Two NorCal boys reach last 16 in Jr. Orange Bowl

Stefan Leustian, shown last year, crushed Barney Fitz-
patrick of Great Britain 6-1, 6-0 in the Junior Orange
Bowl. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two Northern Californians have reached the boys 14 round of 16 in the Junior Orange Bowl.
   No. 9 seed Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento area crushed 17th-seeded Barney Fitzpatrick of Great Britain 6-1,
6-0 today in Key Biscayne, Fla.
   Also, No. 17 Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville, between Sacramento and San Francisco, surprised No. 6 Han-chih Lin of Taiwan 6-3, 6-2.
   McDaniel is ranked sixth nationally in the 14s and Leustian eighth.
   Leustian, who won the prestigious Les Petits As (Small Champions) title in Tarbes, France, in January, will take on No. 1 Bu Yunchaokete of China. Yunchaokete saved two match points in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) victory over No. 17 Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan.
   Yunchaokete dominated Leustian 6-1, 6-2 in the boys 14 quarterfinals of the Eddie Herr International Championships on Dec. 1 in Bradenton, Fla.
   McDaniel, the runner-up in the NorCal Sectional 14s in Sacramento in June, will face No. 9 Spencer Brachman of Commack, N.Y. Brachman eliminated Peter Alam of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4.
   McDaniel, 14, is playing in his first Junior Orange Bowl
   "My level has been rising and I've been playing in bigger and bigger tournaments and having better results throughout the year," McDaniel, who will begin training part-time at the new USTA center in Orlando, Fla., next month, told Zoo Tennis. "I wanted to get a taste of what international was like, so we came here for the experience, to see what the top players around the world are like, to see what I need to go back and work on."
   Mayo named -- Aidan Mayo, 13, of Roseville in the Sacramento region and three other American boys were chosen to play in next month's Nike International in Bolton, England, and Les Petits As.
   Also picked were Toby Kodat and Martin Damm of Bradenton and Alexander Bernard of Naples, Fla. Damm's father, a Czech also named Martin, won the 2006 U.S. Open men's doubles title with Leander Paes of India and peaked at No. 5 in the world in doubles in 2007.
   Mayo's brother, Keenan, reached the quarterfinals of the 14s in Les Petits A's two years ago.
   Past winners of Les Petits As, for 12- to 14-year-olds, include Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.