My Recap of the Collegiate US Open Wild Card Playoff; Six US Men Advance, 15 US Women Begin Play Tuesday at Wimbledon Qualifying; Qalbani and Kotseva Claim J100 Titles on ITF Junior Circuit

My coverage of the USTA’s American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoff last week at the National Campus in Lake Nona Florida is up today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Although we were both undoubtedly up way past our bedtime when Reese Brantmeier spoke to me over the phone at 12:30 a.m. Friday, I appreciated her insight on her singles victory and how she’s eager for her seventh appearance at the US Open, as women’s main draw singles will be new for her. While Brantmeier expressed no preference for her opponent in New York, men’s wild card winner Sebastian Gornzy is hoping for the biggest stage against a top player.

The weather was beautiful today in London for the first round of the men’s Wimbledon qualifying, with six of the eight Americans in action advancing to the second round.

Two-time NCAA singles champion Michael Zheng(Columbia) started the day off with a win, his seventh consecutive qualifying victory at a major this year, and 2016 NCAA champion Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) ended the evening at Roehampton with 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Felipe Meligeni Alves of Brazil. Reigning Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch, who made the semifinals of the Junior Championships in 2023, earned his first win in men’s competition, beating alternate Filip Cristian Jianu of Romania 7-6(1), 6-4. Jianu received his place in the draw when Ugo Blanchet of France withdrew this morning. Men’s top qualifying seed Francisco Comesana of Argentina is out, losing to Alejandro Moro Canas of Spain 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Monday’s Wimbledon first qualifying results of Americans:
Vilius Gaubas[14](LTU) d. Michael Mmoh 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Mackenzie McDonald[13] d. Felipe Meligeni Alves(BRA) 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3
Darwin Blanch d. Filip Cristian Jianu(ROU) 7-6(1), 6-4
Tristan Boyer d. Genaro Alberto Olivieri(ARG) 6-1, 6-4
Keegan Smith v Juan Pablo Ficovich(ARG) 6-1, 7-6(4)
Michael Zheng[26] d. Henri Squire(GER) 6-2, 7-6(3)
Colton Smith d. Andy Andrade(ECU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Harold Mayot(FRA) d. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran 6-2, 6-2

The first round of women’s qualifying is Tuesday, with 15 American women in action. With that many US competitors, the odds increased that two would draw each other, with Caroline Dolehide and Robin Montgomery set to meet. Dolehide has not played since the beginning of April, while Montgomery won her first WTA title two weeks ago on grass in the Netherlands.

Whitney Osuigwe v Maria Timofeeva[1](UZB)

Ashlyn Krueger[2] v Gabriela Knutson(CZE)

Akasha Urhobo v Mai Hontama(JPN)

Fiona Crawley v Himeno Sakatsume[19](JPN)

Caroline Dolehide v Robin Montgomery

Elvina Kalieva[31] v Ella McDonald[WC](GBR)

Katie Volynets[5] v Laura Samson(CZE)

Varvara Lepchenko v Anastasia Gasanova(RUS)

Claire Liu v Despina Papamichail(GRE)

Mary Stoiana[25] v Kayla Cross(CAN)

Clervie Ngounoue v Anna-Lena Friedsam(GER)

Elli Mandlik v Alina Charaeva[22](RUS)

Kayla Day[32] v Cadence Brace(CAN)

Carol Lee v Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah(FRA)

In addition to the three titles Americans won at the J200 in Mason Ohio, five other Americans claimed ITF Junior Circuit titles outside the United States.

At the J100 in Ecuador, 16-year-old New Yorker Rowan Qalbani earned the biggest of his three titles, with the No. 3 seed defeating top seed Diego Ignacio Gomez Pajares of Peru 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Fifteen-year-old Raya Kotseva of Las Vegas, who has been training and playing in Europe for the past year, won the J100 in the Netherlands as the No. 8 seed. She defeated No. 3 seed Vega Aguilar Ferrandez of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the final to move her ITF ranking up to 314, but she was as high as 113 last April after reaching the final of the ITF J300 in San Diego. Kotseva also advanced to the doubles final with Ana Avramovic.

At the J200 in Germany, 17-year-old Anita Tu, who has also been training in Europe, reached the final, with the No. 2 seed falling to No. 3 seed Ilary Pistola of Italy 6-4, 7-5 in the championship match.

Fifteen-year-old Isabella Gonzalez Alvarez of Florida swept the titles at the J30 in Honduras, with the No. 2 seed earning her second ITF Junior Circuit singles title with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win over No. 4 seed Maria Jose Gil Castillo of Mexico. Gonzalez Alvarez partnered with Sofia Ines Alvarez Monterroso of Guatemala for the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds defeating top seeds Gil Castillo and Sofia Mills 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the final.

Thirteen-year-old Capri Butera of Pennsylvania won her first two ITF Junior Circuit titles at the J30 in Canada, with the singles championship coming in unusual fashion. Butera, the No. 1 seed, did not have to play the championship match, with Canada’s Sophia Kosenko Melnyk defaulted. Butera and 15-year-old Sophia Nguyen-Huynh, unseeded in doubles, defeated No. 3 seeds Anvika Saraswathi and Leah Schwarz of Canada 6-1, 6-3 in the final.

Sixteen-year-old Marko Mikic of Texas claimed his first ITF Junior Circuit title in doubles at the J30 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mikic and partner Alexander Minori Stula of Japan, who were unseeded, received a walkover in the final from top seeds Caga Cetin of Turkey and Aljaz Stor of Slovenia.

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