Two Local Juniors in Wimbledon Junior Championship Qualifiers

June 10, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Top American juniors Francis Tiafoe (16) of College Park, Md.; Stefan Kozlov (16) of Pembroke Pines, Fla.; CiCi Bellis (15) of Atherton, Calif.; and Tornado Alicia Black (16) of Boca Raton, Fla. will lead the Americans accepted into the main draw of the Wimbledon Junior Championships, June 28-July 6 in London. Two local New Yorkers in boys’ singles qualifying include 18-year-old Noah Rubin of Rockville Centre, N.Y. and 17-year-old Dennis Uspensky of Atlantic Beach, N.Y., who will also be joined by 16-year-old Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

In 2012, the 16-year-old Rubin advanced all the way to the quaterfinals of the French Open Junior event, falling to eventual winner Filip Peliwo of Canada. At last year’s U.S. Open Juniors in Flushing Meadows, Rubin was ousted in the second round by the number two seed and eventual semifinalist Gianluigi Quinzi. Just last week in Roland Garros, Noah fell in round two of the French Open Juniors to the fifth seeded and eventual semifinalist Quentin Halys after advancing through qualifiers. Uspensky took part in the 2014 French Open Junior Qualifiers event, falling to Rafael Matos in round two.

Kozlov, a 2014 Australian Open junior finalist and the top-ranked American boy at number six, and the eighth-ranked Tiafoe–both of whom have held the world number two ranking this year–are joined in the main draw by number 12 Michael Mmoh (16) of Temple Hills, Md.; number 24 Alex Rybakov (17) of Coral Springs, Fla.; number 50 Henrik Wiersholm (17) of Kirkland, Wash.; and number 54 Logan Smith (17) of Carlsbad, Calif.

Bellis, the number two-ranked junior in the world, and the fourth-ranked Black, a 2013 U.S. Open junior finalist, lead a field of eight American girls accepted into the main draw, including number 29 Sofia Kenin (15) of Pembroke Pines, Fla.; number 34 Usue Arconada (15) of College Park, Md.; number 36 Dasha Ivanova (17) of Beaverton, Ore.; number 50 Katrine Steffensen (18) of Scarsdale, N.Y.; number 57 Kaitlyn McCarthy (16) of Cary, N.C.; and number 60 Raveena Kingsley (15) of Parkton, Md.

Accepted into girls’ qualifying field were number 78 Michaela Gordon (14) of Los Altos Hills, Calif.; number 87 Olivia Hauger (16) of Tulsa, Okla.; and number 99 Raquel Pedraza (16) of Claremont, Calif.

Last year, Taylor Townsend reached the Wimbledon girls’ singles final. Townsend made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the French Open last month, advancing to the third round. Previous American junior singles champions at Wimbledon include Donald Young (2007), Chanda Rubin (1992), Zina Garrison (1981) and Tracy Austin (1978).


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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