Want to see one of the best juniors in the country display his shot-making skills? You don’t have to go any further than Salisbury Country Club Wednesday afternoon to watch Walker Duncan of Atlanta take the court.
Duncan is among a group of players co-seeded 17th in the McDonald’s Mid-Atlantic Open Clay Court Tennis Championships, and he’s scheduled to play his opening match at 2 p.m. against Sunny Hwang.
The teen-ager is with a group from Life Time Athletic at Peachtree Corners in Norcross, Ga., that is here this week for the McDonald’s tournament, which began Tuesday and continues through Sunday.
Heading up the delegation is former Richmonder Trip Baisden, who is director of adults at Life Time Athletic, formerly known as the Racquet Club of the South. Baisden brought seven juniors last year and doubled the number this time.
“Basically, a lot of these kids are going to play [USTA] National Clay Courts next week, and they needed a warm-up, clay-court tournament,” said Baisden, who served as director of tennis at both Westwood Club and the Midlothian Tennis Club.
“So this was perfect timing to have a good, competitive tournament for the kids.
“Last year, they liked it so much and when I got back [to Norcross], they all talked about it, so everybody wanted to come back and play this year. Plus, this is a chance for me to get back and see everybody and say hi.”
Baisden has first-hand knowledge of the high-caliber of play in the McDonald’s tournament, since he was here when Bill Barnes (lead sponsor) and tournament director Scott Steinour began to tweak the event to make it one of the best in the Mid-Atlantic area.
“Over the years, it’s gotten better and better,” said Baisden, who also worked with Steinour at Salisbury for a couple of years. “The prize money went up. The sponsors went up. I think this event has shown you can still have a successful adult tournament.
“It takes some hard work and that’s what Salisbury and Scott have done very well.”
Two other players in the Life Time Athletic group are co-seeded 17th in the men’s draw, Emil Reinberg (Atlanta) and Drew Halbauer (Hilton Head, S.C.), and both won their first-round matches on Tuesday. They will be back in action on Wednesday.
But Duncan is the one who appears to have the most potential. He was ranked No. 1 nationally in the boys’ 16s last year and is currently getting his feet wet in the boys’ 18-and-under division.
“He’s an extremely determined player,” said Sanjay Jayaram, co-director of the junior tennis academy at Life Time Athletic. “He’s very hard-working. He doesn’t like to lose. He brings a lot to every match and has worked extremely hard the past two years in developing an all-around game.
“I think that’s helped him go a long way up in the junior rankings. He’s trying to break through now in the 18s. He’s currently in the top 100 of the 18s right now and his goal for next year is to be in the top 10 of the 18s.”
The Life Time Athletic group includes three girls, including Epiphany Turner, 19, of Memphis, Tenn., the No. 4 seed in the women’s draw.
“She’s been playing on the WTA Futures tour,” said Jayaram. “She’s mainly a doubles player but she’s trying to make her mark in singles, too. But I think it will be a while because she’s actually a better doubles player. But she’s working hard toward her singles ranking.”
Among the players who have worked at the Life Time Athletic facility are Melanie Oudin (quarterfinalist at the 2009 U.S. Open) and Jamie Hampton (ranked No. 31 on the WTA computer). Several boys there have gone on to some of the top colleges in the country.
“This is my first year at the tournament,” said Jayaram. “I’m very impressed with the quality of the players. It’s a big opportunity for our juniors to play some of these college-level players. It’s good exposure for them.”
Baisden said he wants to continue bringing players to the McDonald’s tournament.
“I’ve got the director of the academy and his co-director, Sanjay, who want to keep this on their calendar from year-to-year,” said Baisden. “The girls can go to Virginia Beach after this, and the guys fly out to Memphis and Del Ray.
“It’s a nice little warm-up for them. There’s not a lot of tournaments on clay anymore, so it’s nice to get this one.”
Former University of Virginia star Somdev Devvarman heads the men’s field while Sherazad Benamar of France is the women’s top seed. The singles winners on Sunday receive $7,000 while the runners-up get $3,000.
Play continues Wednesday at 2 p.m. and gets under way on Thursday and Friday at 5. Admission is free.