San Jose's Ovrootsky reaches Girls 16 National semis

Second-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky will meet 14th-seeded Reese
Brantmeier of Whitewater, Wis., in the semifinals of the USTA
Girls 16 National Championships in San Diego. 2018 photo by
Paul Bauman

   Second-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose routed 33rd-seeded Kida Ferrari of Fairhope, Ala., 6-2, 6-2 today in the quarterfinals of the USTA Girls 16 National Championships in San Diego.
   Ovrootsky is set to meet 14th-seeded Reese Brantmeier of Whitewater, Wis., on Friday. Brantmeier outplayed 17th-seeded Gracie Epps of Norman, Okla., 6-2, 6-3.
   In the girls 18 quarterfinals in San Diego, second-seeded Katie Volynets, 17, of Walnut Creek will play fifth-seeded Connie Ma, 16, of Dublin in an all-San Francisco Bay Area matchup. Both lost in the first round of the recent $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Women's Challenge.
   Volynets and Ma advanced with straight-set victories, but 33rd-seeded Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa region lost to third-seeded Emma Navarro of Charleston, S.C., 6-3, 6-2. Navarro won the French Open girls doubles title with compatriot Chloe Beck in June.
   In girls 12 quarterfinals in Alpharetta, Ga., third-seeded Kinley Vanpelt of Lawrence, Kan., topped fifth-seeded Alexis Nguyen of El Dorado Hills in the Sacramento area 6-4, 7-6 (tiebreaker score not available).
   Both remaining Northern California boys lost in the round of 16 of the 18s in Kalamazoo, Mich. Top-seeded Brandon Nakashima of San Diego dominated 33rd-seeded Ryder Jackson of Nicasio in the Bay Area 6-3, 6-0, and 10th-seeded Eliot Spizzirri of Greenwich, Conn., outlasted 33rd-seeded Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-4.
   Three boys with NorCal ties – second-seeded Luke Casper of Santa Cruz; fourth-seeded Aidan Mayo, a resident of Torrance in the Los Angeles region who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville; and 32nd-seeded Hugo Hashimoto of San Jose – reached the quarterfinals of the 16s in Kalamazoo.
   In the boys 14 quarters in Mobile, Ala., 13th-seeded Joseph Phillips of Alpharetta ousted second-seeded Dylan Tsoi of El Dorado Hills 6-2, 6-2.

NorCal's Jackson to face top seed in boys 18 nationals

Ryder Jackson, left, defeated Luke Casper, right, last Nov-
ember in the Sacramento suburb of Folsom for his fourth
consecutive Northern California Sectional (fall and sum-
mer) boys 18 title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   No. 33 seed Ryder Jackson of Nicasio in the San Francisco Bay Area surprised No. 9 seed Stefan Dostanic of Irvine 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday in the round of 32 in the USTA Boys 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
   Both players are headed to USC.
   Jackson is set to face top-seeded Brandon Nakashima of San Diego today. Nakashima, who will be a sophomore at Virginia, routed No. 18 seed Evan McDonald of Bethesda, Md., 6-1, 6-1.
   No. 33 seed Marcus McDaniel, a Vacaville resident who will play at Georgia Tech, will take on No. 10 seed Eliot Spizzirri of Greenwich, Conn.
   Advancing to the round of 16 in the boys 16s in Kalamazoo were No. 2 seed Luke Casper of Santa Cruz; No. 4 seed Aidan Mayo, a resident of Torrance in the Los Angeles area who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville; and No. 32 seed Hugo Hashimoto of San Jose.
   In the boys 14s in Mobile, Ala., No. 2 seed Dylan Tsoi of El Dorado Hills in the Sacramento area reached the quarterfinals.
   Advancing to the round of 16 in the girls 18s in San Diego were No. 2 seed Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the Bay Area, No. 5 Connie Ma, 16, of Dublin in the Bay Area and No. 33 Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena in the Napa region.
   Moving on to the quarterfinals were No. 2 seed Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose in the girls 16s in San Diego and No. 5 Alexis Nguyen of El Dorado Hills in the girls 12s in Alpharetta, Ga.

