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KALAMAZOO, Mich. - When Learner Tien defeated Trevor Svajda 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 to capture his second consecutive Kalamazoo 18s title at Stowe Stadium, his reaction provided a glimpse of how different the circumstances were from his surprising run to the title in 2022.
Singles Champion Learner Tien
© Zoo Tennis
After defeating Ethan Quinn in a four-set, four-hour Monday final as the No. 8 seed last year, Tien appeared tired and dazed, still processing a championship run that had included saving four match points in the round of 16.
This year, as the top seed, with an appearance in the Australian Open boys final, a Roland Garros boys semifinal, a semester at USC and his first USTA Pro Circuit titles this summer, Tien celebrated his second gold ball with countless photos, several interviews, a lengthy autograph-signing session, not to mention his first serving of blueberries and cream.
That's not to imply that Tien rolled to the title this year. The 17-year-old left-hander was down a set and a break to 2022 Kalamazoo 16s champion Darwin Blanch, the No. 6 seed and a fellow Roland Garros semifinalist, before rebounding for a tense 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 victory.
His 6-2, 7-5 semifinal win over No. 5 seed Cooper Williams, delayed three hours by rain, assured that he would return to New York for the US Open, but securing the men's qualifying wild card that goes to the 18s finalist wasn't on his mind.
"I think I was able to treat it as just another match," said the Irvine, California resident, who turned pro earlier this summer. "I was able to do that pretty well, being in the same position last year. From having to warm up indoors, playing on the same court as last year against Marty[Damm], the rain delays, going in and out, it was reminiscent of last year. But it's all things I have fond memories of, so I was able to kind of follow the same routine."
Svajda had no memories from 2022, as the 17-year-old from San Diego was making his Kalamazoo debut, although his brother Zachary's back-to-back 18s titles in 2019 and 2021 certainly provided an aspect of familiarity to his first experience at the USTA National Championships.
The No. 10 seed, Svajda announced himself as a title contender with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 4 seed Aidan Kim, a rising freshman at Florida, in the round of 16. After a three-and-a-half hour 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3 quarterfinal battle with No. 16 seed and 2021 16s finalist Lucas Brown, a redshirt freshman at Texas, Svajda played his best match of the tournament, defeating Stanford rising sophomore and No. 2 seed Nishesh Basavareddy 7-6(3), 6-1 in the semifinals.
Svajda's semifinal level didn't translate to the final, which was played under partly cloudy skies, comfortable temperatures and decreasing winds.
In a best-of-five set match, the first game of the match is rarely significant, but Tien said he drew an important conclusion from breaking Svajda in that game.
"I was trying to make him really work for points," Tien said. "I won't go really into too much detail, but in the first game, I broke him after two deuces and he hit six winners that game, I think. So I was trying to make him really earn his points, not giving him free points. In such a long match, if his only way winning points was hitting winners, it would be tough for him to win."
Svajda had game points in all three of his service games in the opening set, but Tien was able to use a combination of defense and offense, extending rallies on key points, which often resulted in an error from Svajda.
"Yeah, he destroyed me in the first set," said Svajda, who was playing his first tournament that required a plane trip. "I thought I was pretty close in the games on my serve—I think it was deuce in those games—but on game points, I think I was really tight."
Svajda relaxed in the second set, and although he dropped the first game on serve again, he dug in, broke back and held for 2-1. Tien continued to keep the pressure on Svajda's serve however, and after another break for a 4-2 lead, he held his next two service games to take the second set 6-4.
Down two sets, Svajda faced the nearly impossible task of taking the next three from the defending champion, who was determined not to let the match get away from him, as he nearly had last year against Quinn.
Singles Finalist Zachary Svajda
© Zoo Tennis
"I was able to close it out without letting it really slip like last year, when I had match points and lost the set," Tien said. "This year was a little bit more straightforward, still a tough match, still had some moments when there was some uncertainty, especially in the third."
Up 3-1 in the third set, Tien lost his break, but Svajda couldn't take advantage of the lapse, losing the next game to fall behind again. Tien lost his next service game to make it 4-all, but Svajda put an end to any possible repeat of Tien's hiccup in 2022 by losing his next service game after leading 40-0.
The Stowe Stadium crowd, torn between the familiar and popular defending champion, who they had seen compete last year, and the underdog with the family connection, who they were watching for the first time, might have wanted to see more tennis, but Tien was not interested in any of the drama that he had endured last year. He closed out the match, fittingly with a forehand winner, on his first match point.
Tien said he was more secure than he had been in 2022 when facing the loss of the third set.
"I was able to use my experience from last year, having played two three-out-of-five matches, and that gave me a little more confidence that if it went the distance, I would probably have the edge," Tien said. "It's weird saying, because I've only played two of them, but I think I had a little more faith in myself that I'd be able to last in a longer match, and I think that really helped."
Svajda said he knew better than to think about the mountain to climb, and focused instead on winning points and games, but Tien made that difficult.
