The 15-year-old high school sophomore Julieta Pareja is making a name for herself in New York. The young American passed two qualifying rounds at the US Open, moving a win away from becoming the first player born in 2009 with a main draw appearance at Majors.
Pareja clinched her first professional title at the W15 Rancho Santa Fe event in June, presenting her skills and talent and repeating that at the US Open. Julieta started her first US Open against world no. 166 Kayla Day, scoring a 7-6, 6-4 victory in an hour and 45 minutes on Court 7.
The young gun took charge on the second serve return, taking almost half of the return points and delivering five breaks from seven opportunities. Julieta denied five of nine break chances, prevailing in the pivotal moments and moving into the second round.
Pareja dropped serve two times at the beginning of the duel, falling 4-1 behind. The young gun stepped in and claimed the next three games in style, pulling the break back in game seven and locking the result at 4-4.
Julieta held at love in game ten and delivered a break in the next one, moving 6-5 up and serving for the opener.
Kayla broke back at love in the 12th game, extending the battle and introducing a tie break. Julieta trailed 5-4 before taking three straight points, clinching the breaker 7-5 and gaining a boost. They served well in the opening six games of the second set, staying neck and neck.
Day grabbed a break in the seventh game, moving in front and looking good to force a decider. However, the young gun showed her resilience, pulling the break back in game eight and sealing the deal with another at 5-4. Julieta faced world no.
164 Lucrezia Stefanini in the second round and prevailed 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 in two hours and 43 minutes, booking a place in the final qualifying round. The more experienced player claimed ten points more than the young gun thanks to a dominant performance in the second set.
The Italian stole 47% of the return points and turned them into six breaks from ten chances.
15-year-old Julieta Pareja scored two wins in the US Open qualifying draw.
Pareja kept fighting after the second set, delivering four breaks from eight opportunities and emerging at the top.
Stefanini made a reliable start, missing break points in the second game of the encounter before breaking the young gun in game four for 3-1. Julieta found the rhythm behind the initial shot and extended the set with a break at 3-5.
They served well in the final three games to introduce a tie break, and the American clinched it 7-4 with three mini-breaks. Pareja lost the ground in the second set, suffering four breaks and allowing Stefanini to clinch the set 6-1 and gain a boost ahead of the decider.
Lucrezia extended her streak and led 2-0 before Julieta bounced back, earning four straight games and opening a 4-2 gap. The young gun held in game eight for 5-3 and earned two match points on the return in the next one. Stefanini saved them before Pareja sealed the deal with a fine hold in game ten, moving into the final qualifying round.
The 15-year-old will seek a place in the main draw against Kimberly Birrell.
The 29-year-old Australian ousted Robin Montgomery and Veronika Erjavec for a place in the final qualifying round.
Birrell and Montgomery battled for nearly three hours, and the Aussie prevailed 7-6, 4-6, 6-2. Kimberly wasted her chances on the return in the closing stages of the opening set and faced two set points in the tenth game. She saved them, introduced a tie break and claimed it 7-4 after nearly 70 minutes.
Montgomery secured three breaks in the second set, opening a 5-2 lead and closing it on her serve in the tenth game to force a decider. Birrell made a fresh start in the final set, providing two breaks and forging a 4-0 advantage.
The Aussie held in game seven and sealed the deal with another break in the next one that carried her through. Kimberly met Veronika Erjavec in the second round and earned a solid 6-4, 6-4 triumph in an hour and 25 minutes, setting the clash against Julieta Pareja.
The Aussie outplayed her opponent behind the first and second serve, dropping serve once and delivering four breaks from seven chances offered to her rival. Birrell produced five fine holds in the first set, keeping the pressure on the other side.
Kimberly broke in the third game and built an early advantage. She held in the next four games, clinching the opener 6-4. Birrell broke at love in the first game of the second set and missed more chances at 2-0. Veronika pulled the break back in game four for 2-2 before suffering another break in game five. Kimberly held at love for 4-2 and mirrored that at 5-4 to move over the top.