Ma subdued, Jackson 'excited' after winning Sectionals

Second-seeded Connie Ma, left, beat fifth-seeded Katherine
Duong 6-2, 6-4 for the girls 18 title in the NorCal Junior Fall
Singles Sectional Championships. Photo by Paul Bauman

   FOLSOM, Calif. -- Connie Ma didn't so much as pump a fist after winning the girls 18 title in the NorCal Junior Fall Singles Sectional Championships.
   The tiny 15-year-old's subdued reaction today was understandable, considering that she excelled in low-level professional tournaments over the summer and helped the United States win the Junior Fed Cup in Budapest, Hungary, in late September.
   In comparison, Ma's march to the NorCal title was easy.
   "Maybe, but the competition was still pretty good from the quarters until the final," the second-seeded Ma, only 5-foot-3 (1.60 meters) and 95 pounds (43.1 kilograms), said diplomatically after beating fifth-seeded Katherine Duong 6-2, 6-4 in a matchup of San Francisco Bay Area players at the Broadstone Racquet Club. "The last set of the final was pretty tight."
   That was the only time in the tournament that Ma lost as many as four games in a set. She dismissed fifth-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky, ranked fifth nationally in the 14s, 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Amber Marie Lee 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.
   In contrast to Ma, winning the Sectional boys 18 title for the fourth consecutive time (in the summer and fall) was a big deal for Ryder Jackson. The second-seeded Jackson, a 17-year-old resident of Nicasio in the Bay Area, downed ninth-seeded Luke Casper, 15, of Santa Cruz 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
   "I think this is my last one, so I'm real excited to go out on top and play as well as I could," said Jackson, who will head to USC next year. "It's a lot of pressure to deal with because everybody wants to beat you. To handle the pressure and play as well as I did, I'm really happy about that."
   Casper, ranked 16th nationally in the 16s, sprained his left ankle when Jackson wrong-footed him while serving at 3-4, 30-15 in the second set. Casper favored the ankle the rest of the way.

Second-seeded Ryder Jackson, left, downed ninth-seeded
Luke Casper 6-2, 6-4 for his fourth consecutive NorCal
Sectional boys 18 title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Ma, from Dublin, reached the quarterfinals of a $25,000 hardcourt tournament in Baton Rouge, La., as a qualifier in June, stunning then-No. 373 Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the first round of the main draw.
   Ma then qualified for the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge before losing in the first round to eighth-seeded Mayo Hibi, then ranked No. 187, advanced to the final of a $15,000 event in Evansville, Ind., and won the Evansville doubles title.
   So why play in the NorCal Sectionals?
   "To keep playing tournaments," Ma explained. "I need to work on match play and get a feel for competing still."
   Duong, from Cupertino, almost had to hit a perfect shot to win a point against Ma. Sometimes, even that wasn't enough. Ma generally kept the ball in play until Duong, ranked third in the 16s and fifth in the 18s in Northern California, made a mistake.
   "Connie is probably one of the best movers out there, so it's really hard to hit winners against her," said the 16-year-old Duong, who eliminated top-seeded Ashley Yeah in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Klara Kosan in the semifinals. "She's also really consistent, so you have to out-rally her, which is one of the hardest things to do as a tennis player. That's what makes her one of the best players in the nation."
   Jackson also did not lose a set in the tournament, although third-seeded Daniel Baturyn of San Leandro extended him to a tiebreaker in the semifinals.
   The 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Jackson overpowered the 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Casper in the first set, but Casper worked his way back into the match in the second set before his injury.
   "His serve was way more consistent than mine, and he got more balls back," lamented Casper, who demolished top-seeded Aryan Chaudhary 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 16.
   Third-seeded Brian Chong and fifth-seeded Rhea Rai, both of Cupertino, won the boys and girls 16 titles, respectively.
   Chong outlasted top-seeded Brian Bilsey of Belmont 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, and Rai beat unseeded Maryia Hrynashka of Rancho Cordova 6-4, 6-4.

Tiny 15-year-old reaches Fall Sectional girls 18 final

Connie Ma, playing in the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge
in July, will face Katherine Duong on Sunday in the NorCal Fall
Sectional girls 18 final. Photo by Paul Bauman

