For those of you interested in the junior game (that would be the kind of folks who knew, two weeks ago, who Marcos Baghdatis is, and what he’s capable of doing), I’ve de-briefed Colette Lewis, who’s here in Australia as the eyes of SMASHmagazine and blogging the junior game for Zootennis.
The big story on the boys’ side is the Aussie boys. The junior game down under has been in the dumper for some time now, but Craig Tiley, the new head of development, already has things Down Under moving in a new, positive direction. Tiley, you may remember, was coach of that marvelous University of Illinois team that won the NCAA’s a few years ago. I can’t believe the USTA let him slip away to the Aussies, who are hoping to rebuild their tennis dynasty.
Tiley is new on the job, so you can’t exactly credit him for developing Nick Lindahl or Ryan Bellamy, the two kids who are in the semis (thus guaranteeing the Aussies a finalist). But there’s a new spirit afoot in Oz. In any event, both Aussies were in on wild cards and, as Colette says, “From wild cards to the semis, that just doesn’t happen in junior tennis.”
Bellamy was under the radar (ranked No. 156 in the world) but Lindahl is far better than his unseeded status suggest; the kid’s junior ranking is unimpressive because he’s been focusing on the next competitive rung, Futures events.
Lindahl’s match against the U.S.'s Kellen Damico has been the match of the tournament – perhaps of any division in the entire tournament. The match was so tense and close that they both succumbed to cramps, and after Lindahl’s 7-5-in-the-third win, both players had to be taken off the court in wheelchairs. “Neither kid could move, but neither kid would quit,” Colette told me. “I’ve seen a lot of junior tennis but this was the most bizarre match I’ve ever seen.”
No good news for American fans here, but then we aren’t fully represented (Donald Young, the world’s best junior, took a pass). What kids are here came on their own and the USTA couldn’t be bothered to send a coach or chaperone (party on, little dudes and dudettes!).
The best American performance was Dennis Lajola’s round-of-16 appearance, but there are three American kids in the doubles semis (Nate Schnugg, Damico and Mateusz Kecki). Kecki is playing with a partner from Lebanon. Marcos Baghdatis is half-Lebanese, so maybe that’s a good sign. . .
On the girls side, the big story has been Russian baseline monster Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She’s been in Oz for three tournaments and has yet to lose a match – and she’s just the No. 8 seed. She won her semi just a few minutes ago. “There’s nothing waif-ish about this Russian,” Colette said. “She’s a big, strong girl.”
Five U.S. girls fought their way through the qualifying rounds for the junior event, playing two matches per day in the brutal heat. The most successful of the lot has been Chelsey Gullickson (daughter of baseball's Bill; that's her photo up above), who lost in the 16s but hits a nice ball and probably has a promising future.
One other American went fairly deep (two matches to qualify, and third round of main draw) into the event – Kimberly Couts. Colette told me that Kimberly, who’s 16, traveled to Oz without parents, without a coach, and without benefit of USTA resources, human or financial. “I went out to see her match with Pavlyuchenkova and there was nobody, but nobody, out there for her.”
After winning, Pavlyuchenkova expressed surprise that Couts had had to qualify. “Don’ t know why she had to qualify, she’s really good!”
If anyone knows Couts or how to get in touch with her, please shoot me an email (address at the “Contact” tab). I'm curious to learn how a 16-year old handled all this.