Tournament Feature
Antonius Makes Triumphant Return to USTA Nationals
by Rhiannon Potkey, 18 July 2025
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Before this month, Michael Antonius hadn’t played a USTA national event since the Boys 12s Easter Bowl in 2022. His return netted the same result–a gold ball.
The top-seeded Antonius defeated No. 9 Benjamin Saltman 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the USTA Boys 18 National Clay Court Championships at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Florida.
Michael Antonius Captured the Boys 18s Singles Title
© Contributed Photo
“It feels great just to be able to have the first L1 back that I play to win,” said Antonius, a blue chip rising sophomore from Buffalo, New York. “It feels crazy, though. Going into the week, I was just trying to take it one match at a time, so I feel proud of myself for staying focused on that until the end.”
Antonius’ return to the major USTA summer national tournaments was guided by his coach.
“He kind of makes the schedule,” the 15-year-old Antonius said. “I think for him, Clay Courts was a big draw because there's so many matches with the consolation (bracket). So no matter how I did, there were going to be matches. That was the main priority, because we did a training block for a month in Orlando the week before and I wanted to use the skills I've worked on and incorporate them into the matches.”
Antonius largely dominated throughout at Clays, losing only 20 total games in his seven matches. The biggest deficit he faced was rallying from down 4-1 in the Round of 32 to beat No. 33 Jesse Yang 6-4, 6-1.
“It was hot outside there, so I really tried to waste as minimal energy on court as possible, just becauseI felt if I was gonna lose focus then that would just come back to haunt me in the matches,” Antonius said. “I felt like I was very focused throughout and did a good job staying up and keeping the lead and not ever letting it up.”
In the semifinals, Antonius beat Nicholas Mekhael 6-1, 6-1 while Saltman beat No. 4 Yashwin Krishnakumar 6-3, 6-2.
Antonius considered Saltman, a blue chip rising senior from Winter Haven, Florida, the “best defender and mover” of all his opponents in the tournament. He based his strategy in the final with that knowledge in mind.
“Knowing it was so hot, I felt like my main goal was to just keep him moving, even though I know his defense is good. I wanted to try to keep him on the defense and play one ball at a time and not rush anything, because it was so hot. I thought maybe he's gonna get a little exhausted. He took a medical timeout at one point. When he did that, I was like, ‘Oh, I think the strategy is working.’”
Having been raised in Buffalo, Antonius didn’t have much experience on clay until he began training at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida in 2022.
“That has really helped me,” he said. “Over the last few years, I feel like my game style now suits hard courts and clay very well compared to just hard courts before.”
After his win, Antonius returned home to Buffalo to prepare for an ITF M15 event this week in Rochester, New York. He plans to play USTA Hard Courts in the Boys 16s division next month in hopes of adding another gold ball to his collection.
“I think I have a good chance. I know I can beat anybody there. I just need to not rush it,” he said. “Because, just like before this tournament, I was thinking my level is good enough to beat all the opponents. But I can’t try to win the tournament in one day. I just need to be consistent and not overdo anything.”
Doubles
The final match between No. 6 Yashwin Krishnakumar and Joseph Nau and Sawyer and Sutton Severance was ruled incomplete with Krishnakumar and Nau leading 6-4, 1-0.
Other Results
Singles Playoff 3-4: Nicholas Mekhael def. Yashwin Krishnakumar 6-3, 6-2
Singles Consolation: Sutton Severance def. Carson Dwyer 6-4, 7-6(7)
Doubles Playoff 3-4: Anthony Dry/Joaquin Blanco won the first set 6-2 and were trailing Agassi Rusher/Nicholas Mekhael 3-2 in the second set when the match was ruled incomplete.
Bringing It Home - Girls 18s
We close things out this afternoon with a look at the Girls 18s from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina - as TRN continues with our exclusive coverage of Clay Court Championship Week.
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
rhiannon@tennisrecruiting.net.