"I wasn't playing the best, my forehand and backhand line was missing a lot today, and it just felt off," said Svajda, who received a US Open men's qualifying wild card and a US Open junior wild card as the 18s finalist. "It was a tough one, because he was just staying solid; he really didn't have any bad games."
Tien now heads back to New York, armed with a different perspective on playing in the main draw of the US Open.
"I'll be more familiar with the place, with the setting," said Tien, who lost to No. 32 seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round. "Last year, I was in awe of everything once I got there. It was just my second grand slam, my first men's grand slam and it was an eye-opening experience for me last year. I got sick last year as well, so I'm going to try to keep myself a little more healthy."
Tien, who is coached by Eric Diaz of Tier 1 Performance in Newport Beach, will return to Irvine before heading to New York.
Tien, the fourth player this century to repeat as 18s champion, reflected on his performance in Kalamazoo since losing in the round of 16 as the No. 3 seed in the 2021 16s division.
"It does feel like a long time ago, which it kind of is and kind of isn't," said Tien, who won the Feed-in consolation title that year, so now has a 19-match winning streak at Kalamazoo. "Tournaments like that, where I think I underperformed, were necessary for me. They were stepping stones; I wouldn't have started putting in the extra effort, extra time, if I hadn't had disappointing tournaments like that; they were essential for me to reach this point."
Although Svajda fell a match short in his quest for a US Open main draw wild card, the doubles champions, making their debut as a team, finished their Cinderella story with the title and the wild card. No. 7 seeds Adhithya Ganesan and Alexander Frusina saved a match point, beating No. 3 seeds Basavareddy and Kyle Kang 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(6) in the final.
Doubles Champions Alexander Frusina & Adhithya Ganesan
© Zoo Tennis
With Ganesan serving at 5-6 in the tiebreaker, he missed his first serve, elevating the tension to its peak. But Ganesan got the second serve in, and after his rally with Kang, eventually drew a forehand error.
"He hit a great second serve, played some really good backhands cross and stayed really disciplined," said Frusina, a 17-year-old from Conroe, Texas. "Fortunately we had that point go our way, with Kyle's forehand sailing long. Major credit to [Ganesan], because I didn't get a look on that point. He saved our tournament for sure."
Ganesan and Frusina, who beat top seeds and Australian Open boys champions Williams and Tien 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals, knew each other, had played each other, and had occasionally trained together at USTA Player Development in Lake Nona, but were not sure what kind of a fit they would be on the doubles court.
"I just contacted him randomly, and he agreed to play," said Frusina. "We came here but obviously didn't expect much, just came out swinging, stayed really loose throughout the tournament, and I think that's why we gave ourselves the best chance to succeed."
Basavareddy and Kang took control of the second set early and went up 3-1 in the third, but could not hold the lead. They did save a match point on a deciding point at 4-5, but could not replicate their level in the second set in the tiebreaker.
"We lost the second 6-1, were down 3-1 in the third, but I got two doubles[from Kang] and I hit one good return," said Ganesan, a 17-year-old from Clarksburg, Maryland, who begins his freshman year at Cornell in a few weeks. "But after we got the break, it was time to refocus and regroup, and we got through it."
Ganesan and Frusina are understandably excited about the prospect of competing in the main draw of the US Open later this month.
"Growing up an American player, it's obviously a dream, since I was super young, to play in the US Open," Frusina said. "Ultimate goal is someday maybe to win it, but now, it's just an opportunity. I'm not sure if we've even processed it yet. I'm definitely looking forward to it, and I think we're both going to have an experience of a lifetime."
Nicholas Godsick and Aidan Kim took third place doubles, with Williams and Tien opting not to play.
Third place and the accompanying USTA bronze ball in singles went to Basavareddy, via a walkover from Williams.
Fifth place went to Matthew Forbes, who defeated William Manning 2-6, 7-5, 10-6 in the Feed-In consolation final.
Tien received the Allen B. Stowe Sportsmanship trophy for 18s, while another 18s competitor, Dylan Tsoi, received the tournament's third sportsmanship trophy, the Wes Richards Feed-In award.
Next Up - Girls 18s
This afternoon we wrap up our article series with a look at the Girls 18 Nationals. Come back later today for that article - and check out any other articles you might have missed - - as TRN brings you exclusive coverage of Championship Week.
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About Colette Lewis
Colette Lewis
has covered topflight U.S. and international junior
events as a freelance journalist for over a decade.
Her work has appeared in
Tennis magazine, the
Tennis
Championships magazine and the US Open program. Lewis is active on
Twitter,
and she writes a weekly column right here at TennisRecruiting.net.
She was named
Junior Tennis Champion
for 2016 by Tennis Industry Magazine.
Lewis, based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has seen every National
Championship final played since 1977, and her work on the
tournament's ustaboys.com website
led her to establish
ZooTennis,
where she comments on junior and college tennis daily.
