Top boys survive at Spring Championships

If Drew Baird and Tristan Boyer end up meeting in the USTA International Spring Championships final, the top seeds will look back on a pair of opening-round escapes that kick-started their respective runs. 

Baird (pictured), the No. 1 seed in the boys' 18s tournament, split sets with Toby Alex Kodat, ranked No. 231 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, before edging out a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory. The Holly Springs, N.C., native Baird is coming off quarterfinal appearances in the Easter Bowl singles and doubles events last week. He has already claimed one trophy in 2018, a doubles crown with partner Nicolas Mejia in Lambare, Paraguay.

In the other half of the draw, the No. 2-seeded Boyer dropped a first-set tiebreak to lucky loser John Bernard, before finding his form to advance with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 result. It was a fifth consecutive three-setter for Boyer, of Altadena, Calif., who went the distance in his final four matches at last week's Easter Bowl, where he eventually lost in Sunday's final to Jenson Brooksby. 

Baird, the No. 13-ranked junior in the world, and Boyer, No. 9, join Andrew Fenty of Washington, D.C. as the only Top 40 juniors in the tournament. 

Fenty, the No. 3 seed, who sits at No. 20 in the ITF ranks, lived up to his billing with a straightforward 6-2, 6-1 passage to round two.  

While the top five boys' seeds all advanced, first-round upset victims included: No. 6 Keenan Mayo, No. 10 Eliot Spizzirri, No. 11 Jaycer Lyeons, No. 14 Vikash Singh, No. 15 Tomas Kopczynski and No. 16 Axel Nefve. 

In the girls' 18s opening round, Easter Bowl champion Katie Volynets (Walnut Creek, Calif.) continued her strong form with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Charlotte Owensby, who made the round of 16 at last week's event. It was smooth sailing for Volynets and the 12 other seeded girls, who advanced without dropping a set, while No. 11 Adrienn Nagy and No. 16 Abigail Forbes were the only seeds to fall. 

The 16s events have progressed to the third round, with the top two seeds still standing in both the boys' and girls' draws. 

Play will continue on Wednesday, with the tournament set to crown its champions on Sunday, April 8.