San Diegans Ahn, Pareja lose in U.S. Open first round

The last few days here in New York City have felt like tennis fantasy camp for Alyssa Ahn.

The 18-year-old is in the main draw of the U.S. Open for the first time, so she’s gotten to hang out at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for a week now.

And everywhere she looks, it’s like a dream.

“You look to your left, and there’s Carlos (Alcaraz),” Ahn said Monday. “And then you look to your right, and Iga (Swiatek) is there. It’s been such a surreal experience, just being surrounded by insane players.”

Despite her proximity to greatness, Ahn said she didn’t dare speak to anyone she’s been idolizing.

“I don’t want to bother them, just trying to leave them be,” Ahn said with a smile. “But being treated like a fellow pro has been so cool.”

Ahn, a San Diego native, got this experience by winning the USTA Girls’ Nationals at Barnes Tennis Center on Aug. 14, giving her a main draw wild card into the Open.

Monday, the Stanford freshman took on No. 19 seed Elise Mertens on Court 5, and as could be expected, Ahn was a bundle of nerves.

Mertens, a veteran and two-time quarterfinalist here, cruised past Ahn, 6-1, 6-0 in just more than an hour.

“My team and I put together a solid game plan, it just didn’t work out too well,” Ahn said. “She played very well and it was hard for me to handle my nerves out there. That’s something I usually don’t struggle with, but this is the biggest stage I’ve ever been on.”

Ahn, coached by Steve Adamson, said the last two weeks have been a whirlwind, from her unexpected run to the national title, to getting ready to come to New York.

That experience was shared by a local who is even younger than Ahn and was also making her main draw debut.

Sixteen-year-old Julieta Pareja, the No.1 ranked junior in the world, was given a wild card into the main draw and took on No. 9 Elena Rybakina in Round 1.

Pareja, with strong crowd support, hung in there with the 2022 Wimbledon champ before losing, 6-3, 6-0.

“It’s an incredible experience, playing someone top 10 in the world here for my first match,” said Pareja, who reached the final round of qualifying in the women’s draw last year. “The crowd was amazing, but obviously you know, she’s such an experienced player, so it was tough.”

Pareja, with parents Pablo and Julieta sitting courtside, was able to hang with Rybakina in most rallies in the first set, but was worn down by the Kazakh player as the match progressed.

The former Carlsbad High School student will now stick around New York and play in the Junior Girls Tournament, beginning on Aug. 31, where she’ll be the No. 1 seed.

On the men’s side, two San Diegans are going strong after Round 1: The expected one is Brandon Nakashima, the No. 30 seed, who had a major scare against qualifier Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands on Sunday night before prevailing in a fifth set super-tiebreaker, 6-2, 6-7, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7).

Nakashima, seeded for the first time at the Open, next plays Wednesday against Switzerland’s Jerome Kym.

But the more surprising story may be that of 22-year-old Zach Svadja. The son of well-known Pacific Beach tennis pro Tom Svadja, currently battling cancer, Svadja has been slowly moving up the pro ranks following two years of winning the USTA Boys’ Nationals, in 2019 and 2021.

Svadja roared through qualifying here last week, winning three matches without losing a set, then on Sunday won his first round match over Zsombor Piros, of Hungary 6-4, 6-2, 7-6.

In getting his second-ever win at the U.S. Open (his first was in 2021), Svadja looked to be cruising toward an easy victory on Court 13, up two sets and 3-0 on Piros.

The Hungarian needed two medical timeouts during the early part of the final set, and was hunched over in obvious pain several times.

“It was really strange because I didn’t know what to do, to go help him, or just wait,” Svadja said.

But some treatment must have worked for Piros, because he staged an improbable rally, coming back to even the set at 5 after being down 5-2.

Svadja, though, showing the maturity he’s illustrated in coming through qualifying, steadied and won the last two games.

USTA coach David Nainkin, who’s worked with Svadja since he was a teenager, has been impressed with Svadja’s poise.

“Zach did well, he had a big opportunity and took advantage,” Nainkin said. “He’s improved a lot, with his serve, and since the grass (court season) he’s played really well.”

Now, though, Svadja will face Novak Djokovic in the second round on Wednesday, an enormous challenge and opportunity.

“I’m just going to soak it in, and enjoy the moment,” Svadja said. “There’s not going to be many matches like that in my career, like this. So I want to just have fun out there, and see what happens.”

Svadja actually practiced with Djokovic a few years ago, he said, at the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s practice facility in New Jersey.

Normally Svadja would have his Dad on hand for such a momentous match. Svadja said Tom is “doing OK, depends on the day” but said he’s been able to occasionally give lessons at Pacific Beach.

Svadja said he’s “extremely grateful” for the support from the tennis world, as a GoFundMe for his Dad’s medical bills stood at $98,500 as of Monday afternoon.

“It would be amazing to have him here, but I know he’ll be watching,” Svadja said.