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USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
OF CALABASAS - CALABASAS, CA OCTOBER 19-25, 2009 |
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Donald Young - USA |
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Photo by Adam Davis |
DONALD YOUNG BEATS MICHAEL RUSSELL TO
WIN THE USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP OF CALABASAS
By Steve Pratt
CALABASAS, CA. – Unseeded Donald Young of Atlanta, Ga., captured
his first tournament title of the year and the third of his career with
a straight-set win over No. 2 seeded Michael Russell as the ninth annual
USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championship of Calabasas came to a close on
Sunday.
Young, 20, remained steady and played the swirling, moderate wind and
the bigger points a little better to take the first set, 7-6 (4) before
amping up his game to take the second, 6-1, for the title and the $7,200
first-place prize money at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center.
“I know it came in the fall but it feels great to get my first
tournament win of the year,” said a smiling Young, who lost to Russell
back in February in Dallas. “Michael gets a lot of balls back. He
doesn’t ever give up so you just have to stay in there and be patient.”
Russell, who lives in Houston, is the USTA Pro Circuit’s all-time leader
in tournament wins with 20.
Young played great, especially the last four matches. After needing
three sets to beat qualifier Louk Sorensen in the first round, Young
gave up just 13 games over his next three matches including a convincing
straight-set win over former Top 25 player Taylor Dent.
Young said he’s been trying to work on his mental toughness the last few
weeks. “It’s something that I’ve lost over the past year and I’m trying
to get it back,” he said.
Russell, 31, earned $4,240 for his efforts and thanked the crowd, some
who remember watching him play in the first Calabasas Challenger. “Way
back in 1887,” Russell joked to the fans. “It’s a great event and I’m
happy to come back here and be in the final.”
Young also thinks Calabasas is nice. But he’s not particularly hoping
for a return trip here next year. He hopes to be coming off a successful
season on the ATP Tour. “I really like it here,” he said. “But I hope
the next time I come it’s just for a visit.”
In the doubles final, Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Simon Stadler of
Germany went the distance against third-seeded Treat Conrad Huey of the
Philippines and Harsh Mankad of India, eventually pulling out the
victory, 6-2, 5-7, 10-4. Huey and Mankad were coming off a win at last
week’s Tiburon $50,000 Challenger.
SUNDAY RESULTS - OCTOBER 25, 2009
Singles Final
Donald Young, United States, def. Michael Russell (2), United
States, 7-6 (4), 6-1
Doubles Final
Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico-Simon Stadler, Germany, Treat Conrad Huey,
Philippines-Harsh Mankad (3), India, 6-2, 5-7, 10-4 |
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Michael Russell - USA |
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Photo by Adam Davis |
MICHAEL RUSSELL WILL FACE DONALD YOUNG
IN SUNDAY’S USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP OF CALABASAS FINAL
By Steve Pratt
CALABASAS, CA.– Michael Russell had a prediction for all of Cecil
Mamiit’s fans following his straight-set win in the semifinals of the
USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championship of Calabasas: Mamiit will be back in
the Top 100 soon.
The two over-30 tour veterans slugged it out in the semifinals at the
$50,000 event at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center Saturday with
Houston’s Russell surviving three second-set points and finally
prevailing over the nearby Eagle Rock, Calif., resident Mamiit, 6-1, 7-6
(6).
“We’ve both had a lot of injuries,” Russell, 31, told the crowd after
the match. “We both play so similar and we’re both so fast. Cecil played
great all week and I know we’ll see him back in the Top 100 for sure.”
Russell will meet 20-year-old Donald Young in the finals on Sunday.
Young avenged an earlier loss this year to Michael Yani with a 6-3, 6-1
over the former Duke All-American in the later semifinal. Young now
looks forward to exacting some more revenge when he takes on Russell in
Sunday’s final.
“Yeah, he beat me earlier this year in Dallas,” said Young, who lost to
John Isner in the $50,000 Tallahassee event in his only other final this
year.
Russell took early command of his match against Mamiit, 33, going up 5-0
early in the first set before Mamiit finally held for 5-1. In the
seventh game, Russell led 40-0 but Mamiit refuses to go quietly saving
three set points to make it deuce and then saved a fourth and fifth set
point before Russell finally closed it out on a Mamiit backhand down the
line that was wide.
