Hey Tennis Friends!
Last weekend, I had the privilege, for the third year in a row, to emcee the
45th Annual USTA Junior National Spring Championships: The 2012 Easter Bowl.
I showed up the day before the weekend finals began, in order to bring you even MORE coverage from this great event:
Here are the scores for the matches that I featured:
BOY’S 18 SINGLES QUARTERFINAL
Alexios Halebian d. Stefan Kozlov 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2
The 14-year-old Kozlov has played well the last couple weeks, reaching the boys’ 18s finals at the International Spring Championships in Carson. He couldn’t quite get over the hump against the 17-year-old Halebian, an experienced veteran on the junior tennis tour.
Halebian, who won the final two points in the second-set tiebreak to keep the match going, was impressed by the play of Kozlov and says he has a great career ahead of him.
“He moves on the court very well and has great hands and is pretty solid from both sides,” Halebian said. “His serve is not his best shot but he does a good job of spreading it around and he returns very well.”
Halebian was relieved to get through the match but says he has to do a better job of taking control to have a shot at winning the title.
“It’s extremely important that I stay aggressive and not lay off my forehand,” Halebain said. “I have to keep going after shots, serving well and dictating my forehand and backhand.”
BOY’S 18 SINGLES QUARTERFINAL
Thai Kwiatkowski v. Ronnie Schneider 3-6, 6-2, 5-5
suspended with Kwiatkowski serving at 15-40
What an amazing show of heart, and effort this match is. At 5-3, 40-30, Kwiatkowski was serving on match point in the third set, but he couldn’t convert, opening the door for his opponent. Schneider was originally down 1-4 in the third, and battled back to not only make it even, but to have two break points before the rain delay suspended play!
It’s fun to come to these events to see the the new faces of the future of United States tennis. Plus, it’s at the price we like here at GroundsPass.net: Absolutely FREE!
Additional information in this report was provided by the Easter Bowl PR Press Aide, Steve Pratt.
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I’ll see you next time, with more tennis, . . . outside the lines!
– Marcus Tennis
