IMG Academy’s Miomir Kecmanovic advances to Eddie Herr quarterfinals

IMG Academy’s Miomir Kecmanovic is into the quarterfinals of the Eddie Herr International Championships boys 18s after sweeping the United States’ Gianni Ross Thursday in the third round.

Kecmanovic, the tournament’s top seed who originally hails from Serbia, shook off a shaky start to win 2-0 (7-5, 6-1) at IMG. Kecmanovic will meet Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry, the No. 6 seed, at 8 a.m. in Bradenton.

Canada’s Benjamin Sigouin, the No. 2 seed in the division, also swept his way into the quarterfinals Thursday, beating the Dominican Republic’s Nick Hardt, 2-0 (6-1, 6-2).

One day after stunning top-seed Xiyu Wang in the girls 18s, Irina Cantos Siemers pulled off another upset. The unseeded German rallied with a dominant final two sets to beat No. 14 Morgan Coppoc, 2-1 (6-7, 6-0, 6-1), and reach the quarterfinals.

The girls field is even more open after Thursday. No. 3 Ellie Douglas fell to fellow American Nicole Mossmer and No. 4 Jodie-Anna Burrage fell to No. 16 Astrid Brune Olsen one day after the top two seeds both lost. Russia’s Varvara Gracheva, the No. 6 seed, is the top remaining player in the field. She faces Mossmer on Friday at approximately 9 a.m.

Saturday’s semifinals are set in boys 16s, 14s and 12s, and girls 14s and 12s. India’s Vikash Singh will meet Great Britain’s Jake Hersey and Great Britain’s Jack Draper will meet fellow countryman Anton Matusevich in the boys 16 semifinals. China’s Bu Yunchaokete, the No. 1 seed, will meet American Toby Kodat and Israel’s Alexander Gaponenko will meet American Zane Khan in the boys 14 semifinals. Victor Lilov, the top seed, will meet fellow American Jonah Braswell and Japan’s Kenta Nakamura faces South Korea’s Gunuk Kang in the boys 12 semifinals.

In the girls 14s semifinals, Gianna Pielet will face fellow American Gabriella Price and Canada’s Natasha Sengpharachanh meets Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu. In the girls 12s, Bulgaria’s Stella Peeva faces the United States’ Katrina Scott and Canada’s Dasha Plekhanova meets Russia’s Tatiana Muzykantskaya.

The girls 16s will determine its semifinalists Friday. Top-seed Eun Ji Oh from South Korea fell to American Emma Navarro, the No. 9 seed, in the third round Thursday leaving No. 4 Victoria Hu, another American, as the top remaining remaining. She faces South Korea’s Hye Ran Yun, the No. 6 seed, at 10 a.m.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 9:21 PM with the headline "IMG Academy’s Miomir Kecmanovic advances to Eddie Herr quarterfinals."