There will be a truly international flavor in today’s doubles final as
third-seeded Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines and Harsh Mankad of
India meet Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Simon Stadler of Germany in a
12 noon final which will precede the singles final.
SATURDAY RESULTS - OCTOBER 24, 2009
Donald Young, United States, def. Michael Yani, United States, 6-3, 6-1
Michael Russell (2), United States, def. Cecil Mamiit (q), Philippines,
6-1, 7-6 (6) |
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Cecil Mamiit - PHI (Q) |
| Photos by Adam
Davis |
QUALIFIER MAMIIT REACHES SEMIFINALS TO
JOIN RUSSELL, YANI AND YOUNG AT USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP OF
CALABASAS
By Steve Pratt
CALABASAS, CA.– Cecil Mamiit wants to send a message to all his
tennis friends and family in Southern California and throughout the
world: He’s alive and well and playing some of the best tennis of his
career.
That’s right, the 33-year Mamiit -- who’s been grinding it out on the
tour for 14-plus years – has played his way into the semifinals at the
USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championship of Calabasas.
The qualifier Mamiit, who lives in Los Angeles but plays nationally for
the Philippines, beat Go Sodea of Japan 6-2, 6-4 on Friday in the
quarterfinals and will face American Michael Russell in Saturday’s first
semifinal beginning at noon. Two Americans square off in the other
semifinal to follow as Michael Yani takes on fellow unseeded player
Donald Young.
“I’m glad I have a lot of friends and family out here that I’ve lost
touch with know I’m out here and still playing good tennis,” said Mamiit,
who had knee surgery two years ago. “A lot of them have been worried
about me.”
Mamiit obviously enjoys playing in Southern California and recalled
losing to Michael Chang in the final at Calabasas way back in 2002.
“I’ve had a lot of success here,” the former NCAA champion from USC
said. “It’s been awhile since my last title (New Orleans in 2006). I’m
just glad I’m still out here and playing good.”
Mamiit said there is still a lot of work to be done. “There is no
excitement yet. In reality, I’m still 580 in the world. The excitement
is that I’m still playing and I feel great. I feel better than I did
when I was in the final here, but there is still a long ways to go. It’s
just that reality starts to settle in if you get too excited and you can
get complacent. I’ve just very fortunate to still be out here.”
Mamiit has won seven Challenger-level tournaments during his career.
He’s hoping he’s got another left in him come Sunday.
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Prakash Armitraj - IND (WC) |
LOCAL SON, ARMITRAJ SEEKS RUN AT
CALABASAS CHALLENGER
By Kelly Richards
CALABASAS, CA.– It was a disappointing day for the hometown boy
at the $50,000 ATP Challenger Tournament in Calabasas Friday.
26-year-old Prakash Armitraj of nearby Encino, California lost in the
quarterfinals to Michael Yani of Durham, North Carolina. 6-2, 6-2.
Ranked 249 in the world, Armitraj is the son of Indian tennis legend
Vijay Armitraj and won a wild card entry into the tournament at the
Calabasas Swim and Tennis Center. With two defaults due to injury in the
first two rounds, Prakash squared off against 28-year-old Yani who he’s
faced twice before. He won in Dallas and Yani won at Wimbledon to score
his first appearance in the Grand Slam’s main draw.
Yani, with the highest ranking of his pro career at 189, started off
with an early break in the first set. Then Armitraj essentially broke
himself with a double fault on game point to drop behind 5-2.
But Armitraj didn’t give up without a fight. After being down 40-15, he
challenged Yani with a textbook drop volley to earn a break point
opportunity. Still, it wasn’t enough to grab another game in the first
set.
Prakash’s serves and volleys gave Yani some trouble in the second set.
But Yani sealed the deal with two aces to win 6-2.
The two pros have a friendly rivalry. Yani is a former teammate of
Armitraj’s cousin Steven at Duke. And Steven is Prakash’s coach.
