USTA Australian Open Wild-Card Playoff Results

Written by: Staff on 19th December 2010

USTA Australian Open Wild-Card Playoff Results |

No matter the stage, Lauren Davis always seems to come to play.

The 17-year-old from Gates Mills, Ohio, was back to her winning ways on Friday on the first day of the USTA Australian Open Wild Card Playoff being played at the Racquet Club of the South. She beat a player ranked No. 134 in the world, Jamie Hampton of Auburn, Ala., 7-5, 7-5, to advance to the semifinals and is one step closer to an invite into the main draw of the year’s first Grand Slam.

Davis was coming into the event having won 18 straight ITF junior matches – including the Dunlop Junior Orange Bowl and the Eddie Herr – and 10 consecutive Pro Circuit matches.

Davis was asked after the match if she was able to take any time off after all the recent tournaments. “I took one day off,” she said. “My legs are feeling a little bit tired. All these matches are starting to take a toll. But I think it’s just short term and then we have Christmas break so it will be fine.”

Hampton was just one of several who played Friday who has a local connection to the Atlanta area as she trains at the Olde Towne Athletic Club in nearby Marietta.

On the men’s side, Denis Kudla of Arlington, Va., beat Duluth’s Jordan Cox, 6-4, 6-3, to set up a rematch of this year’s U.S. Open Junior final on Saturday as Kudla will play Jack Sock of Lincoln, Neb. Sock, 18, beat the tournament’s top-seeded player and world-ranked No. 127^th-ranked player Donald Young of Atlanta, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4.

Patrick McEnroe, director of USTA Player Development, liked what he saw during the day. “The role of this event is to make the players earn it, that’s the bottom line,” said McEnroe. “We want to see all our kids do well, but we want them to earn it. I think the kids get better from it. Any time you’ve earned something you feel better about yourself and about the work you’ve put in.”

Said U.S. Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez: “We’ve been spoiled in this country; we’ve always had a superstar on the women’s side,” said Fernandez. “There is a big gap between the Williams sisters and the next group of players. But there is a good group here that should be able to make that push into the Top 100. We have six or seven now but we should be able to have 12 or 15 in the coming years.”

Friday’s Women’s Quarterfinals Results

Krista Hardebeck, Santa Ana, Calif., def. Irina Falconi (3), Jupiter, Fla., 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

CoCo Vandeweghe (1), Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., def. Madison Keys, Boca Raton, Fla., 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

Lauren Davis, Gates Mills, Ohio, def. Jamie Hampton (2), Auburn, Ala., 7-5, 7-5

Beatrice Capra (4), Ellicott City, Md., def. Shelby Rogers, Charleston, S.C., 6-3, 6-2

Friday’s Men’s Quarterfinals Results

Jack Sock, Lincoln, Neb., def. Donald Young (1), Atlanta, Ga., 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4

Denis Kudla, Arlington, Va., def. Jordan Cox (4), Duluth, Ga., 6-4, 6-3

Ryan Harrison (3), Cortez, Fla., def. Michael Shabaz, Fairfax, Va., 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6), 6-4

Rhyne Williams, Knoxville, Tenn., def. Timothy Smyczek (2), Hales Corner, Wisc., 6-4, 6-0

DAY 2: Saturday’s Schedule

1 p.m. Semifinals (Court 2)