Monica Puig prepares to serve Friday against Jessica Peluga at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic. TOP SEED CHALLENGED: Saturday Night Match Pits Lauren Davis v. Monica Puig
February 9, 2013
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Top seed Lauren Davis, 19-year-old sensation, meets Puerto Rico's Monica Puig, who defeated American teen star Jessica Peluga, Saturday night at 7 p.m. on stadium court at the Midland Community Tennis Center.
Top seed Lauren Davis and 2012 NCAA singles finalist Mallory Burdette survived tough matches Friday in the 25th Dow Corning Tennis Classic.
The following report is from McCarton Ackerman, tournament publicity director.
In the comeback of the tournament, top seed Davis rallied from behind on numerous occasions to defeat Alla Kudryatseva of Russia 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5, after more than three hours of play. Kudryavtseva served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and led 4-0 in the tiebreaker. In the third set, the Russian led 5-2 and had a match point on her serve at 5-3, but was unable to convert. Davis converted on her first match point opportunity with a backhand winner down the line.
"I just never stopped believing in myself," said Davis. "It seemed like it was almost impossible to come back at that point, so I just asked God to give me strength and help make the impossible to be possible."
The 19-year-old Davis has come into her own over the last six months, breaking into the world's top 100 on the back of strong results including quarterfinal finishes at WTA events in Quebec City, Canada and Hobart, Australia, as well winning two USTA Pro Circuit titles last fall at the $75,000 challenger in Albuquerque, N.M. and $50,000 event in Las Vegas.
Burdette and No. 7 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia engaged in a hard-hitting baseline match that took over two hours to complete, but Burdette utilized some markedly improved defense to hang in the rallies and prevail 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. "Today was obviously about first strike tennis, but this is the best I've ever felt in terms of my movement and the ability to play defense," said Burdette. "I've been doing a ton of fitness, especially during the off-season and pushing it as hard as I can in that regard."
Burdette didn't even have a WTA Tour ranking last July, but opted not to return for her senior year at Stanford University after a stellar summer that included winning the $10,000 futures event in Evansville, Ind., $100,000 challenger in Vancouver, Canada and reaching the third round of the US Open.
"I really wanted to give myself a shot at this and in order to do that, I had to put all of my time and energy into my tennis," said Burdette. "It's been great so far. There have definitely been some rough patches, but I'm just trying to do the best I can on a daily basis."
In the final match of the day session, No. 8 seed Monica Puig of Puerto Rico defeated American teen Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5. Puig, ranked No. 116, is the only singles semifinalist who has yet to lose a set. In the evening session, Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia defeated American Maria Sanchez 6-2, 6-2. The 19-year-old, currently ranked No. 370, is enjoying the best tournament of her career after an injury-plagued 2012 limited her to just six events. The lone match to be completed as of press time is an all-American doubles quarterfinal between Jill Craybas and CoCo Vandeweghe against Chieh-Yu Hsu and Shelby Rogers.
All semifinal singles and doubles matches will take place during Saturday's play, which begins at noon. The day session will see the American-Russian team of Julia Cohen and Alla Kudryavtseva take on the Brazilian-British team of Maria-Fernanda Alves and Samantha Murray, followed by Mallory Burdette against Ajla Tomljanovic. In the night session, Lauren Davis will square off against Monica Puig, followed by the Hungarian-Croatian team of Melinda Czink and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni against the American team of either Jill Craybas and CoCo Vandeweghe or Chieh-Yu Hsu and Shelby Rogers.
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.
Friday, February 8 - RESULTS
Main Draw Singles - Quarterfinals Lauren Davis, United States (1), def. Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-5 Mallory Burdette, United States, def. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia (7), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Monica Puig, Puerto Rico (8), def. Jessica Pegula, United States, 6-3, 7-5 Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia, def. Maria Sanchez, United States, 6-2, 6-2 Main Draw Doubles - Quarterfinals Julia Cohen, United States, and Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia (3), def. Nicole Melichar and Chiara Scholl, United States 6-4, 6-2 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia, and Melinda Czink, Hungary, def. Alexa Glatch and Asia Muhammed, United States, 6-3, 6-3 Saturday February 9 SCHEDULE
Stadium Court - starting at 10 a.m. Julia Cohen/Alla Kudryavtseva vs. Maria-Fernanda Alves/Samantha Murray, followed by Mallory Burdette vs. Ajla Tomljanovic ###
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