   FOLSOM, Calif. -- The most accomplished player in the NorCal 18s & 16s Fall Singles Sectional Championships is also one of the smallest.
   Fifteen-year-old Connie Ma, only 5-foot-3 (1.60 meters) and 95 pounds (43.1 kilograms), excelled in professional tournaments over the summer to earn a women's world ranking of No. 763.
   So it's no surprise that Ma, an amateur from Dublin in the San Francisco Bay Area, has coasted to the final in the NorCal 18s at the Broadstone Racquet Club. Seeded second, she dispatched fifth-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose 6-3, 6-3 this afternoon in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Amber Marie Lee of Orinda 6-3, 6-2 this evening in the semifinals.
   Ovrootsky, 14, is ranked fifth nationally in the 14s. Lee, a high school sophomore ranked fourth in Northern California in the 16s and seventh in the 18s, played two hours after holding off fifth-seeded Stephanie Nguyen of Fremont 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a three-hour quarterfinal. Nguyen will play at Boston University next year.
   Ma reached the quarterfinals of a $25,000 hardcourt tournament in Baton Rouge, La., as a qualifier in June, stunning then-No. 373 Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the first round of the main draw.
   Ma then qualified for the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge before losing in the first round to eighth-seeded Mayo Hibi, then ranked No. 187, advanced to the final of a $15,000 event in Evansville, Ind., and won the Evansville doubles title.
  How does Ma do it?
  "Using my movement, trying to set up correctly for every single ball and then hitting my targets," she replied.
   Ma is scheduled to face fifth-seeded Katherine Duong of Cupertino on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Duong, a high school junior ranked third in the NorCal 16s and fifth in the 18s, ousted top seed and defending champion Ashley Yeah of Los Gatos 7-6 (4), 6-1 and third-seeded Klara Kosan of Carmichael 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Yeah will head to the University of Illinois next year.
   Ma said she has played Duong seven times, winning the last two encounters.

Defending champion Ryder Jackson, a USC
commit, eyes a backhand during his win over
Daniel Baturyn today. Photo by Paul Bauman

   In Sunday's boys 18 final, also at 1:30 p.m., top seed and defending champion Ryder Jackson of Nicasio will meet ninth-seeded Luke Casper of Santa Cruz for the first time.
   The 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Jackson, who will play at USC, beat Rithik Sardana of Union City 6-4, 6-3 and third-seeded Daniel Baturyn, a Fresno State commit from San Leandro, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
   "I had a good game plan (against Baturyn) because I've seen him play many times," said Jackson, who always wears soccer jerseys for his matches. "It was definitely to play aggressive, come to the net and stay loose because I have a lot of pressure out here being a top-seeded player and having good results here in the past."
   The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Casper, ranked 16th nationally in the 16s, dismissed ninth-seeded Marshall Leung of Tiburon 6-3, 6-0 and topped fourth-seeded Andrei Volgin of Fremont 6-3, 6-2.
   Casper, who demolished top-seeded Aryan Chaudhary of Santa Clara last weekend in the round of 16, cramped in both calves and his left quadriceps against Volgin, who's headed to UC Davis.
   "It was a grind," said the 15-year-old Casper, adding that he should be OK for the final. "We had super long points. I got super tired."
   In the girls 16 semifinals, fifth-seeded Rhea Rai of Cupertino dominated top-seeded Mirabelle Brettkelly of San Francisco 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.
   On Sunday at 10:30 a.m., Rai will play unseeded Maryia Hrynashka of Rancho Cordova, and top-seeded Brian Bilsey of Belmont will meet third-seeded Brian Chong of Cupertino for the boys 16 title.

Brooksby, 17, to play in $100K Tiburon qualifying

Jenson Brooksby practices at the Arden Hills Club
& Spa in Sacramento in May, three months before
he won the USTA Boys 18 National Championships
to earn a wild card into the main draw of the U.S. Open.
Photo by Paul Bauman

