MAIN DRAW IN FULL SWING AT CHILDHELP DESERT CLASSIC BENEFITTING CHILDHELP MERV GRIFFIN VILLAGE

Written by: Staff on 9th February 2012

MAIN DRAW IN FULL SWING AT CHILDHELP DESERT CLASSIC BENEFITTING CHILDHELP MERV GRIFFIN VILLAGE |

Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2012) – After winning three qualifying matches to reach the main draw, American Alexandra Kiick continued her winning ways on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 2 seed Olga Puchkova of Russia at the Childhelp Desert Classic pro tennis tournament benefitting Childhelp Merv Griffin Village in nearby Beaumont, Calif.

The tournament is a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger that is taking place at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage. Qualifying for the tournament took place Sunday, Monday and Tuesday while main draw matches began Tuesday, February 7. Admission is free to the tournament, which is being co-chaired by Jackie Cooper and Lornie Kuhle.

The 16-year-old Kiick, who began training in the fall at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., plans on playing a total of 15 pro and junior events in 2012 per ITF rules to elevate her game. Kick has won all four matches at the Childhelp Desert Classic in two sets. “I thought I’ve been doing a good job of staying aggressive and that’s something I’ve been working on,” Kiick said.

Kiick’s coach, Troy Hahn, has seen her game progress since she began training at the USTA facility. “She’s playing good-disciplined matches and is being smart with her shot selections and that’s a big reason for her success,” Hahn said. “Our mindset is to get better with each match and part of doing that is using the whole court, being smart with angles and getting the ball at the right height.”

Fellow American Krista Hardebeck, who reached the girls’ singles semifinals at the 2012 Australian Open, rallied to defeat USC All-American Maria Sanchez 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round of the main draw. Hardebeck, who will play collegiately at Stanford University this upcoming fall, also beat Sanchez in October in three sets. “It was a tough match but after losing the first set I just kept my focus,” Hardebeck said. “I rallied back to beat her once so I knew I could do it again.”

Lauren Davis, the No. 8 seed who won the 2011 USTA Girls’ 18 National Championships, also advanced with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Giola Barbieri of Italy. In the match of the day, American Nicole Melichar rallied to defeat Jovana Jaksic of Serbia 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-5 in a three-hour match.

Other seeded players who won on Wednesday included No. 5 Lina Stanciute and No. 6 Lenka Wienerova.

For information on contributions to Childhelp, e-mail tournament director Lornie Kuhle at EKuhle@aol.com.

Wednesday’s results from the Childhelp Desert Classic.

USTA Women’s $25,000 Pro Circuit event at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.

Singles draw – 32

Doubles draw – 16

Surface: Hard court

Wednesday, February 8 – RESULTS

Singles – Main Draw

Zuzana Zlochova, Slovakia, def. Amra Sadikovic (4) Switzerland, 6-3, 7-5.

Zuzana Luknarova, Slovakia, def. Romana Tedjakusuma, Indonesia, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(1).

Elizaveta Ianchuk, Ukraine, def. Romana Caroline Tabak, Slovakia, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Yi-Fan Xu, China, def. Elixane Lechemia, France, 6-4, 6-2.

Lenka Wienerova (6), Slovakia, def. Lauren Marker, 6-1, 6-1.

Lauren Davis (8), USA, def. Giola Barbieri, Italy, 6-0, 6-2.

Lina Stanciute (5), Lithuania, def. Chen Liang, China, 6-4, 6-2.

Alexandra Kiick, USA, def. Olga Puchkova (2), Russia, 6-4, 6-3.

Krista Hardebeck, USA, def. Maria Sanchez, USA, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Johanna Konta, Australia, def. Nastassja Burnett (3), Italy, 6-4, 6-3.

Valeria Solovieva, Russia, def. Irina Buryachok (7), Ukraine, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-0.

Nicole Melichar, USA, def. Jovana Jaksic, Serbia, 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-5.

Doubles – Main Draw

Amanda Fink/Elizabeth Lumpkin def. Desirae Krawczyk/Lauren Marker, 6-4, 6-2.

Chen Liang/Jing-Jing Lu (2) def. Roxanne Ellison/Sierra Ellison, 6-1, 6-3.

Ekaterine Gorgodze/Sofia Shapatava def. Irina Buryachok/Elizaveta Ianchuk (4), 6-1, 6-4.

Giola Barbieri/Zuzana Luknarova def. Lina Stanciute/Romana Caroline Tabak, 7-5, 7-6(6).

Thursday’s February 9 – SCHEDULE

Court 1 – starting at 9 a.m.

Valeria Solovieva vs. Krista Hardebeck followed by

Nicole Melichar vs. Alexandra Kiick followed by

Lauren Davis (8) vs. Heidi El Tabakh followed by

Amanda Fink/Elizabeth Lumpkin vs. Chen Liang/Jing-Jing Lu (2)

Court 2 – starting at 9 a.m.

Yi-Fan Xu vs. Lenka Wienerova (6) followed by

Claire Feuerstein (1) vs. Jing-Jing Lu followed by

Zuzana Zlochova vs. Elizaveta Ianchuk followed by

Valeria Solovieva/Lenka Wienerova (3) vs. Katerina Kramperova/Nicole Melichar

Court 4 – starting at 9 a.m.

Amanda Fink vs. Lina Stanciute (5) followed by

Zuzana Luknarova vs. Johanna Konta followed by

Amra Sadikovic/Maria Sanchez vs. Anamika Bhargava/Sylvia Krywacz followed by

Zuzana Luknarova/Giola Barbieri vs. Ekaterine Gorgodze/Sofia Shapatava

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