The opening day of play at the 2019 USTA Florida Doubles Spring Challenge, held at the USTA National Campus, wrapped up Saturday evening. 

In the boys' 12 divisions, the top three seeds cruised into the quarterfinals while No. 4 seeds Max Goldemberg (Miami Beach) and Benjamin Saltman (Winter Haven) were edged out by Maddox Bose (Winter Haven) and Nicholas Rizzo (Sarasota) in the second round by the thinnest of margins, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4. Meanwhile, the seeds did hold up in the boys' 14s draw, as seven of the eight favored duos advanced to the quarterfinal round with straight-set victories; only No. 5 seeds Pierce Garbett (Coral Gables) and Benjamin Willwerth (Jupiter) were extended to a match tiebreak, where they bested Simon Delgadillo (Davie) and Miles Fix (Boca Raton) 1-6, 6-2, 10-7.

It was a challenging day for the seeded tandems in the boys' 16s. Top seeds Sami Ozzor (Daytona Beach) and Ryan Rajakar (Nokomis) needed two tiebreaks to get past Luis Fernandez (Doral) and Peyton Williams (Weston), going along with No. 5 seeds Dylan Chang (Miami) and Yair Gritzman (Boca Raton) plus No. 6 seeds Corey Craig (Coconut Creek) and Aidan Pack (Palm Beach Gardens) being extended to a match tiebreak. In the end, only the third-seeded team of Logan Haga (Zephyrhills) and Ty Rothchild (Tampa) suffered defeat, falling 1-6, 6-4, 10-7 to Spencer Dorosheff (High Springs) and Andres Escalona (Weston). For the boys' 18s results, three of the seeds make quick work of their lone matches on Saturday; however, No. 2 seeds Nicholas Cabrera (Weston) and Andres Golindano (Plantation) did stumble versus Jonathan Judy-Hansen (Zephyrhills) and Connor Molina (Lithia) in a tight 6-4, 4-6, 10-8 contest.

In girls' 12s action, the quartet of seeds booked a spot in the quarterfinals in commanding fashion, with just one of the eight sets involving a seeded team getting closer than 6-3. While mostly the same story in the girls' 14s, the seventh-seeded pairing of Aida Eissa (Palm Beach Gardens) and Jordan Fenton (Biscayne Park) was taken out by Valeria Escalona (Weston) and Isabella Ochoa (Southwest Ranches) 6-2, 6-4 to go along with No. 8 seeds Michaela Landry (Fort Lauderdale) and Juhnyee See (Coconut Creek) being pushed to a match tiebreak.

The girls' 16s seeded owned the day, but that was nearly ruined in the opening round, as top seeds Paige Herremans (Orlando) and Emma Fernald (Saint Petersburg) held off Donatella Guarnieri (Orlando) and Joselyne Chapui (Sunrise) 6-3, 5-7, 10-5. In the other seven matches involving seeds, the favored tandems lost a mere 20 games. For the girls' 18s draw, No. 2 seeds Natalie Block (Plantation) and Lara Smejkal (Boca Raton) fought off eliminaion versus Anique Kattenberg (Satellite Beach) and Samantha Maras (Lake Mary) 6-1, 1-6, 12-10. The four seeds Alexis Blokhina (Plantation) and Casey Accola (Winter Garden) also had to rally past Imani Graham (Saint Johns) and Ellie Schoppe (Stuart) 2-6, 6-2, 10-4.

For more information on the 2019 USTA Florida Doubles Spring Challenge, click here.