Top-Seeded Players Fall In First Round As Bracks Topples No.1 Gelletich In Boys’ 18s

The top seeds tumbled on the first day of play in the Boys’ 18s at the 56th Annual FILA Easter Bowl on Monday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Not only was the No. 1 seeded Braeden Gelletich from Goshen, N.Y., taken out by unseeded Ian Bracks from Tulsa, Okla., 6-3, 6-2, in a rematch of the Boys’ 16s final one year ago, but the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds were also eliminated.

Oklahoma State-bound Bracks improved to 5-0 in head-to-matches against Gelletich, which included a straight-set win in Boys’ 16s final in 2023 at the FILA Easter Bowl. Bracks, a 17-year-old high school senior who trains at the Tucker Tennis Academy, next faces George Cutone from Kennebunkport, Maine.

Unseeded Nicholas Reeves from Kirkland, Wash., beat No. 3 Shaurya Bharadwaj from Charlotte, N.C., 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, and Jaden Brady from Palm Beach Garden, Fla., also shocked No. 4-seed Declan Galligan of West Des Moines, Iowa, 6-3, 6-4.

William Manning from Raleigh, N.C., the No. 2 seed, avoided the upset bug beating Sibby Rodi of Honolulu, Hawaii, 6-1 6-3. Defending 18s singles champion Cassius Chinlund opened up with a straight-set win over Kaiaitz Mendibe of Springfield, Mass, dropping just three games.

The Girls’ 18s also kicked off with seven of the eight top seeded players moving into the second round. The only upset occurred when Campbell Ricci of Las Vegas toppled No. 3 Sophia Holod of East Setauket, N.Y., 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Top-seeded Capucine Jauffret from Wilmington, Del., was pushed by Marina Fuduric of Lima, Ohio, before coming out on top in two tiebreakers.

In the Boys’ 16s, Florida’s Teodor Davidov, 13, took out No. 5 Shaan Patel, from St. Louis, Mo., 6-3, 6-4., in the only upset of top eight players. All top eight girls’ seeded players advanced with only No. 6 Carrie-Anne Hoo dropping a set. Straight-set winners included No. 1 Bella Payne, No. 2 Alyson Shannon, No. 3 Nancy Lee, No. 4 Sobee Oak, No. 5 Isabelle DeLuccia, No. 7 Kaya Moe and No. 8 Alexandra Wolf.

There were two big upsets in the younger divisions as the Girls’ 14s and Boys’ 12s lost the top-seeded players. Girls’ 14s No. 1 Reiley Rhodes of Annapolis. Md., was eliminated by Hannah Ayrault of Atlanta, Ga., 6-2, 6-3 and Beau Bronson Foster from Los Angeles ousted No. 1 Smyan Thuta from San Jose, Calif., 6-3, 6-1.

Foster, 12, said after the match he had recently lost to Thuta at Clay Court Nationals, so the revenge was sweet. He next faces fellow SoCal player Nathan Lee from Tustin in Tuesday’s quarterfinals in a rematch of a Brewer Cup Spring Team 12s finals match won by Foster played just three weeks ago in Arizona.

Keep up with all the FILA Easter Bowl on the daily Live Stream, and check out the tournament on Facebook (www.facebook.com/EasterBowl) and X (@easterbowl) and Instagram (@easterbowltennis).