A quiet week on the pro tours leaves the spotlight wide open for #SoCalTennis standouts who performed on the domestic and international circuits this weekend. Yet again, the story of the weekend is Daniel Nguyen (Oxnard), who continues to dominate Pro Circuit events across Asia. After two consecutive wins and a ten match win streak in South Korea, Nguyen brought his talents to Chinese Taipei and swept the competition to extend his tournament win streak to three, and his match streak to 15. Nguyen, a former Santa Barbara High School and USC standout, overcame Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki in the championship final, 7-6(8), 6-1. Watanuki has previously ousted the tournament’s top seed. Credit also to Nicholas Hu (Palo Alto) and Tyler Lu (Irvine), both quarterfinalists in Chinese Taipei.
Riley Smith (l) and Brandon Holt. Photo: C. Lee, NY Times
Turns out it was a great weekend for Trojan tennis, as USC teammates Brandon Holt (Palos Verdes) and Riley Smith (Los Alamitos) combined to win the doubles crown at Buffalo, New York over Americans Chris Eubanks and Kevin King. Eubanks and King, ironically, met in the singles final. Holt, along with Isaiah Strode (El Cajun), appeared in the Buffalo quarterfinals.
Ashley Lahey (Hawthorne) triumphed in the Sumner, SC USTA Pro Circuit event with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over countrymate Francesca DiLorenzo. It was Lahey’s fifth win of the year and sixth in her career. Ashley Kratzer (Newport Beach) and Kaitlyn Christian (Orange) both reached quarterfinal play. And in South Korea, Hanna Chang (Fontana) reached the ITF Pro Circuit quarters.
The familiar names of #TeamUSA return the Queen’s Club this week, including Steve Johnson (Redondo Beach), Sam Querrey (Santa Monica), Jared Donaldson (Irvine), and Mackenzie McDonald (Los Angeles). Taylor Fritz (Palos Verdes) will play a Challenger event in Great Britain, while Ernesto Escobedo (West Covina) looks to emerge from the qualifier in Halle, Germany.
Coco Vandeweghe (Rancho Santa Fe) heads to Birmingham, Great Britain for a WTA Premier event, while Julia Boserup (Newport Beach) and Asia Muhammad (Long Beach) will appear in an ITF Pro Circuit event across the pond.
– Darryl Nash