SAN DIEGO – Top-seeded Bruno Kuzuhara has spent the past few weeks in South America and has posted some impressive results, winning a Grade 1 in Paraguay, falling to Leo Borg in a singles final in Brazil, and advancing to yet another final in Ecuador, falling to rival and world No. 4-ranked Juncheng Shang.
In the Round of 16 on Wednesday, Kuzuhara beat Jayden Templeman of Canada, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the IOSC in San Diego. But the showdown with Gorzny caught the eye of most bystanders at Barnes Tennis Center a day prior.
“He’s a very tricky player and has a good serve,” said Kuzuhara, the No. 5-ranked junior in the world ITF rankings, after beating Gornzy, 7-6 (4), 6-3. “I had to be on top of my game on every point. There were a few points there in the first set where he had his chances, but I was able to pull through.”
The 16-year-old Kuzuhara is lightning quick on the court and an exciting player to watch. He grew up learning the game on the public courts from local teaching pro Mike Bennett near his home in Coconut Creek, Fla.
Kuzuhara and rival Shang have faced each other three times so far in 2021 and were supposed to have continued their rivalry in San Diego, but Shang pulled out last Friday after receiving a wild card into the Miami Open qualifying. He fell to Liam Broady in a third-set tiebreaker.
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The girls’ top-seeded player Alexandra Yepifanova didn’t drop a single game in her Round of 16 matchup against unseeded Karsyn Evans, and will next face a hearty challenge from No. 9-seed Clervie Ngounoue, the 14-year old upstart from Washington D.C., in Thursday’s quarters.
Ngounoue eliminated Torrance’s Kimmi Hance, 6-0, 6-3 on Wednesday. “That was the first time I had played her,” Ngounoue said. “She has a really big game and gets a lot of balls back.”
Ngounoue splits time between the Mouratoglou Academy in France run by Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and also works with the USTA national coaches in Orlando. “I have seen (Serena) there a lot, but never gotten to hit with her,” Ngounoue said of Serena. “I hope to someday.
“I feel like a lot of people may not know my name yet, but the girls here do,” said Ngounoue, who is ranked No. 83 in the ITF world rankings.
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Reese Brantmeier has fond memories of Barnes Tennis Center. The Wisconsin native made headlines in 2019 when she won the Billie Jean King Girls Nationals 16s championship in San Diego. Brantmeier was not the tournament favorite when she upset the top seed in the title match, which was telecast to a national audience on the Tennis Channel. While dropping only two games in that 2019 final, Brantmeier made it clear that she was a force in the junior game.
This week, Brantmeier is back for the International Open of Southern California. On Wednesday, she advanced to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought win over SoCal’s Madeleine Jessup.
“I just remember I had never played in front of so many people when I won here,” Brantmeier said. “It was so surreal. I had such a good time and am really happy to be back in San Diego.”
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–Compiled by Steve Pratt