Trouble for No. 2 seeds in ISC Round 2

Wednesday was double trouble for the No. 2 seeds at the USTA International Spring Championships, as the second seeds in both the boys’ and girls’ 18s singles draws fell in Round 2.

Eliot Spizzirri and Savannah Broadus, who each survived tight opening-round matchups in Carson, Calif., were dismissed in straight sets at the Grade 1 junior event, which has now progressed to the Round of 16.

Spizzirri, ranked No. 24 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, was turned back by Stefan Leustian, 6-0, 6-2. The defeat caps a difficult two-week stretch for the Connecticut native, who lost in the first round of last week’s Easter Bowl as the No. 1 seed.   

Broadus fell victim to qualifier Nikita Vishwase of India, 7-5, 7-5. The world No. 40 junior girl also had a disappointing Easter Bowl, losing to eventual finalist Robin Montgomery as the No. 4 seed, in Round 3. The two were on a collision course again in Carson, but Broadus’ loss prevented a rematch on Thursday.

Montgomery, seeded No. 13, is one of seven seeded Americans into the last 16, joining top seed and defending champion Hurricane Tyra Black, No. 4 Charlotte Chavatipon, No. 11 Gabriella Price, No. 12 Emma Jackson, No. 14 Jenna DeFalco and No. 15 Alexandra Yepifanova. Charlotte Owensby and Hina Inoue, seeded sixth and 14th, respectively, met the same fate as Broadus on Wednesday.

The bottom half of the Boys’ 18s singles draw has just one seeded player remaining—No. 8 Blu Baker of Great Britain—after a day of upsets. In addition to Spizzirri, No. 7 Andres Martin, No. 9 William Grant, No. 11 Blaise Bicknell, No. 14 Keshav Chopra and No. 16 Mark Mandlik were all dismissed on Day 3 at the ISC.

The top half is more intact, with two pairs of seeded players set to square off in the Round of 16. The top-seeded Liam Draxl, of Canada, will take on No. 13 Ronan Jachuck, while No. 3 Tyler Zink (pictured above) battles No. 15 Jacob Bullard, an Easter Bowl semifinalist. No. 5 Toby Alex Kodat and No. 12 Andrew Dale are also still alive in the top half.

The girls’ 16s draw has reached the quarterfinal stage, with No. 6 Ria Bhakta and No. 7 Anne Lutkemeyer Obregon the only remaining seeded players. Katelyn Hart knocked off top seed Ava Krug, 6-4, 7-5, in Round 3.

None of the five seeded boys reached the quarters in the 16s division, after Masato Perera toppled No. 1 Andy Hernandez and Tristan Sarap took out No. 4 Lucas Brown on Wednesday.

The doubles draws in all four divisions are also down to the last eight, with play set to continue on Thursday.

For tournament information, including live scoring, visit the official ISC website.