  Three teenage wild cards from Northern California, including USTA boys 18 national champion Jenson Brooksby, are scheduled to play in Saturday's first round of qualifying in the $100,000 Wells Fargo Tiburon Challenger at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
   Brooksby, a 17-year-old resident of Carmichael in the Sacramento area, will meet 30-year-old Brazilian Joao Souza, who reached a career-high No. 69 in 2015, on Court 4 at about 4 p.m.
   Brooksby earned an automatic wild card into the main draw of the recent U.S. Open by winning the USTA title in Kalamazoo, Mich. He lost to John Millman of Australia 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round at Flushing Meadows. Millman later stunned Roger Federer in the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the quarterfinals, and Brooksby reached the boys semifinals.
   The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Souza played in the longest singles match in Davis Cup history in 2015, losing to Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 5-7, 15-13 in 6 hours, 42 minutes.
   On Saturday at 10 a.m., Stevie Gould of Corte Madera in the San Francisco Bay Area will play Alejandro Gomez of Colombia, on Center Court and Ryder Jackson of Nicasio in the Bay Area will take on No. 4 seed Jan Choinski of Germany on Court 4.
   Brooksby, Gould and Jackson are high school seniors who have verbally committed to universities. Brooksby is headed to Texas Christian, Gould to Washington and Jackson to USC.
   Also Saturday, top-seeded Liam Broady of Great Britain will meet wild card Florian Lakat, a 23-year-old former Cal star from France, on Center Court not before 1 p.m.
   Broady, a 24-year-old left-hander, reached the final of last year's $100,000 Aptos (Calif.) Challenger as a qualifier and advanced to the quarterfinals there last month. Lakat won last year's Tiburon doubles title with ex-Cal teammate Andre Goransson of Sweden.
   Sebastian Korda, 18, of Bradenton, Fla., will take on No. 2 seed Cem Ilkel of Turkey. Korda, 6-foot-4 (1.93 meters) and only 165 pounds (75 kilograms), won the Australian Open boys title in January, 20 years after his father, Petr, captured the men's title in Melbourne. Sebastian is ranked third in the world among juniors.
   Frederik Nielsen, 35, of Denmark will meet Alexander Sarkissian, 28, of Glendale in the Los Angeles area on Court 4 after the Choinski-Jackson match.
   In 2012, Nielsen and Jonathan Marray of Great Britain became the first wild cards to win the Wimbledon men's doubles title. Nielsen's grandfather Kurt reached the Wimbledon singles final in 1953 and 1955.
   Sarkissian advanced to the 2014 NCAA final as a Pepperdine senior, losing to Marcos Giron of UCLA. Giron, from Thousand Oaks in the Los Angeles region, will play Marc-Andrea Huesler, a 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) left-hander from Switzerland, on Court 1 at 10 a.m.
   American Mitchell Krueger, a Tiburon quarterfinalist in 2015 and 2016, will face Laurent Lokoli of France on Center Court after the Gould-Gomez encounter.
   Krueger, 24, qualified for a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in 13 attempts in this year's U.S. Open and lost to Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in the opening round.
   Lokoli made news in last year's French Open when he refused to shake Martin Klizan's hand after losing to the Slovakian 6-4 in the fifth set in the first round. Klizan had celebrated and pointed to his head after a double fault by Lokoli, violating one of tennis' unwritten rules. Lokoli also accused Klizan of faking a leg injury.
   Here are the Tiburon singles qualifying draw and Saturday's schedule. The singles main draw will be conducted Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and play will begin on Monday not before 11:30 a.m. The finals are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 30, at a time to be determined.

Kratzer wins national 18s for spot in U.S. Open

Ashley Kratzer defeated Kelly Chen 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to win the USTA
Girls 18 National Championships in San Diego. Kratzer, an 18-year-
old left-hander from Newport Beach, was the runner-up in last
month's $50,000 Stockton Challenger. Photo courtesy of USTA

   No Northern Californians won titles in last week's USTA National Championships for juniors at various sites around the country.
   But Ashley Kratzer, the runner-up in last month's $50,000 Stockton Challenger, captured the Girls 18s in San Diego to earn a wild card in the U.S. Open. The year's last Grand Slam tournament is scheduled for Aug. 28-Sept. 10.
   No. 3 seed Kratzer, an 18-year-old left-hander from Newport Beach, defeated No. 33 Kelly Chen of Cerritos 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the final. Newport Beach and Cerritos are in the Los Angeles area.
   Kratzer eliminated No. 6 Michaela Gordon of Saratoga, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, 7-5, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. Kratzer turned pro late last year. Gordon will enroll at Stanford next month.
   No. 8 seed Whitney Osuigwe of Bradenton, Fla., defeated No. 17 Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek, Calif., 7-5, 7-6 (3) in the round of 16 in a battle of decorated 15-year-olds.
   Osuigwe won the French Open junior title in June. Volynets last December became the first girl to win the 16s in the Eddie Herr International Championships and Orange Bowl in the same year. The tournaments were held in consecutive weeks in Bradenton, Fla., on hardcourts and Plantation, Fla., on clay, respectively.
   In the Boys 18s in Kalamazoo, Mich., No. 1 seed Sam Riffice, who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, lost to No. 5 JJ Wolf of Cincinnati 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Riffice, now based at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., has verbally committed to the University of Florida for next year.
   In the Girls 14s in Rome, Ga., No. 1 seed Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose lost to No. 16 Bridget Stammel of Dallas 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the round of 16. Ovrootsky swept the 12s singles and doubles titles at the USTA Winter Nationals in Tucson, Ariz., in January. She turned 13 on July 15.
   Other results of NorCal players who reached the later rounds:

BOYS

In Kalamazoo, Mich.

