Krajicek, Brodsky, capture 18s national hard court singles titles

Austin Krajicek Getty Images

Austin Krajicek of Bryan, Texas., and Gail Brodsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., captured the USTA Boys" and Girls" 18s National Hard Court Championship singles titles on Sunday, earning them wild-card entries into the main draw of the 2008 US Open.

The nation"s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships across the country last week. The singles and doubles champions at the USTA Boys" and Girls" 18s events are traditionally awarded wild-card entries into the main draw of the US Open. The singles runners-up in the USTA Boys" and Girls" 18s divisions are typically offered wild cards entries into the qualifying draw.

Krajicek, an 18-year-old who plays for Texas A&M University and is a distant cousin of former Wimbledon singles champion Richard Krajicek, entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and outlasted 18-year-old Ryan Thacher of Studio City, Calif., in the best-of-five-set final.

Krajicek lost the first set before coming back to win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0, at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Mich. It was Thacher"s third straight appearance in the final at Kalamazoo (second straight in the Boys" 18s).

Brodsky, who turned 17 on June 5, defeated 16-year-old CoCo Vandeweghe of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 7-5, 6-1, in the USTA Girls" 18s final at the Berkeley Tennis Club in Berkeley, Calif.

Brodsky, the tournament"s No. 1 seed, won the 2007 Girls" 18s Easter Bowl and has been ranked as high as No. 28 in the ITF World Junior Rankings.

Highlights from other USTA National Hard Court Championships include:

• In an all-Florida final at the USTA Girls" 14s, Victoria Duval, 12, of Delray Beach, defeated
  Breaunna Addison of Boca Raton in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, in Peachtree City, Ga. Duval was seeded ninth.
• Spencer Papa, 12, of Edmond, Okla., swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys" 12s National Championships held in North Little Rock, Ark., to win his first two national championships. Papa defeated Christian Garay, 6-3, 7-6, in the final. He dropped only one set in eight matches and upset top-seed and doubles partner Jacob Dunbar in the quarterfinals.
• Brooke Austin, 12, of Indianapolis swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Girls" 12s National Championships held in Alpharetta, Ga., the second straight national tournament at which Austin has won both titles (2008 Girls" 12s National Clay Court Championships). Austin, the top-seed, defeated No. 2 seed Taylor Townsend in the final, 6-2, 6-2, and teamed with Hannah King to win the doubles title.

Below is the complete list of championship results from the USTA National Championships.

USTA Boys" 18s National Hard Court Championships
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Mich., Aug. 1-10
Singles: (5) Austin Krajicek, Bryan, Texas d. (8) Ryan Thacher, Studio City, Calif., 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0.
Doubles: (8) Chase Buchanan, Gahanna, Ohio, and Ryan Harrison, New Braunfels, Texas, d. (2) Steve Johnson,
Orange, Calif., and Bradley Klahn, Poway, Calif., 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

USTA Girls" 18s National Hard Court Championships
The Berkeley Tennis Club, Berkeley, Calif., Aug. 3-10
Singles: (1) Gail Brodsky, Brooklyn, N.Y., d. (3) CoCo Vandeweghe, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 7-5, 6-1.
Doubles: (2) Jamie Hampton, Auburn, Ala., and CoCo Vandeweghe, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., d. (1) Gail Brodsky, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Mallory Cecil, Spartanburg, S.C., 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

USTA Boys" 16s National Hard Court Championships
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Mich., Aug. 1-10
Singles: (7) Jordan Cox, Duluth, Ga., d. (6) Denis Kudla, Arlington, Va., 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
Doubles: (1) Evan King, Chicago, and Raymond Sarmiento, Fontana, Calif., d. (6) Denis Kudla, Arlington, Va.,
and Junior Ore, Gaithersburg, Md., 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

USTA Girls" 16s National Hard Court Championships
Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, Calif., Aug. 3-10
Singles: (12) Lauren Davis, Gates Mills, Ohio, d. (11) Monica Turewicz, Lake Forest, Ill., 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles: (2) Kaitlyn Christian, Orange, Calif., and Whitney Kay, Alpharetta, Ga., d. (4) Caroline Price, Duluth, Ga., and Katherine White, Columbus, Ga., 6-3, 6-4.

USTA Boys" 14s National Hard Court Championships
McFarlin Tennis Center, San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 3-10
Singles: (7) John Richmond, Pawleys Island, S.C., d. (2) Reo Asami, Irvine, Calif., 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles: (1) Austin Smith, Cumming, Ga., and Trey Strobel, Bradenton, Fla., d. (5) Anthony Delcore, Omaha, Neb., and Michael Guzman, Napa, Calif., 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.

USTA Girls" 14s National Hard Court Championships
Peachtree City Tennis Center, Peachtree City, Ga., Aug. 2-9
Singles: (9) Victoria Duval, Delray Beach, Fla., d. (5) Breaunna Addison, Boca Raton, Fla., 6-3, 6-2.
Doubles: (2) Ashley Dai, Temple City, Calif., and Riko Shimizu, Inverness, Ill., d. (3) Breaunna Addison, Boca
Raton, Fla., and Chanelle Van Nguyen, Miami, Fla., 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.

USTA Boys" 12s National Hard Court Championships
Burns Park Tennis Center, North Little Rock, Ark., Aug 2-8
Singles: (8) Spencer Papa, Edmund, Okla., d. (7) Christian Garay, Columbus, Ga., 6-3, 7-6.
Doubles: (1) Jacob Dunbar, Medina, Ohio, and Spencer Papa, Edmund, Okla., d. (6) Jordan Belga, Elk Grove
Village, Ill., and Kasey Countee, Cheltenham, Md., 7-6, 5-7, 6-1.

USTA Girls" 12s National Hard Court Championships
Winward Lake Club, Alpharetta, Ga., Aug 2-8
Singles: (1) Brooke Austin, Indianapolis, d. (2) Taylor Townsend, Stockbridge, Ga., 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles: (1) Brooke Austin, Indianapolis, and Hannah King, Dunwoody, Ga., d. (4) Juliana Cardi, Lexington, Ky., and Taylor Townsend, Stockbridge