INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Alexandre Rotsaert isn’t the most well-known American junior tennis player, but a few more wins at the 50th Annual Adidas Easter Bowl USTA Junior National Spring Championships this week would do a lot to change that.

 

The 17-year-old Rotsaert (pictured above), from Boca Raton, Fla., continued his winning ways by defeating Bill Duo, 6-0, 6-1, on Wednesday in the second round of ITF 18s singles action at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Rotsaert’s winning streak reached eight straight, as he captured the International Spring Championships in Carson last week.

 

Ranked No. 32 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, the No. 9-seeded Rotsaert doesn’t want the added pressure of being labeled a potential Next Generation ATP star. 

 

“I truly couldn’t care less if I was well known or not,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s the juniors, and it’s completely irrelevant what your ranking is, unless you are Top 10.

 

“When I was younger, that may have mattered that people knew who I was, but now I don’t care. I just have to stay focused. Winning this tournament would be absolutely awesome for me. Gianni [Ross] did it last year, and Donald Young has done it. Plenty of players have. But at the end of the day, you have to be able to take the next step, and this is just one of them.”

 

Winning Carson was the biggest title Rotsaert has ever won. He beat Ross in the final. 

 

“The first day (Monday), I’ve never gotten so many texts in my life,” he said. “We had a nice meal and then forgot about it. My coach [Ernesto Ruiz] wants me focused on this week, so we haven’t said a word about it. That tournament is irrelevant now. Now it’s a new week and a completely different tournament.”

 

on Wednesday, Rotsaert played nearly flawless tennis in dropping just one game. 

 

“I thought I played really well today and was dictating and serving well and was being aggressive,” he said. “I didn’t make too many unforced errors, which is important for me and a plus for me. [I] was just really zoned in. I think the conditions were nice. It’s not too hot.”

 

Rotsaert said he feels “not fresh” but “normal” after playing in a Sunday final and opening play Tuesday. He will next play Patrick Kypson in a tough quarterfinal on Thursday.

 

In other Boys' ITF 18s action, No. 4-seeded Sam Riffice had no trouble eliminating Boris Kozlov, brother of ATP pro Stefan, 6-2, 6-1.

 

Moving on in Girls’ ITF 18s play were top-seeded Claire Liu, No. 3 Whitney Osuigwe and No. 6 Caty McNally. Upsets included seeded girls’ players No. 9 Natasha Subhash, who was beaten by Alexa Noel, and No. 8 Nicole Mossmer, who was taken out by unseeded Rachel Lim, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

 

Finals will be contested in the Boys’ and Girls’ 12s and 14s on Thursday morning.

 

In the Boys’ 14s semis, Alexander Bernard (No. 9 seed; Bonita Springs, Fla.) will face Aryan Chaudhary (No. 2; Santa Clara, Calif.) Bernard upset top-seeded Maxwell McKennon of Newport Beach, Calif., 6-3, 6-1, while Chaudhary needed three sets to gets past Martin Damm Jr., the son of former ATP doubles star Martin Damm. 

 

In the Girls’ 14s semifinals, top-seeded Gianna Pielet of El Paso, Texas, will play Charlotte Owensby, the No. 8 seed from Boca Raton, Fla. 

 

In the Boys’ 12s final, two unseeded players will square off for the championship, with Kyle Fang of Fullerton, Calif., meeting Nishesh Basavareddy of Carmel, Ind.

 

The Girls' 12s final will also pit two unseeded players against each other, as Priya Nelson of Sacramento, Calif., will face Eleana Yu of Mason, Ohio. Yu upset top-seeded Matilyn Wang of Scottsdale, Ariz., 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals.

 

Sightings on Wednesday: Kent Kinnear, USTA Player Identification and Development Director; 15-time doubles Grand Slam champion Rosie Casals; USTA Director of Junior Tournaments Bill Mountford.

 

In addition to live streaming the Easter Bowl again this year, the tournament has a new and improved mobile app, which can be found in both the Apple iTunes store or at Google Play. Search “Easter Bowl” to download the app. Check the official Easter Bowl website to watch the live stream and for the latest news, results and schedules. 

 

(Photo credit: David Kenas Photography)