Easter Bowl: Driscoll, Hance stage upsets as finales near

Lucas Brown will have revenge on his mind when he takes to the courts on Thursday in the final of the Boys’ 14-and-under division at the 52nd annual Adidas Easter Bowl.

The No. 3-seeded Brown of Plano, Texas, outlasted No. 15 Learner Tien of Irvine, Calif., on Wednesday, 6-4 7-5, as the semifinals were completed in the 14s and 12s at the USTA Spring Super Nationals taking place at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. A USTA gold ball is at stake during Thursday’s finals, which begin at 9 a.m. with the boys’ 12s and 14s with the girls’ 12s and 14s to follow.

Brown will play No. 12 Juncheng Shang of Naples, Fla., after Shang shocked top-seeded Aidan Kim of Milford, Mich., 6-0, 6-2. Brown said he lost to Shang in their only meeting a few years ago in the 12s Clay Court Nationals second round.

“Nobody had heard of him but he had won a couple of big tournaments going into Clays,” Brown said. “I’ll have to play my best to beat him.”

Brown said his aggressive play pushed him past Tien as the overcast skies cleared and temperatures rose on court as the day wore on. “He was a very tough opponent and he plays first-rate tennis,” said Brown, who used an early break of serve to capture the first set.

In the Girls’ 14s singles semifinals, No. 3 Tsehay Driscoll (La Canada Flintridge, Calif.) defeated No. 1 Stephanie Yakoff (Fort Lee, N.J.), 7-5, 6-3. Driscoll will play No. 2 Ria Bhakta (Saratoga, Calif.) in the final. Bhakta survived five match points to beat No. 15 Qavia Lopez (Grand Rapids, Mich.), 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.

In the Boys’ 12s singles semifinals, No. 13 Abhishek Thorat (Lithia, Fla.) defeated No. 1 Maxwell Exsted (Savage, Minn.), 6-2, 6-2, and will meet and No. 2 Cooper Woestendick (Olathe, Kan.) in the final. Woestendick survived three match points in beating No. 3 Darren Huang (Whitestone, N.Y.). ZooTennis.com reported that the remarkable match lasted three hours and 40 minutes.

Read the full "Easter Bowl: Driscoll, Hance stage upsets as finales near" article from USTA Southern California.