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FRIDAY RESULTS - OCTOBER 23, 2009
Michael Russell (2), United States, def. Grega Zemlja (7), Slovenia,
6-2, 6-4
Donald Young, United States, def. Luka Gregorc (q), Slovenia, 6-3, 6-1
Cecil Mamiit (q), Philippines, def. Go Soeda, Japan, 6-4, 6-2
Michael Yani, United States, def. Prakash Amritraj (wc), 6-2, 6-2
Men's Doubles Semifinals
Treat Conrad Huey, Philippines-Harsh Mankad, India (3), def. Gustavo
Sanchez, Venezuela-Craig Schwartz, 6-4, 6-0
Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico-Simon Stadler, Germany, vs. Raven Klaasen,
South Africa-Izak Van Der Merwe, South Africa, 4-6, 6-4, 10-5
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Donald Young - USA |
CALIFORNIA-LOVIN’ DONALD YOUNG BEATS
TAYLOR DENT; TOP-SEEDED KIM FALLS IN SINGLES AND DOUBLES WITH WORLD TEAM
TENNIS OWNER MARK EIN AT USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP OF CALABASAS
By Steve Pratt
CALABASAS, CA.– There’s just something about California that gets
Donald Young’s game going. The unseeded 20-year-old took out Taylor Dent
in convincing fashion on Thursday to move into the quarterfinals of the
USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championship of Calabasas.
“I just love playing here,” said Young, who controlled Dent’s heavy
serve and volley game throughout the match. “Semis is my worst finish
here. I just like it. My only singles titles came in California (Aptos
in 2007 and Sacramento in 2008) and I’ve had success at the Easter Bowl
and Indian Wells.”
Young was a finalist at the $50,000 event being played at the Calabasas
Tennis & Swim Club in 2007 (lost to Robert Kendrick) and a semifinalist
last year (lost to Sam Warburg). At Indian Wells in 2008, Young made it
to the third round with a victory over Bobby Reynolds and No. 32-seeded
Feliciano López in three sets before losing to Rafael Nadal.
Later in the summer of 2008 at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles,
Young defeated Tommy Haas (ranked No. 40 at the time) 6-2, 6-4.
Young, who recently dropped out of the top 200 and is now in the mid
220s after reaching a career-high of 73 after Indian Wells last year,
next plays qualifier Luka Gregorc of Slovakia in Friday’s night match.
Gregorc brushed aside top-seeded Kevin Kim on Thursday, 6-4, 6-3.
Gregorc is joined in the quarterfinals by another qualifier, Pasadena’s
Cecil Mamiit, who will next play Japan’s Go Soeda. Only two seeded
players remain in the singles draw and they face each other Friday as
No. 2 Michael Russell meets No. 7 Grega Zemlja.
Kim also lost his doubles match on Thursday, 6-4, 6-0. Kim received a
wild card along with partner Mark Ein, the 43-year-old Washington D.C.
resident who is also the owner of the World Team Tennis Washington
Kastles. Kim played for the WTT’s newest franchise the Kastles’ in 2008.
The Kastles are the reigning 2009 WTT Champions.
“We were up 3-0, two breaks and had game point,” said Ein afterward.
“Who knows what would have happened had we gotten that point.” Asked
what happened in the second set, Ein said, “I’m not sure. It happened so
fast. When you’re out there everything seems to just go so fast.”
Ein said he enjoyed the experience and imagined for a moment what it
would be like to play on the pro circuit day in and day out. “That’s
what would be fun,” he said. “To just go out there and play and being
comfortable would be great. I’d love to do it again. I had the best
partner of course. He was unbelievable. I’d only do it again with him.”
