By Harvey Fialkov
VERO BEACH – On Monday when the new ATP rankings come out, Keaton Hance, a 17-year-old American, will be officially listed on the computer with many of his heroes after earning the first point of his fledgling tennis career on Wednesday.
He added another point on a breezy, hot Thursday afternoon at the Vero Beach Tennis and Fitness Club after upsetting the second-seeded Juan Carlos Aguilar of Canada, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships.
Now, for the teenage wild-card entrant it’s a matter of chasing his first pro title when he takes on qualifier, the 1298-ranked, 27-year-old Ryan Dickerson, a former Duke and Baylor University standout from Marlton, N.J., who edged sixth-seeded Romanian Sebastian Gima of Boca Raton, 7-6 (9), 3-6, 6-1.
At 5-foot-11, Hance towered over the 5-6, 26-year-old, 466th-ranked Aguilar, who has played Davis Cup for Bolivia and has been toiling in the minor leagues of tennis since he was 15. Earlier this year, Aguilar won his second ITF $15K in Jamaica.
“I’m going to get as many points as I can,’’ said Hance, who’s from Torrance, Calif., but now lives in Orlando to be near the USTA National Campus where he trains with coach Jose Caballero. “The confidence is going to go up for sure. I’ve been looking forward to getting my first ATP point for a really long time. Obviously, it’s better if I get two, but I’m going to get as many as I can when I play a Future’s event. I’m just happy to keep it rolling and play well tomorrow.”
Fellow American 16-year-old teen Jack Kennedy, the youngest player in the draw, held up his end with a 7-6 (2). 6-2 victory over the third-seeded, 29-year-old, 492nd-ranked Peter Bertran of the Dominican Republic.
It was a clean sweep for the long-time junior doubles partners as Kennedy and Hance teamed up to down fellow American teen Noah Johnston of Anderson, S.C., and Gustavo Rebeiro de Almeida of Brazil, 6-4, 7-6 (5) to reach the semifinals of doubles, too.
Kennedy had defeated Johnston in a first-round match on Wednesday. Both Johnston and de Almeida are committed to the University of Georgia in the fall.
Hance is committed to play for the University of Texas but he is leaving the door open to go professional if the results dictate that over the next six months. Because his ITF World Junior Tennis ranking soared to 23 this year, he and Kennedy (ranked 10th) will play in the main draws of the next three Grand Slam junior tournaments.
After dropping the first set, Hance, who owns a high-kicking second serve and a powerful two-handed backhand, regrouped, attributing the first set to his subpar return of Aguilar’s serve.
“I just tried to stay strong mentally and stay in the match,” said Hance, who grew up at South Bay Tennis and Pickleball Center in Torrance, Calif., her parent’s Ken and Courtney’s tennis academy. “That worked for me in the last two sets so I’m happy I stayed positive. … The confidence is there.”
Kennedy will play 23-year-old Bru Baker, who was born in Great Britain, but now lives in Boca Raton where he has dominated in the Battle of Boca weekly UTR tournaments held at South County Regional Park where renowned coach Rick Macci runs his academy while overseeing the Battle of Boca.
Baker was recently honored after winning his 11th Battle of Boca. Baker won his lone ITF $15K at Boca Raton in November 2022.
Another South Florida American teen dropped a tough second-rounder when Will Grant, 24, the seventh-seed now living in Boca Raton, and only seed remaining from the top eight, outlasted 17-year-old Ilija Palavestra of Boynton Beach, 6-4, 6-4.
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