More than 20 courts were filled with Eddie Herr players Friday morning… for a while. Then Mother Nature reared her ugly head and the skies opened. It poured… and poured… and poured. Players, coaches, and spectators scampered for cover.

The rain forced the tournament inside and play resumed on the indoor courts; there was only one catch. IMG Academies, the host site, has three inside courts. Plus, the rain was so nasty, it compromised one of the indoor courts. Play was limited to two courts. Although this put the matches behind schedule, the tournament carried on.

12s Singles Champs Crowned

In a match that was completed just minutes before the rains came, Mariya Shishkina (USA) dominated Tornado Black (USA) 6-1, 6-0 to earn the G12s singles crown. The match was marked by long penetrating rallies, which Shishkina controlled, forcing errors from her opponent.

When the rains came, Stefan Kozlov (USA) was leading Seongchan Hong (KOR) 7-6(2), 2-0 in the B12s singles final. After a short delay, the match resumed indoors and continued to be fiercely contested by both boys. Kozlov ultimately prevailed, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) to become the Eddie Herr 12s singles champion, capturing the title that had evaded him last year. (Kozlov was the B12s singles finalist in 2008.) After the match Kozlov said winning the title, “means a lot to me. This is so much better than last year. It makes all my hard work worth it.”

12s Mixed Doubles Postponed

The all-Korean 12s mixed doubles final between Soon Woo Kwan/Sol Hee Sim and Seongchan Hong/Da Bin Kim was postponed, as the Korean team had to leave for Miami to compete in the Orange Bowl qualifying tournament. The participants agreed to play the Eddie Herr 12s mixed double final in Miami and report the score to the Eddie Herr tournament desk. The kids promised to make sure the appropriate team takes ownership of the winners’ trophies.

Quarterfinal Action Continued Friday in the 14s, 16s, and 18s
B14s
Thien Nguygen [1] (VNM) defeated Roy Lederman [8] (USA) 6-4, 6-0; Thai Kwiatkowski [13] (USA) rallied to beat Kyle Edmund [10] (GBR) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1; Joseph Digiulio [3] (USA) ended Gianluigi Quinzi’s (ITA) tournament, 6-3, 6-2, and Luke Bambridge [5] took out Yifan Dan (CHN), 6-1, 6-1.

Horn Upsets Tsakanyan; Dunne Upsets Gonzalez in G14s
Unseeded Pippa Horn (GBR) has earned a berth in the semifinals by defeating Maria Tsakanyan [8] (RUS) 6-3, 7-6(4). Katy Dunne [16] (GBR) also registered an upset by overcoming Domenica Gonzalez [6] 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

In other G14s quarterfinal action, Madara Straume (LAT) dominated Erin Routliffe (CAN) 6-1, 6-2 and Spencer Liang (USA) defeated Katie Boulter (GBR) 6-2, 7-5.

Two Qualifiers Advance to B16s Semifinals
Dennis Novak (Q) (AUT) gutted out a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3) quarterfinal upset of Edward Nguyen [6] (CAN) to gain himself a spot in the B14s semis. Luis Patino [Q] (MEX) also advanced by upsetting Morgan Mays [14] 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Hunter Harrington [7] (USA) brought in a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over Thiago Monteiro (BRA) and Alexios Halebian [8] sent Robert Livi (WC) home, 6-3, 6-1 in the other quarterfinal.

Vickery Has Yet to Lose a Set in G16s
Sacha Vickery [1] (USA) continued her string of straight set victories Friday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Ximena Siles Luna [6] (PER). She will face Victoria Duval [16] (USA) in the semis on Saturday. Duval dismissed Simona Ionescu [7] (ROM) 6-3, 6-2 in the quarters.

Saturday’s other G16s semi will feature Caitlyn Williams [5] (USA) versus Breaunna Addison (USA). Williams defeated Elisabeth Abanda [2] (CAN) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarters; Addison beat Riko Shimizu (USA), 6-2, 6-1.

Carpenter Takes Out Another Seed in B18s
After taking out the number one seed earlier in the tournament and registering a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Mitchell Frank [5] Friday in the quarters, unseeded Jack Carpenter (GBR) is shaping up as the giant-killer in the B18s division. His next test will be Marton Fucsovics [3] (HUN) in the semis. Fucsovics dismissed Raymond Sarmiento [9] 6-3, 6-2 in the quarters.

Denis Kudla [4] (USA) delivered a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mark Verryth [Q] in the quarters; Sekou Bangoura [13] also advanced with a 7-6(5), 6-1 defeat of Oliver Golding (GBR). Kudla and Bangoura will square off in the semis on Saturday.

Zhao Ends the Dream for Keys in G18s
Di Zhao (WC) (CHN) ended the dream for Madison Keys (USA) Friday with a tough 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 quarterfinal victory. Keys, who is fourteen years old, hadn’t lost a set prior to the match. Zhao will square off against Polina Leykina [13] in the semis. Leykina defeated Zsofia [8] (HUN) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the quarters.

In other G18s quarterfinal action, Daria Gavrilova [3] (RUS) took three sets to overcome Valeriya Solovieva 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 and Gabriela Dabrowski topped Luksika Kumkhum 6-0, 6-2. Gavrilova and Dabrowski will battle in the semis.