18-and-under

Doubles quarterfinals

   Nathan Perrone, Moorestown, N.J., and Jake Van Emburgh, Belleair Beach, Fla., def. Sam Riffice and Gianni Ross (4), Orlando, Fla., 6-4, 7-5.

   Oliver Crawford, Spartanburg, S.C., and Patrick Kypson (2), Greenville, N.C., def. Austen Huang, Elk Grove, Calif., and Sean Sculley (12), Hilton Head Island, S.C., 6-4, 6-4.

16-and-under

Doubles semifinals

   Will Grant, Boca Raton, Fla., and Tyler Zink (3), Bradenton, Fla., def. Robert Cash, New Albany, Ohio, and Ryder Jackson (1), Nicasio, Calif., 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

In Mobile, Ala.

14-and-under

Singles quarterfinals

   Andrew Chang (17), Trophy Club, Texas, def. Luke Neal, Mill Valley, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
   Ben Shelton (17), Gainesville, Fla., def. Luke Casper (10), Santa Cruz, Calif., 6-4, 6-4.

Singles semifinals

   Saud Alhogbani (4), Alexandria, Va., def. Hugo Hashimoto (17), San Jose, Calif., 6-4, 6-0.

Doubles semifinals

   Connor Krug and Jake Krug (1), Lakewood Ranch, Fla., def. Alex Han, Tulsa, Okla., and Hugo Hashimoto (6), San Jose, Calif., 7-5, 7-6 (6).

12-and-under

Singles quarterfinals

   Aidan Kim (1), Milford, Mich., def. Kurt Miller, Los Gatos, Calif., 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles semifinals

   Lucas Brown, Plano, Texas, and Learner Tien (1), Irvine, Calif., def. Kurt Miller, Los Gatos, Calif., and Andrew Salu (3), Sarasota, Fla., 7-5, 6-3.

GIRLS

In San Diego

16-and-under

Singles semifinals

   Angelica Blake (9), Boca Raton, Fla., def. Connie Ma, Dublin, Calif., 6-2, 6-3.

In Rome, Ga.

14-and-under

Doubles quarterfinals

   Hibah Shaikh, Teaneck, N.J., and Madison Sieg (2), Greenwich, Conn., def. Kimberly Hance, Torrance, Calif., and Yuu Ishikawa (5), Los Altos, Calif., 7-6 (5), 6-2.  

Volynets, Jackson win USTA junior clay titles

   San Francisco Bay Area residents Katie Volynets and Ryder Jackson won titles on Sunday in the USTA Junior Clay Court Championships.
   Volynets, 15, of Walnut Creek, beat Abigail Forbes of Raleigh, N.C., 6-2, 6-2 for the girls 18 crown in Memphis. Tenn. Forbes was seeded second and Volynets third.
   Jackson, 16, of Nicasio, and Robert Cash of New Albany, Ohio, took the boys 16 doubles title. Seeded sixth, they downed second-seeded Jeffrey Fradkin of New York and Phillip Jordan of Spartanburg, S.C., 6-2, 6-4 in Delray Beach, Fla.
   In December, Volynets became the first girl to win the 16s in the Eddie Herr International Championships and Orange Bowl in the same year. The tournaments were held in consecutive weeks in Bradenton, Fla., on hardcourts and Plantation, Fla., on clay, respectively.
   Jackson won his second gold ball. He claimed the 14-and-under singles title in the 2015 USTA Winter Nationals in Tucson, Ariz.

Jackson beats heat, Chari for NorCal boys 18 title

Champion Ryder Jackson, left, and runner-up Siddharth Chari show the effects
of their marathon in brutal heat on Monday. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The final was sizzling in more ways than one.
   In a match as intense as the heat, Ryder Jackson rallied to edge Siddharth Chari 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) in 3 hours, 23 minutes today to win the Northern California Boys 18 Junior Sectional Championships.
   Chethan Swanson, the top seed who lost to Jackson 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, watched the grueling battle.
   "It was incredible," said Swanson, a friend of Chari's from Folsom in the Sacramento area. "I've been watching junior tennis obviously for so many years, and I can confidently say that was probably the tightest match I've ever seen. What I mean by that is nobody ever had a lead for more than a couple games for the entire match."
   The match at the Natomas Racquet Club began at 9:10 a.m. in 85-degree (29.4 Celsius) heat. By the time it ended at 12:33 p.m., the temperature had soared to 99 degrees (37.2) on the way to a record high of 107 (41.7).
   Can you say climate change?
   Chari, 6-foot-3 1/2 (1.92 meters) and only 160 pounds (72.6 kilograms), began cramping in both hamstrings while holding serve for 3-2 in the third set. At about the same time, his right (playing) forearm tightened up.

