Thursday marked the opening day for the Boys’ and Girls’ 14s and 16s divisions at the Fifth Annual USTA National Doubles Championships, being hosted this year at the USTA National Campus. All four divisions saw two rounds completed, leaving the main draws at the quarterfinal stage heading into Friday.

The first of its kind, the USTA National Doubles Championships is the only junior competition devoted solely to doubles. Along with Level 1 National Ranking Points, the USTA’s prestigious Gold, Silver and Bronze Balls will be awarded to each draw’s top finishers.

Seven of the eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals in the Boys’ 14s, although the only duo not to make it successfully through was top-seeded Alex Han and Benjamin Kittay. Han and Kittay were taken out by Jonah Braswell and Bruno Kuzuhara in a first round classic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Not satisfied with the only upset in the field, Braswell and Kuzuhara swept through their second round match 6-0, 6-0. No. 5 seeds William Kesterson and Grant Lothringer were the only other seeded pair to lose a set on Thursday, having to rally back to get by Timmy Phung and Kian Vakili 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.

The Boys’ 16s draw also saw seeded tandems mostly survive day one. The top half still has all four of its seeds alive – Phillip Jordan/Andres Martin, Juan Bianchi/Quinn McLeod, Andrew Branicki/Scott Sculley and Connor Krug/Jake Krug. No. 1 seeds Jordan and Martin received a bye in the first round before posting a 6-0, 6-1 victory in round two. In the bottom half, seeded teams Huntley Allen and Justin Waldman along with Blake Kasday and Michael Safbom came through their opening matches but were not as fortunate in the round of 16. Huntley and Allen fell to Bruno and Rafael Serra 6-4, 6-2; Kasday and Safbom dropped a 7-5, 6-2 decision to Christopher Papa and Ivan Smith.

In what may have been the match of the day and could hold up as the match of the tournament, Alexis Blokhina and Juliette Finch outlasted the top-seeded duo of Charlotte Cartledge and Vanessa Mellynchuk 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(6) in Girls’ 14s action. The marathon battle was only one of four upsets scattered throughout the draw so far. Cecilia Alcobe-Garibay and Ada Jane de Alcantara raced through the final set without dropping a game against fifth seeds Santianna Chrysopoulo and Katherine Wurster. Anna Babayan and Ari Siegel were solid against No. 4 seeds Tsehay Driscoll and Ireland Simme, advancing 6-3, 6-4, while Carri Hayes and Sophie Williams triumphed over No. 5 seeds Stephanie Yakoff and Sarah Youngberg 6-2, 6-3.

Kylie Collins and Gianna Pielet, top seeds in the Girls’ 16s division, surrendered a mere two games in the two matches they played on Friday. Overall, seven seeds remain alive in the hunt for the title; the fifth-seeded pair of Casey Accola and Jamilah Snells was held off by Faatimah Bashir and Amber Fuller 6-3, 7-5 for the draw’s only upset. No. 2 seeds Carmen Corley and Chidimma Okpara were pushed the distance in their morning match, eventually winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 over Samantha Maras and Victoria-Jacynthe Oppel.

Friday’s schedule of play gets underway at 8:30 am. For complete results and updated draws from the 2017 USTA National Doubles Championships, click here.