Never has the Palisades Tennis Center had a stronger junior program than it does right now and nowhere is that more evident than at the big tournaments. Picking up where they left off in 2008, local players rang in the New Year with strong showings at this year’s annual Copper Bowl in Tucson, Arizona. Thousands of the best young tennis players in the United States and around the world participated in last weekend’s event–one of the most prestigious on the USTA’s junior circuit. Rain delayed the completion of some divisions but couldn’t wash away the accomplishments of the PTC contingent. Since there was no 10-and-under draw, PTC’s youngest crop of players, including 8-year-old Roscoe Bellamy and 9-year-old Harry Cohen, had to play “up” in the Boys 12s division. Despite competing against older and stronger players, the two Palisadians advanced deep into their respective brackets. In his first match, Cohen turned in the performance of his life against David Laschuk, a highly regarded player hailing from Edmonton, Alberta. Cohen resembled a human backboard, returning every shot and pouncing on every short ball to keep his Canadian opponent pinned to the baseline with a constant stream of deep, topspin groundstrokes. Laschuk couldn’t match Cohen’s consistency and lost, 6-2, 6-1. Cohen also took out Ryan Beyer of Denver before losing to one of the top seeds, Chase Colton of David City, Florida. In another quarter of the Boys 12s singles, Bellamy beat Jayanth Chintham of Cumming, Georgia, in the first round, then lost just three games in eliminating Kevin Rems of South Plainfield, New Jersey before falling to Adam Eliget from Summerville, South Carolina. At press time, doubles partners Alex Giannini and Robbie Bellamy were still alive in the Boys 14s singles division after each posted notable early round victories. So far, Giannini has knocked off Jason Haugen of Austin, Texas (6-4, 6-2); Andrew Harrington of Millersville, Maryland (6-2, 6-0); Adam Liu of Birmingham, Alabama (6-2, 6-4) and David Crisovan of Hallandale Beach, Florida (6-3, 6-1). Bellamy, meanwhile, outlasted Grant Riechmann of Houston, Texas in a tough first-rounder, rallying for a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 victory. He then beat Matt Sayre of Denver (7-6, 6-3) before dispatching Brady Strauss of Richmond, Virginia in another marathon, fighting off four match points in the second set to win 11-9 in a tiebreaker and going on to prevail 1-6, 7-6, 6-4. Bellamy showed no signs of being tired in his next match, sweeping Sweden’s Benjamin Hartman, who trains at the Evert Academy in Florida. Giannini and Bellamy are trying to become the No. 1 doubles team in the nation in their age group this year–a realistic goal given that they beat some of the top duos in the country last year. Both boys plan on playing for Palisades High next year. In the Boys 16s singles, former PaliHi No. 1 player Brett Alchorn kept his tournament toughness intact by knocking out Will Stein of Argyle, Texas (6-2, 4-6, 6-2) and 23rd-seeded Jon Leonik of Bradenton Florida (6-7, 6-2, 6-4). Alchorn eventually lost to the No. 5 seed, Mat Alves from Gold River, California, 5-7, 7-5, 3-6. Also in the Boys 16s, PaliHi’s Oliver Thornton took out Scott Bohne of Highland, Utah, 6-4, 6-3, before losing to 13th-seeded Alex Friedlich from Great Neck, New York, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6.
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