Ryder Jackson, left, rallied to edge Siddharth Chari
4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) in 3 hours, 23 minutes for the
Sectional boys 18 title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Jackson, seeded fifth, then held serve despite soreness in his left leg. After the ninth-seeded Chari held serve for 4-3, he took a medical timeout and proceeded to break Jackson. With Chari serving for the match, Jackson broke back on a return-of-serve cross-court passing shot. 

   Jackson broke Chari again to lead 6-5, but Chari valiantly saved three match points in a game featuring several long, exhausting rallies to break back and send the match to a decisive tiebreaker. Chari survived two more match points before netting a down-the-line backhand on the sixth one.
   Jackson roared triumphantly, and the combatants shook hands at the net. Then Chari slumped in a chair in the shade next to the court and buried his head in his arms. Jackson sat next to Chari and grimaced in pain.

   "The heat was really tough," conceded the 6-foot-1 (1.85-meter), 141-pound (64.0-kilogram) Jackson, from Nicasio in Marin County north of San Francisco. "I play a lot in San Francisco, so I'm not really used to intense heat. But the adrenaline is going, you want to win, and you just push through. I was thankful I didn't have a major injury and was able to keep going."
   Jackson, 16, admitted he had extra incentive after losing to towering Keenan Mayo of Roseville in the Sacramento area 6-1, 6-1 in last year's boys 16 Sectional final at Natomas.
   "That was a rough match," sighed Jackson, who won a gold ball in 14-and-under singles in the 2015 USTA Winter Nationals in Tucson, Ariz. "I played as well as I could, but he played better than me. This year, I definitely wanted to do better than I did last year, and winning a Sectionals is a major accomplishment.
   "It's like the biggest tournament in all of NorCal, and it's 18s, too, so this is huge for me because I'm going to probably start traveling more and playing some high-level tournaments now that I've kind of cemented the NorCal with this win."

Ryder Jackson had extra incentive after losing in
the boys 16 final last year. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Chari, a 17-year-old resident of Saratoga (near San Jose), eventually withered in the heat.
   "My legs gave out of me when I was serving 5-3 (in the third set)," he allowed. "The heat was exhausting. I haven't been in this situation much, especially in this 100-degree heat. That really got to me."

   Jackson and Chari had met twice previously, both three-setters in the last month in high school matches. Jackson, then a sophomore at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, won the first time and Chari, then a junior at Menlo School in Atherton, the second.
   "I knew coming in it was going to be tough," said Chari, ranked 12th in Northern California and 116th nationally in the 18s. "I had a feeling it was going to be a three-setter."
   The final essentially pitted Chari's offense against Jackson's defense.
   Chari has a booming, high-kicking serve and powerful forehand, and moves well.
   "He moves really well, especially to his forehand," agreed Jackson, ranked first in NorCal and 13th nationally in the 16s and 18th in the NorCal 18s. "His running forehand I think is his best shot, besides his serve. He has an incredible running forehand. I always had to watch out for that. I couldn't hit it to the corner and think (the point) was over. I always had to be ready for the next ball."

Siddharth Chari will enroll at Yale in the fall of 2018.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Jackson countered with a strong return of serve, often getting back balls that bounced over his head, and consistency, frequently chasing down Chari's lasers.

  "I love my return of serve," Jackson gushed. "That's one of my best shots. That definitely helped a lot today, because he has a big serve and he's used to a lot of free points, so my goal was to try to make a lot of returns. It worked out great today."
   Jackson wore a soccer shirt to begin the match and switched to one advertising Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi for the third set.
   "I always wear soccer jerseys and visors (for matches)," Jackson said. "I've been doing it since I was 10. That's kind of my look, my signature.
   "I like the World Cup, the big events. I like Real Madrid; Ronaldo is my favorite player. I played soccer when I was 11, then I quit to focus on tennis. I think I have like 25 (soccer shirts)."
   Both of Jackson's parents starred in college, Steve Jackson at Fresno State and Elizabeth Evans at Harvard. Steve is the director of tennis at the California Tennis Club in San Francisco.
   Ryder said he'll take online classes as a junior and perhaps return to St. Ignatius as a senior. He hopes to land a scholarship to a Division I school.
   Chari's father, Ranga, and mother, Vidya, are software engineers. Vidya stays home to travel with Siddharth, who will enroll at Yale in 2018. He plans to major in economics while playing on the tennis team.
   Said Swanson, who will play at UC Davis: "I'm really proud of him for getting a spot in an Ivy League school. It's going to be a great place (for him). He's really talented in tennis, and he's a genius, too, a really smart kid."

