2011 USTA NATIONAL CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS
in Florida
July 17-24, 2011
The first day at any tournament is a bit of an adjustment and it's been awhile since I've covered junior tennis. I was getting started in the late afternoon and there were still main draw matches at the Boys' 16s main site, Broken Sound Country Club. I headed over to Boca Raton in time to watch a player I've seen since at tournaments since he was just getting started. Fifteen year old New Yorker Noah Rubin has grown about two feet since I've last seen him and he needed that extra muscle to get past Chase Perez-Blanco (left). The Floridian put up quite a fight and the crowd enjoyed some great points before third-seeded Noah moved on with a 6-4,7-6 win. Speaking of height, there was probably a two feet difference between Baker Newman and Alex Gianini (below), though Baker didn't let that become a disadvantage on the court. He held tough out there and added a 7-5,6-2 win to his record to go with the upset he had over No. 13 Edward Covalschi yesterday. Before I called it a
day, I caught the first set of another good one, No. 16 Tyler
Gardiner vs. Samuel Lampman (below). The ball was in constant play as the two players ran each other
around the court. Tyler did prevail 6-4, and moved on
with the same score in the next set. The final upset of the day was the biggest and I'm
really sorry I missed it. I was happy to see the Pura family as
it's been a full year since we've caught up in
person. Unfortunately, my 4:00 am wake up call didn't leave me
with enough stamina to stick around for the night match, where second
seeded Thomas (TJ) Pura fell to Tyler
Lu, 6-4,3-6,6-2.
P.S. Check out Zoo Tennis for Colette Lewis's coverage of the Girls' 18s. Boys 16s Full Draws Stories, Photos & Results from other days Click Here For Stories & Photos from the '10 National Boys 18,16,14 & Girls 12 Claycourt ChampionshipsClick Here For Stories & Photos from the '09 National Boys 18 Claycourt Championships2008 National Boys 18,16,14 & Girls 12 Clay Court Championships2007 National Boys 18 Clay Court ChampionshipsContact Marcia Frost if you would like to purchase any photos from the Claycourts |
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