Wednesday night saw another major upset at Stadium Court as American wild card Keaton HANCE ranked 205 eliminated second seed and 65 ranked Jack SECORD of USA by the unthinkable score of 6-0, 6-0. Is there an explanation for this, or do rankings mean nothing? In the other night match Jack SATTERFIELD of USA ranked 88 easily dispatched qualifier Gray KELLEY ranked 422 by 6-1, 6-1. Curiously, most boys second round matches were lopsided straight set affairs with only 1 match going to 3 sets and another to 2 tiebreaks. The 8 QF players now include seeds 5, 6, 7, and 8 and the rankings of 6 players have a spread from 78 to 119, with the other 2 players at 205 and 206. In conclusion, the field is wide open with no clear favorite so the championship is up for grabs and QF play should be very interesting and high caliber.
The Girls draw second round singles matches were all straight set contests, and most were taken by better ranked players over those of lesser numbers. But 2 matches stand out as upsets: Ligaya MURRAY of USA ranked 201 defeated 76th ranked Giulia POPA of Romania 7-5, 6-3, and Carrie Ann HOO of USA ranked 240 took out fellow American Nancy LEE ranked 91 by a comparatively easy 6-4, 6-1. Seeds 1,2, 4, and 5 remain with rankings ranging from 17 to 75 while the 4 unseeded players range from 123 to 282. So by the numbers, seeded players should do well in QF matches, but there is always the unforseen.
In Doubles action, all seeded boys doubles teams were eliminated in the first round so this draw is a real tossup. Two second round matches were straight set affairs and the other 2 went to 3 sets. We need a crystal ball here to make any predictions. But the 2 Danish players, who both lost in the Qualy, have huge serves and have been playing doubles together since they were 10 years old. Perhaps?
Girls doubles include seeds 1, 2, and 3 and all of these won easily in straight sets. The fourth duo includes local player and singles wild card Lucia GALLEGOS playing with qualifier Ireland O`BRIEN. The match will be played on Stadium Court against Julieta PAREJA of USA ranked 75 and Mariella THAMM of Germany ranked 71 so on paper the latter team should be heavy favorites. But the crowd here may beg to differ and just might play a major role.
