Brian Cernoch of the Junior Tennis Champions Center tallied three wins this past weekend to earn a spot in the International Hard Court Championship main draw. He will square off with Alan Nunez Aguilera in the first round.
In three qualifying rounds, the imposing lefty preyed on weaknesses by seamlessly adjusting to either a finesse or power game. His booming serve and commanding forehand squashed any opponent opportunities.
Cernoch’s mental makeup does not lag far behind his advanced game. Any nerves in facing stiff competition were sufficiently shelved. In his second match, he was pitted against a 17-year-old Moroccan heavy hitter. He lost the first point then ripped off three consecutive games for the early edge. In the second frame, Cernoch was down 0-1 after an early hold. He sequestered any signs of panic and methodically secured six straight games for the win.
The 14-year-old is fresh off capturing the Gold Ball at the 14 and Under National Championships in San Antonio last week as the No. 15 seed. Cernoch carries a ten match winning streak into Monday’s contest. During the streak, he has posted a 91% (20 for 22) set winning percentage.
Cernoch joins fifteen fellow JTCC players in the main draw. First round action kicks off on Monday (start times have yet to be posted).
Boys Main Draw
-Yancy Dennis (JTCC) v. No. 10 seed Ken Onishi
-Thomas Mayronne (JTCC) v. Santiago Sierra
-Brian Tsao (JTCC) v. Adrian Mex Ortiz
-Jordi Arconada (JTCC) v. Joao Menezes
-No. 9 seed Luca Corinteli (JTCC) v. Runhao Hua
-AJ Catanzariti (JTCC) v. No. 5 seed Nicolas Jarry
-No. 15 seed Francis Tiafoe (JTCC) v. Marcelo Tebet Filho
-Sebastian Arcila (JTCC) v. Evan Zhu (JTCC)
For the complete boys main draw, click here.
Girls Main Draw
-Isabelle Boulais (JTCC) v. No. 12 seed Tornado Alicia Black
-No. 16 seed Usue Arconada (JTCC) v. Stephanie Nemtsova
-Nadia Gizdova (JTCC) v. No. 5 seed Katie Boulter
-Raveena Kingsley (JTCC) v. Terri Felming
-Ines Vias (JTCC) v. No. 9 seed Alina Silich
-Jada Robinson (JTCC) v. Elizabeth Sutherland
For the complete girls main draw, click here.