Seeds Fall in Boys’ & Girls’ 16s

Upsets took center stage Wednesday at the 58th Annual Easter Bowl presented by adidas, as several top seeds were knocked out in the Boys’ and Girls’ 16-and-under divisions at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Big Upsets Shake Boys’ 16s Draw

It was a tough day for seeded players in the Boys’ 16s, with the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 seeds all eliminated.

• Mikaeel Alibaig (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) delivered one of the most dominant performances of the day, defeating Lennart Hammargren (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-2, 6-1.
• Daniil Berezin (Boca Raton, Fla.) upset No. 5 seed Gadin Arun (Paradise Valley, Ariz.).
• Adrian Sharma (Porter Ranch, Calif.) took out No. 4 Ethan Turunen (Maple Grove, Minn.) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

More Surprises in Girls’ 16s

The upset trend continued in the Girls’ 16s draw:

• Heidi Polasek (Chapel Hill, N.C.) knocked off No. 2 seed Vanessa Kruse (St. Augustine, Fla.) 7-6, 6-3.
• Caroline Coan (Elmhurst, Ill.) upset No. 3 Avita Beitler (Scandia, Minn.) in a third-set super tiebreak, 10-6.

Meanwhile, top seed Sylvana Jalbert (Mount Airy, Md.) showed no signs of slowing down, cruising into the third round with a 6-0, 6-0 win. She has dropped just one game across two matches.

Strong Performances in 18s Divisions

In the Girls’ 18s:

• Top seed Ellery Mendell (Watkinsville, Ga., Ohio State commit) and
• Calla McGill (Alexandria, Va., University of Virginia commit)

both advanced comfortably in straight sets.

In the Boys’ 18s:

• Peter Jorniak (Arcadia, Calif.) upset No. 5 Yashwin Krishnakumar (NorCal) in a tight third-set super tiebreak, 10-7.

Finals Set in 14s and 12s Divisions

Boys’ 14s Final

The championship match will feature the top two seeds:

• No. 1 Ishaan Marla (Mason, Ohio) vs.
• No. 2 Michael Chervenkov (Canton, Ga.)

Marla advanced after a grueling semifinal, winning a 90-minute first-set tiebreak against No. 3 Nathan Lee (Tustin, Calif.).

“Because of the time difference I’ve been getting up at like 4 a.m.,” Marla said. “So my coach and I have been hitting at 5 a.m.”

Marla credited his coach, Sam Shrivastava, for his development, highlighting national titles in both the 12s and 14s divisions over the past two years.

Girls’ 14s Final

• No. 1 Nadia Poznick (Ann Arbor, Mich.) vs.
• No. 9 Violetta Mamina (Henderson, Nev.)

Poznick advanced in straight sets, while Mamina battled through a three-hour, three-set semifinal victory.

Girls’ 12s Final

• No. 1 Chloe Anthony (Lakeville, Mass.) vs.
• No. 4 Lindy Zhou (Glendale, Calif.)

Both players dominated their semifinals, each winning in straight sets.

Boys’ 12s Final

• No. 1 Dmitriy Flyam (Hallandale Beach, Fla.) vs.
• No. 9 Milan Nair (Alpharetta, Ga.)

Flyam overcame an early deficit in his semifinal, while Nair advanced after a three-set battle.