THURSDAY RESULTS - OCTOBER 22, 2009
Luka Gregorc (q), Slovakia, def. Kevin Kim (1), United States, 6-4, 6-3
Go Soeda, Japan, def. Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, 6-4, 6-2
Donald Young, United States, def. Taylor Dent (5), United States, 6-3,
6-2
Cecil Mamiit (q), Philippines, def. Marinko Matosevic, Australia, 6-4,
6-3
Men's Doubles Quarterfinals
Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico-Simon Stadler, Germany, def. Lester Cook,
United States-David Martin, United States (1), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Treat Conrad Huey, Philippines-Harsh Mankad, India (3), def. Brian
Battistone, United States-Dann Battistone (wc), United States, 6-2, 6-2
Gustavo Sanchez, Venezuela-Craig Schwartz, United States, def. Mark Ein,
United States-Kevin Kim, United States (WC), 6-4, 6-0
Raven Klaasen, South Africa-Izak Van Der Merwe, South Africa, Prakash
Amritraj, India-Alex Kuznetsov (4), United States, 6-2, 6-3
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Michael Yani - USA |
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Photo by Adam Davis |
FORMER DUKE STAR MICHAEL YANI TAKES OUT
STANFORD’S BRADLEY KLAHN IN MARATHON SECOND-ROUND MATCH; WTT OWNER TEAMS
WITH KIM ADVANCING TO SECOND ROUND AT USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
OF CALABASAS
By Steve Pratt
CALABASAS, CA.– Former Duke All-American Michael Yani outlasted
Stanford sophomore Bradley Klahn – overcoming a match point in the
second set – that couldn’t have been closer with Yani finally
prevailing, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), during the second round of the
USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championship of Calabasas.
Yani and Klahn battled for close to two and a half hours on a gorgeous,
cloudless day in Southern California. Yani moves into Thursday’s
quarterfinals where he will face another wild-card entry, Prakash
Amritraj. Amritraj benefitted from a walkover on Wednesday as Jesse
Levine never made it to the court because of a hip flexor. Levine, the
tournament’s No. 3-seeded player, is the former Florida star who slipped
into the Top 100 recently for the first time in his career.
The tournament’s top-seeded singles player Kevin Kim won his first-round
doubles match on Wednesday in the $50,000 men’s event at the Calabasas
Tennis & Swim Center. But that isn’t the end of the story. Kim’s doubles
partner this week is Mark Ein, the 43-year-old owner of the Washington
Kastles. Ein won 13 ATP points and $320 for his victory after the No. 2
seeded team Serbian team of Ilija Bozoljac and Dusan Vemic had to retire
with Kim-Ein up 2-1 in the first set because of a back injury suffered
by Bozoljac.
“It was a little surreal out there, unbelievable,” said Ein, who’s not
sure of his NTRP rating but admitted it’s been reported at 5.5. “I was
pretty nervous. I played in high school but never in college. But I’ve
played a lot of competitive tennis and worked out with the pros.”
Ein, a venture capitalist who bought the Kastles in 2007, said playing
in a pro tournament is something he and Kim have spoken about over the
past year. Calabasas tournament promoter Steve McAvoy said he has known
Kim for years and was happy to grant him the doubles wild card.
“Kevin grew up playing here in Southern California and I’ve known him
for 15 years,” McAvoy said. “A few years ago we got pretty close and
he’s been to my house for holiday parties. We met for sushi in Santa
Monica a month ago and he told me he had a friend who he’d like to play
doubles with but they’d need a wild card.”
McAvoy said Kim agreed to play in the pro-am during the event and to
mingle with sponsors during the week. That he’s the No.-1 seeded singles
player in the event is an added bonus. “Two-thirds of my sponsors are
members of our club and all they care about is who’s playing in the
pro-am,” he said. “It’s tough out there right now and I wanted to do
what was best for this tournament and that was giving Kevin the wild
card.”
He added: “I’m happy to see Mark out there. He’s a great promoter of
this game. We’re all tennis people and love this game so I think it’s
great.”
Kim played for Ein’s Kastles’ team in 2008. World Team Tennis’ newest
franchise, the Kastles are the reigning 2009 WTT Champions.
Ein’s Kastles’ coach Murphy Jensen was on hand to watch the match. “Not
too bad to have a former French Open champion as your coach,” Ein said.
“And the tournament’s top-seeded singles player as a partner. It’s
really all just hard to describe.”
Said WTT majority owner Billie Jean King of Ein in the USA Today after
the Kastles won the championship: “He loves tennis, he loves the
community, he's done an unbelievable job. He's enthusiastic and
well-connected, and knows everybody in the business, knows all the
politicians."
Kim and Ein play their second-round match Thursday against Gustavo
Sanchez of Venezuela and Craig Schwartz of the U.S. The latter pair also
had a great day on Wednesday. Lucky losers after Riccardo Ghedin and
Michael Larmmer withdrew, the pair also moved on because of a retirement
after Nick Lindahl suffered an injury at 2-0 in the first set.
