American boys’ qualifier Devin Britton and girls’ wild-card CoCo Vandeweghe advanced to the finals of the US Open junior tournament on Saturday indoors, the first time in 16 years that an American boy and girl have made finals in the same year.
Devin Britton became the unlikeliest finalist in the tournament’s 36-year history as he came back to beat unseeded Serbian Filip Krajinovic, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, in a semifinal match played indoors 30 minutes from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at the Sound Shore Indoor Tennis Club in Port Chester, N.Y., because of rain.
Britton will play Wimbledon winner Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the final. The No. 3 seed Dimitrov beat Tsung-Hua Yang, the top-seeded player from Taipei who won the French Open juniors, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
Vandeweghe beat France’s Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 7-6 (5) and will play Venezuela’s Gabriela Paz in the final. Paz beat No. 2-seeded American Melanie Oudin, 6-4, 6-4, preventing the first all-American girls’ final since Lindsay Davenport beat Julie Steven in 1992.
The last time both an American boy and girl made the final was also 1992, when Brian Dunn won the boys’ title and Davenport the girls’ championship. Ironically, Vandeweghe is currently being coached by Davenport’s long-time mentor Robert Van’t Hof.
Both the boys’ and girls’ finals will be played Sunday at noon.
Britton called his first set on Saturday “scary,” as Krajinovic came out firing. “He was hitting all the lines by two inches,” Britton said. “He didn’t miss a shot the entire set.”
But Britton settled down and opened the second set with an important break, as both players held the rest of the set. Britton once again broke to open the third set, eventually taking a commanding 5-0 lead. He was then broken at love serving for the match. “Got a little nervous there,” he said. “Didn’t hit one first serve or make any shots that game.”
Krajinovic held his serve before Britton ended it with an emphatic ace giving him a trip to the US Open final.
Britton’s future appears bright when you consider names, like David Nalbandian (1998), Jarkko Neiminen (1999), Andy Roddick (2000), Gilles Muller (2001), Richard Gasquet (2002), Jo-Wilifried Tsonga (2003) and Andy Murray (2004) all have won US Open junior titles over the past 10 years.
What makes Britton’s final's run at the Open even more remarkable is the fact that he still has another year left in the juniors. Britton, a 17-year-old IMG Bollettieri Academy player from Jackson, Miss., has yet to make a decision about his future. “If it was Devin’s decision, he would have already turned pro,” said Britton’s mother, Cindy. “We just can’t continue with all this travel financially. We’re not sure yet what we’re going to do.”
Vandeweghe, a 16-year-old who has turned professional and played in the main draw at the Open last week, continued to serve well, playing in front of 25 friends and family members, including her uncle Kiki Vandeweghe, the former UCLA and NBA star.
She said playing indoors did affect her. “It did throw me off a bit. It was weird to look up to serve and see something, and then the next serve you’re looking into the lights. I had four or five doubles faults, which was terrible.”
Vandeweghe, who is attempting to become the first American since Tara Snyder in 1995 to win the US Open junior title, got a good look at Mladenovic’s second serve on set point and ripped a forehand down the line for a winner and spot in the final.
“I was so happy she missed her first serve. I’m a risk taker, not some backboard pusher,” she said after the match of her aggressive style of play.
She’s also calmer on the court than she used to be. “When I was younger, I broke my share of racquets,” she said. “I try to be calm and relaxed out there. I figure why waste the energy getting upset.”
Paz played Oudin tough all day, mostly earning her points on first-serve consistency and patience from the baseline all day. “I just had the attitude to go for it in the first set,” Paz said. “In the second set, I got a little tight. She plays very deep and is very consistent, so I had to wait for her to make the mistakes.”
Oudin, obviously disappointed she won’t get a shot at Vandeweghe on Sunday, had never lost to Paz. “Even though I had beaten her three times before, this is the US Open. Everyone brings their best. She was the better player today. She didn’t miss anything.”
Oudin said playing indoors didn’t affect her style of play. “We both had to play it. It was anyone’s game out there.”
