National

Americans lead the way

after ISC Round 1

Arthur Kapetanakis  |  April 3, 2019
December 03, 2018 - during the Orange Bowl at the Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation, Florida.
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Day 2 at the USTA International Spring Championships (ISC) completed Round 1 in the boys’ and girls’ 18s singles draws, as the initial fields of 64 trimmed to 32 in each division. All told, Team USA advanced 29 girls and 28 boys to dominate the early stages of the international event.

 

Both Easter Bowl finalists were in action Tuesday, but only the girls’ runner-up, Robin Montgomery, survived the opening round in Carson, Calif.

 

The 14-year-old Montgomery (pictured above), who fell to Emma Navarro in Sunday’s Easter Bowl final, got back in the win column with a 6-2, 6-3 result over Diana Khodan of Ukraine. Navarro did not enter the ISC, as she made her WTA debut at the Volvo Car Open in her hometown of Charleston, S.C.

 

Martin Damm will not match his run to the championship round a week ago. The No. ADVERTISEMENT 4 seed became the second-highest 18s seed to fall through two days of play in Carson, dropping a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 decision to wild card Zachary Svajda on Tuesday.

 

No. 6 Dali Blanch, who fell to qualifier Welsh Hotard, and No. 10 Adam Neff, defeated by Spencer Whitaker, join Damm as the only three out of 16 boys’ seeds eliminated in Round 1.

 

Among the seeded boys who did advance on Tuesday were No. 3 Tyler Zink and No. 5 Toby Alex Kodat, who each notched 6-1, 6-0 victories. No. 15 Jacob Bullard, an Easter Bowl quarterfinalist, and No. 16 Mark Mandlik, a semifinalist last week, also got through in straight sets, as did No. 9 William Grant.

 

In the girls’ 18s draw, defending champion and top-seeded Hurricane Tyra Black began her repeat bid with a comfortable, straight-sets win. No. 2 Savannah Broadus also advanced, though she was pushed much harder, in a 7-6, 7-6 opener.

 

Other seeded Americans progressing Tuesday include No. 6 Charlotte Owensby and No. 11 Gabriella Price.

 

The top half of the draw, which already lost the No. 3-seeded Abigail Forbes on Monday, was thrown into further disarray as No. 5 Kylie Collins and No. 10 Skyler Marie Grace Grishuk fell. Wild card Zoe Howard took out Collins, 6-4, 6-3, while lucky loser Gianna Pielet dismissed Grishuk, 6-3, 6-1.

 

After the two-day opening round, the entirety of the Round 2 field will be in action Wednesday.

 

The 16s singles tournaments have reached Round 3, with just 16 players remaining in each draw. The top seeds—Ava Krug in the girls' draw and Andy Hernandez in the boys'—are still in contention, though both No. 2 seeds (Lauren Rha and Alex Han) crashed out in Tuesday's second round.

 

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

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