NORCAL JUNIOR SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Finals

At Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento

Boys 18

Singles

   Ryder Jackson (5), Nicasio, def. Siddharth Chari (9), Saratoga, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4).

Doubles

   Stevie Gould, Corte Madera, and Issa Yoshida (1), Campbell, def. Nitzan Ricklis, Sunnyvale, and Dean Stratakos (2), Saratoga, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Boys 16

Singles

   Aryan Chaudhary (1), Santa Clara, def. Daniel Papacica, Carmel, 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles

   Brandon Aprill, Mountain View, and Zachery Lim (3), Vacaville, def. Marshall Leung, Tiburon, and Andrei Volgin (5), Fremont, 6-3, 6-4.

At Copper River Country Club in Fresno

Girls 18

Singles

   Ashley Yeah (3), Los Gatos, def. Rachel Eason (1), Union City, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles

   Anna Campana and Carolyn Campana (3), Hillsborough, def. Jillian Taggart, Fair Oaks, and Elena Van Linge (4), Menlo Park, 8-4.

Girls 16

Singles

   Vivian Ovrootsky (4), San Jose, def. Avantika Willy (5), Dublin, 6-0, 6-1.

Doubles

   Allura Zamarripa and Maribella Zamarripa (4), Saint Helena, def. Yuu Ishikawa, Mountain View, and Avantika Willy (3), Dublin, 8-2.

At Arden Hills Resort & Spa in Sacramento

Boys 14

Singles

   Brian Chong (2), Cupertino, def. Max Fardanesh (1), Albany, 7-5, 3-6 [12-10].

Doubles

   Luvdeep Bal, Yuba City, and Brian Bilsey, Belmont, def. Max Fardanesh, Albany, and Jake Vassel (1), Danville, 8-5.

Girls 14

Singles

   Anushka Khune (2), Palo Alto, def. Priya Nelson (4), Sacramento, 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles

   Tara Chilton, Reno, and Karis Kim, San Ramon, def. Audrey-Marie Rafols, Vallejo, and Isabel Santiago (3), Hayward, 8-3.

At Sunnyvale Tennis Center

Boys 12

Singles

   Raghav Jangbahadur (1), Palo Alto, def. Mason Nguyen (3), El Dorado Hills, 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles

   Mason Nguyen, El Dorado Hills, and Lleyton Okada-Alonzo (1), Marina, def. Mitchell Lee, Oakland, and Julien Simonian (2), Redwood City, 6-4, 6-2.

Girls 12

Singles

   Ria Bhakta (1), Saratoga, def. Lauren Joyce (3), Lodi, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles

   Ria Bhakta, Saratoga, and Lauren Joyce (2), Lodi, def. Caroline Beard, Santa Rosa, and Anya Murthy (1), Fremont, 7-6 (11), 6-7 (6) [10-8].

Roseville's Riffice gains Easter Bowl boys 18 semis

   No. 4 seed Sam Riffice, who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, defeated his doubles partner, No. 7 Brian Cernoch of Rockville, Md., 6-1, 7-6 (3) today in the boys 18 quarterfinals of the Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, Calif.
   Riffice will face No. 10 Sebastian Korda, a resident of Bradenton, Fla., who beat Jake Sands of Pacific Palisades in the Los Angeles area 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the prestigious hardcourt tournament.
   Korda's father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open to reach No. 2 in the world. Rail thin, he tested positive for doping at Wimbledon that year and was suspended for 12 months but retired shortly before the ban at age 30.
   Korda's mother, Regina Rajchrtova, climbed to a career-high No. 26 in 1991. His 24-year-old sister, Jessica, won the first of her four LPGA titles in the 2012 Australian Open.
   Riffice, 18, is 2-0 against Korda, 16, in ITF tournaments, both on hardcourts. In their last meeting, Riffice prevailed 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in the quarterfinals of the Coffee Bowl in January in San Juan, Costa Rica.
   No. 2 seeds Cernoch and Riffice reached the doubles final with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over unseeded Austen Huang and Ryan Seggerman of Coronado in the San Diego region.
   Cernoch and Riffice will meet No. 3 Oliver Crawford of Spartanburg, S.C., and Patrick Kypson of Raleigh, N.C.
   In the boys 16 singles semifinals, No. 13 Stefan Dostanic of Irvine, Calif., overwhelmed No. 8 Ryder Jackson of Nicasio, north of San Francisco, 6-1, 6-1.

