. David Doehring 6-4, 6-0
Nikola Milojevic (2), Serbia, def. Mikhail Vaks, Russia, 6-4, 6-1
Dennis Mkrtchian def. Gregory Scott 6-2, 6-2
Marcos Giron def. Marlu Van Vuuren, South Africa, 6-4, 6-4
Patrik Fabian (13), Slovakia, def. Thai Kwiatkowski 7-5, 7-5
Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan, def. Jeremy Efferding 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1
Boys’ 16s Round of 16
Stephen Watson (10) def. Daniel Kerznerman (7) 6-3, 7-5
Noah Rubin (14) def. Joseph Di Giulio (4) 6-1, 7-6(5)
Luca Corinteli (1) def. Javier Restrepo 6-3, 7-6(0)
Ciro Riccardi def. Justin Butsch (8) 6-4, 6-4
Martin Redlicki (13) def. Deiton Baughman 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
Stefan Kozlov def. Stefan Doehler 6-0, 6-2
Spencer Papa (2) def. William Chiu 6-1, 7-5
Nikko Madregallejo (6) def. JC Aragone (12) 6-2, 6-1
Girls’ 18s Second Round
Alejandra Cisneros Gomez, Mexico, def. Camila Fuentes 6-4, 6-4
Ashley Dai (13) def. Janet Liu 6-2, 6-1
Marcela Zacarias (12), Mexico, def. Skylar Morton 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-0
Sabrina Santamaria def. Naomi Totka, Hungary, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5
Christina Makarova (4) def. Nadia Echeverria Alam 6-2, 6-2
Gabrielle Andrews def. Natalia Maynetto 6-3, 6-3
Kyle McPhillips def. Catherine Harrison 6-0, 6-0
Rio Kitagawa (8), Japan, def. Alexandra Kiick 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
Grace Min (2) def. Mayo Hibi, Japan, 6-3, 6-3
Samantha Crawford def. Johnnise Renaud 7-6(4), 6-3
Chalena Scholl def. Kriszina Kapitany (14), Hungary, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Victoria Duval (1) def. June Lee 6-0, 7-5
Brooke Austin def. Lauren Herring (6) 6-1, 6-1
Madison Keys (3) def. Joanna Smith 6-0, 6-0
Stephanie Nauta (9) def. Kelsey Laurente 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Ellen Allgurin (5), Sweden, def. Taylor Townsend 6-2, 6-4