WEDNESDAY RESULTS - OCTOBER 21, 2009
Grega Zemlja, Slovakia, def. Nick Lindahl, Australia, 6-3, ret.
Michael Yani, United States, def. Bradley Klahn (WC), United States, 7-6
(6), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5)
Prakash Amritraj (WC), India, def. Jesse Levine (3), United States,
walkover
Go Soeda, Japan, def. Santiago Giraldo, Colombia, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4
Michael Russell (2), United States, def. Alex Kuznetsov, United States,
6-2, 4-6, 6-0
Men's Doubles – First Round
Lester Cook, United States-David Martin, United States (1), def. Boris
Nicola Bakalov (Bulgaria)-Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (q), Germany, 6-3, 6-4
Brian Battistone, United States-Dann Battistone (wc), United States,
def. Alejandro Gonzalez, Colombia-Fernando Vicente (Spain), 6-3, 6-3
Mark Ein, United States-Kevin Kim, United States (WC) def. Ilija
Bozoljac, Serbia-Dusan Vemic, Serbia (2), 2-1, ret.
Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico-Simon Stadler, Germany, def. Greg Ouellette,
United States-Donald Young, United States, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7
Gustavo Sanchez, Venezuela-Craig Schwartz, United States, def. Nick
Lindahl, Australia-Marinko Matosevic, Australia, 2-0, ret.
Treat Conrad Huey, Philippines-Harsh Mankad, India (3), def. Roko
Karanusic, Croatia-Grega Zemlja, Slovakia, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-4 |
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AMERICAN TAYLOR DENT WINS FIRST-ROUND
MATCH AT USTA MEN’S PRO TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP OF CALABASAS
By Steve Pratt
CALABASAS, CA. – Former Top-25 player Taylor Dent impressed the
enthusiastic Calabasas crowd with his big serve and volley game on
Tuesday night, scoring a 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy’s Riccardo Ghedin in
the first round of USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championship of Calabasas.
Dent is the No. 5-seeded player at the $50,000 men’s event at the
Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center. The Newport Beach resident has spent all
of this year coming back from a career-threatening back injury which saw
him take three years off the ATP Tour.
“I’m feeling great right now,” said Dent, who reached a career-high No.
21 in the world in 2005 and currently stands at No. 111. “After a
five-hour match at the U.S. Open playing a match like this seems easy.
I’d be 1-1 right now if this was New York.”
Tennis fans will recall that Dent played what he called the “match of my
life” at the Open back in September when he beat Ivan Navarro in the
second round in a fifth-set tiebreaker before losing to Andy Murray in
the third round.
Does he still think about that second-round match every day? “I try not
to,” he said. “While that was an unbelievable match and probably the
match of my life, sports are fickle and you can’t dwell on the past. I
need to concentrate on the future and what I’m doing now.”
What he’s doing now is preparing for his second-round match against
Donald Young, a three-set winner over qualifier Louk Sorensen of Ireland
on Tuesday.
Dent has won four ATP singles titles during his career: Newport,
Bangkok, Memphis, and Moscow and reached the finals of three other
events on tour.
TUESDAY RESULTS - OCTOBER 19, 2009
Men's Singles - First Round
Nick Lindahl, Australia, def. Steve Johnson (WC), United States,
6-1, 6-4
Marinko Matosevic, Australia, def. Carlos Salamanca (8), Colombia, 3-6,
7-5, 6-1
Cecil Mamiit (q), Philippines, def. Michael Lammer, Switzerland, 5-7,
6-2, 6-2
Donald Young, United States, def. Louk Sorensen (q), Ireland, 4-6, 6-2,
6-2
Kevin Kim (1), United States, def. Todd Widom, United States, 6-1, 6-4
Luka Gregorc (q), Slovakia, def. Vince Spadea, United States, 6-3, 6-7
(4), 6-4
Michael Russell (2), United States, def. Fernando Vicente (q), Spain,
6-4, 6-4
Prakash Amritraj (wc), India, def. Ilija Bozoljac, Serbia, 6-3, 3-2,
ret.
Santiago Gonzalez, Mexico, def. Lester Cook, United States, 6-3, 6-1
Taylor Dent (5), def. Riccardo Ghedin, Italy, 6-3, 6-4 |
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