SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD SIEM WOLDEAB ADVANCES TO FOURTH
ROUND AT USTA NATIONAL OPEN HARD COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Top Women’s Seed Jessica Failla Moves Into Third Round

SAN DIEGO – (May 29, 2019) – Second-seeded Siem Woldeab continued to impress fans at the Balboa Tennis Club with his aggressive play and hard-hitting groundstrokes as the 17-year-old from La Mesa, Calif., prevailed over unseeded Campbell Johnson of Del Mar, Calif., 6-1, 6-3 to reach the fourth-round of the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships.

Woldeab, who is wrapping up his senior year at Helix High School, is currently ranked No. 21 in the Boys’ 18s national singles rankings and will play collegiate tennis for the University of Texas beginning this fall.

The talented teenager will have a tough test in his next match when he takes on ninth-seeded Shervin Dehmoubed of Cardiff, Calif., on Thursday at 10 a.m.

“I really like these courts. When I was younger, I used to come out here and train all the time, so it’s nice to play in front of the hometown people that I know,” Woldeab said after his third-round victory. “I played pretty solid. Hopefully I can serve a little better tomorrow. It was a lot of fun.”

When asked what he hopes to accomplish this week, Woldeab responded, “I’m hoping to win the tournament. I know it’s going to be tough. Obviously, there is a ton of good competition in this tournament. If I win it, it would be cool to do it in front of all the people who are always there for me. It would be really nice. It would mean a lot.  That’s my goal coming into this week.”

Top-seeded Isaiah Strode of El Cajon, Calif., also advanced to the fourth round as he eliminated 17th seeded Derek Miller of San Diego 6-3, 6-2.  Strode, a touring tennis professional who competes on the USTA Pro Circuit, will meet unseeded Joseph Corse of Murrieta, Calif., on Thursday at 10 a.m.

Top women’s seed Jessica Failla (FAY-LA) of Ramona, Calif., played her first match of the tournament and advanced to the third-round. She got past unseeded Deja Brown of El Cajon, Calif., 6-3, 6-1 in a late afternoon match. Failla, who won the singles title in 2016, will face unseeded Maika Adair of San Diego on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

To view updated tournament draws for each division, click here.

Matches will begin each day at 9 a.m., through Saturday, June 1. Matches on Sunday, June 2 will start at 11 a.m.  Admission for spectators is free and open to the public. On-site parking is free.

The champions in each division will be awarded a USTA gold ball, while the runner-up receive a USTA silver ball. There will also be a 3rd/4th place playoff for the USTA bronze ball.  Prize money will be distributed to both finalists as well as third and fourth place finishers in each division.

The USTA National Open Hard Court Championships was voted “Tournament of the Year” in 2011 by the San Diego District Tennis Association. The event has had several distinguished past champions and participants. U.S. Davis Cup star Jack Sock, who reached a career-high No. 8 in the ATP Tour singles rankings in 2017, won the Men’s Singles Championship in 2010. Coco Vandeweghe, a semifinalist at the 2017 Australian Open and US Open, earned a USTA bronze ball at the 2007 Hard Court Championships. Former WTA touring professionals Gretchen Rush and Ros Nideffer won the Women’s Open Doubles title seven times, while Allison Bradshaw captured the Women’s Open Singles title in 2007.

Route 6 Café, featuring breakfast burritos, sandwiches, specialty coffee, smoothies, drinks and snacks, will be in operation at the Balboa Tennis Club during the tournament from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The 2019 USTA National Open Hard Court Championships are sponsored by United States Tennis Association, San Diego District Tennis Association,  CH Court Tech, Collins Company, San Diego Aviators, Kashi, Cameo Janitorial, Martinis Above Fourth | Table + Stage, Wilson and Graphic Interfaces.

Men’s Singles
Third Round
Isaiah Strode (1), El Cajon, def. Derek Miller (17), San Diego, 6-3, 6-2
Siem Woldeab (2), La Mesa, def. Campbell Johnson, Del Mar, 6-1, 6-3
Joseph Corse, Murrieta, Calif., def. Alex Bose (9), Winter Haven, Fla., 6-3, 6-1
Bradley Frye (9), Overland Park, Kan., def. Mohanad Alhouni (17), Minneapolis, 6-1, 6-4
Ed Nava (4), Woodland Hills, Calif., def. Jared Thompkins (17), San Diego, 6-3, ret. (ill)
Nicholas Borchenko (9), Sherman Oaks, Calif., def. Navin Marimuthu, Billings, Mont., 6-3, 6-3
Emmanuel Mensah (5), Chula Vista, def. Thiago Barbosa (17), Glendale, Ariz., 6-0, 6-4
Marco Alvarez (17), Chula Vista, def. Hector Lutteroth, San Diego, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
Sebastian Bader (17), Del Mar, def. Zachary Smith (9), New Orleans, 6-1, 6-1
Brandon Lam (5), Westlake Village, Calif., def. Kaptan Kaster (17), Alpine, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Diego Nava (9), Woodland Hills, Calif., def. Christopher Rosensteel (17), Ewing, N.J., 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Oleksiy Arovin (3), Redmond, Wash., def. Elijah Strode (17), El Cajon, 7-6 (0), 6-2
Matthew Sah (17), San Diego, def. Fabian Roensdorf (9), San Diego, walkover (injury)
Ivan Smith (17), Chula Vista, def. Miguel Cuevas, San Diego, 6-1, 6-0
Shervin Dehmoubed (9), Cardiff, def. Kyler Jirasook (17), Walnut, Calif., 6-4, 6-2

Women’s Singles
Second Round
Jessica Failla (1), Ramona, def. Deja Brown, El Cajon, 6-3, 6-1
Maika Adair, San Diego, def. Sooni Seul, El Centro, Calif., 6-0, 6-0
Britt Pursell (5), Oceanside, def. Jacqueline Payne, Houston, 6-2, 6-1
Jessica Warren, Culver City, Calif., def. Michelle Okhremchuk, San Diego, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
Cydnee Wilkinson, Washington, Utah, def. Nnena Nadozie (3), Moreno Valley, Calif., 6-4, 6-1
Rachel Janssen, Dallas, def. Amanda Letzring, San Diego, 7-5, 7-6 (4)
Avery Aude, Woodland Hills, Calif., def. Julia Haynes (5), San Diego, 5-0, ret. (ill)
Caraline Scheufler, Gulf Breeze, Fla., def. Samantha Vandercreek, Las Vegas, withdrew
Hiromi Sasano, San Diego, def. Shatoo Mohamad, El Cajon, 7-5, 6-3
Midori Castillo (5), Bonita, def. Tatiana Betancourt, Covina, Calif., 6-0, 6-2
Gavriella Smith, New Orleans, def. Camille Kiss (4), Redlands, Calif., 6-4, 6-3
Taylor Le Fridge, Corona, Calif., def. Maya Roderick, Tempe, Ariz., 6-1, 6-1
Amy Huang (5), San Diego, def. Carlota Le Fon, San Diego, 6-1, 6-1
Maya Pitts (2), Los Angeles, def. Keira Jirasook, Walnut, Ca., 6-2, 6-1

For complete tournament results, click here.