Paul Barretto, Keenan Mayo repeat in Sectionals

   Paul Barretto and Keenan Mayo won their second consecutive NorCal Junior Sectional boys 18 and 16 singles titles, respectively, on Sunday at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   The No. 2-seeded Barretto, a 17-year-old Tiburon resident, beat No. 9 Jenson Brooksby, 15, of Carmichael 6-4, 6-3. The No. 1-seeded Mayo, a Roseville resident who turned 16 last month, dominated No. 9 Ryder Jackson of Nicasio 6-1, 6-1.
   In the quarterfinals of the girls 18s at UC Santa Cruz, No. 4 seed Carolyn Campana of Hillsborough ousted No. 5 Rachel Eason, the defending champion from Union City, 6-4, 6-2.
   Also, No. 2 Katie Volynets, 14, of Walnut Creek dismissed No. 4 Jessi Muljat, 15, of Sacramento 6-3, 6-1. Volynets is ranked first nationally in the 14s.
   Volynets avenged a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Muljat in the 16s final of the USTA International Spring Championships in Carson, Calif., in April.
   No. 1 seed Herrick Legaspi of Sacramento and No. 3 Anushka Khune of Palo Alto won the boys and girls 12 titles, respectively, at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center.
   The quarterfinals of the boys and girls 14s are scheduled for today at 11 a.m. at the Arden Hills Resort & Spa in Sacramento, followed by the semifinals at 3 p.m.

NORCAL JUNIOR SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Finals

At Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento

Boys 18

Singles

   Paul Barretto (2), Tiburon, def. Jenson Brooksby (9) Carmichael, 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles

   Arjith Jayaraman, Gold River, and Andrew Ton (4), Milpitas, def. Siddharth Chari, Saratoga, and Randy Cory, Salinas, 6-4, 1-6 [11-9].

Boys 16

Singles

   Keenan Mayo (1), Roseville, def. Ryder Jackson (9), Nicasio, 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles

   Sam Gibson, Chico, and Stevie Gould (4), Corte Madera, def. Ryder Jackson, Nicasio, and Zachery Lim (8), Fairfield, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

At Sunnyvale Tennis Center

Boys 12

Singles

  Herrick Legaspi (1), Sacramento, def. Raghav Jangbahadur (4), Palo Alto, 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles

   John Kim, Sunnyvale, and Herrick Legaspi (1), Sacramento, def. Liam Carpenter, Greenbrae, and Patrick Toman (3), Pleasant Hill, 6-2, 6-1.

Girls 12

Singles

   Anushka Khune (3), Palo Alto, def. Georgia Beard (1), Santa Rosa, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles

   Anushka Khune, Palo Alto, and Madison Weekley (2), Alamo, def. Martina Marica, San Jose, and Kamila Wong (3), Palo Alto, 6-0, 6-2.

Paul Barretto, Keenan Mayo seek Sectional repeats

   Paul Barretto and Keenan Mayo will play for their second consecutive NorCal Junior Sectional boys 18 and 16 singles titles, respectively, today at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   The second-seeded Barretto, from Tiburon, outlasted ninth-seeded Andrew Ton of Milpitas 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-5 in Saturday's semifinals. The top-seeded Mayo, from Roseville, downed third-seeded Stevie Gould of Corte Madera 6-1, 7-5.
   Barretto, 17, will face ninth-seeded Jenson Brooksby, 15, of Carmichael today at 9:30 a.m. Brooksby beat ninth-seeded Andre Xiao of Saratoga 6-4, 6-1.
   Xiao had ousted top-seeded Kevin Ma of San Ramon 7-6 (9), 6-3 earlier Saturday in the quarterfinals.
   Mayo, who turned 16 last month, will meet ninth-seeded Ryder Jackson of Nicasio today at 9:30 a.m. Jackson outplayed ninth-seeded Karl Lee of Los Altos 6-1, 6-4.