BIG MATCHES: Dow Corning Tennis Tournament Smashing Toward Sunday Finale
February 8, 2013
Leave a Comment
|
||||||||||
| Printer Friendly Story View |
American teen Jessica Pegula upset No. 4 seed Melinda Czink Thursday at Midland.
On the stadium court at the Midland Community Tennis Center Friday night at 7 p.m. will be matches pitting Maria Sanchez vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, followed by Jill Craybas/CoCo Vandeweghe vs. Chieh-Yu Hsu/Shelby Rogers.
The hallmark 25th anniversary of the Dow Corning Tennis Classic continued Thursday with American teenager Jessica Pegula providing the upset of the day against No. 4 seed Melinda Czink, while top seed Lauren Davis of the US rolled through her second round match.
Utilizing a strong first serve and flat forehand, 18-year-old Pegula dictated the points in her match as early as possible. Running her veteran opponent around the court and not dropping serve once, a lone break of serve in each set was all Pegula needed to move into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win.
"I just tried to make sure I was ready after my serve because she returns well and then take advantage of any opportunities that came up," said Pegula. "I definitely thought I executed my game plan well."
Pegula, now ranked No. 150, jumped over 140 spots in the rankings in 2012 after strong results in USTA Pro Circuit events, including finalist showings at the $100,000 challenger in Vancouver, Canada and the $50,000 challenger in Sacramento, Calif. Today's win against Czink was one of the biggest of her young career.
"A player like Melinda will play at a high level the whole match, so that's what I've been working on now and trying to do that in every match," she said.
In an earlier day session match, No. 1 seed Lauren Davis easily beat fellow American Alexa Glatch 6-2, 6-2. In Tuesday's evening session, Davis struggled for nearly three hours before prevailing in her opening round match.
"I was still a little bit tired from that match, so I knew the match against Alexa today would have to be a lot less physical if I wanted to get the job done," she said. "I stuck to my game plan and didn't back down, so I was really happy about that."
Two other Americans also advanced into the quarterfinals. Mallory Burdette, who has climbed to No. 145 in the world after not having a pro ranking just seven months ago, dispatched fellow American and reigning US Open girls' singles champion Samantha Crawford 6-2, 7-6 (3). Maria Sanchez also prevailed in another all-American match by defeating American teen Victoria Duval 6-2, 6-2. Duval took out No. 2 seed CoCo Vandeweghe in yesterday's play.
Other players to advance into the quarterfinals include No. 7 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia, No. 8 seed Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia. The lone match to be completed as of press time was an evening session doubles match between Samantha Murray of Great Britain and Maria-Fernanda Alves of Brazil against the American team of Mallory Burdette and Jessica Pegula.
All quarterfinal singles matches and remaining quarterfinal doubles matches will take place during Thursday's play, which begins at 10:00 am. The feature match of the day session will see No. 1 seed Lauren Davis take on Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia, while Maria Sanchez of the US square off against Ajla Tomljanovic in the feature evening match.
The Dow Corning Tennis Classic is in its 25th year on the USTA Pro Circuit, making it the longest-running women's event on the USTA Pro Circuit. Several former competitors at the event have gone on to win Grand Slam titles and reach the top 10 in the rankings. Past competitors include seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and Olympic gold medalist Justine Henin, three-time Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova, two-time Grand Slam singles champion Mary Pierce, 2011 French Open singles champion Na Li, 2010 French Open singles champion Francesca Schiavone, and two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Anna Kournikova.
ABOUT THE USTA PRO CIRCUIT
With approximately 90 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit 34 years ago to provide players with the opportunity to gain professional ranking points, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering nearly $3 million in prize money. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed in cities nationwide. Mardy Fish, Maria Sharapova, John Isner, Caroline Wozniacki, Sam Querrey, Li Na and Andy Murray are among today?s top stars who began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. The USTA Pro Circuit is world-class tennis administered on the local level and played on local tennis courts as part of the fabric of communities nationwide -- an opportunity for current and new fans to experience the excitement and intensity of the professional game in their neighborhood.
Dow Corning Tennis Classic A USTA Pro Circuit Event Thursday, February 7 Midland Community Tennis Center Midland, Mich. Purse: $100,000 Surface: Hard-Indoor Thursday, February 7 - RESULTS
Main Draw Singles - 2nd Round Lauren Davis, United States (1), def. Alexa Glatch, United States, 6-2, 6-2 Jessica Pegula, United States, def. Melinda Czink, Hungary (4), 6-4, 6-4 Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, def. Tatjana Malek, Germany (5), 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia, def. Olga Puchkova, Russia (6), 6-1, 6-4 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia (7), def. Jill Craybas, United States, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 Monica Puig, Puerto Rico (8), def. Sachia Vickery, United States (Q), 6-4, 6-4 Mallory Burdette, United States, def. Samantha Crawford, United States, 6-2, 7-6 (3) Maria Sanchez, United States, def. Victoria Duval, United States (LL), 6-2, 6-2 Main Draw Doubles - 1st Round Chieh-Yu Hsu and Shelby Rogers, United States, def. Jacqueline Cako and Natalie Pluskota, United States (4), 7-6, 7-6 Julia Cohen, United States, and Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, def. Victoria Duval and Sachia Vickery, United States (WC), w/o
| Printer Friendly Story View |
|
|
Dave Rogers |
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly Story View
0200 Nd: 04-15-2024 d 4 cpr 0
12/31/2020 P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm
SPONSORED LINKS
12/31/2020 drop ads P3v3-0200-Ad.cfm