Jodar and Damm meet in the finals of the Lincoln Challenger; Rogers defeats Vidmanova to reach W100 Macon final; Wolff escapes upset bid from Liutova in Bakersfield W35; First Australian Open Junior Wild Cards earned in South America

The finals take place on the ATP Challenger 100 in Lincoln Nebraskafeaturing University of Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar facing No. 8 seed Martin Damm after both posted straight-sets victories today.

Jodar, who defeated top seed Brandon Holt (USC) in last night’s quarterfinals 6-0, 7-5, today defeated No. 4 seed Patrick Kypson (Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-3 to reach his second ATP Challenger final.

Damm, who saved two match points in his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Andre Ilagan (Hawaii) in the quarter-finals yesterday, defeated No. 7 seed Johannes Monday (Tennessee) of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4 in today’s semi-finals to reach his third ATP Challenger final.

Damm is looking for his first Challenger title, while Jodar won his only other appearance, this summer at a Challenger 50 in Greece.

The doubles title went to former Tennessee teammates and Australian Pat Harper on Monday, with the No. 2 seeds beating the Indian team of DK Suresh (Wake Forest) and Aryan Shah 6-4, 7-5 in today’s final.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Macon, Georgiaformer NC State All-American Anna Rogers has advanced to her biggest final, with the unseeded 27-year-old from Connecticut defeating No. 2 seed and 2024 NCAA champion Dasha Vidmanova (Georgia) 6-3, 6-4 in today’s semifinals.

Rogers, who had come from a set down in her victories over Louisa Chirico[3]Madison Brengle and Ayana Akli (Maryland, South Carolina) will face top seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico for the title. Zarazua defeated No. 4 seed Emerson Jones of Australia 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Rogers, who until this week had not won a main draw since July at 0-8, now sits at a career-high of 247 in the live rankings.

Sunday’s doubles final will feature one current and three former colleagues, with Rasheeda McAdoo (Georgia Tech) and Auburn senior Agnella Okutoyi of Kenya taking on Akli and former USC All-American Eryn Cayetano for the title.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Bakersfield, CaliforniaKristina Liutova’s run came to an end tonight, with top seed Vivian Wolff (Georgia, UCLA) saving two set points in the second set to defeat the Seattle-based 15-year-old 6-3, 7-6 (2). Wolff will face unseeded Marie Weckerle of Luxembourg, who defeated Pepperdine freshman Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4.

The first two wildcards for January Australian Open Junior Championships are determined in the playoff tournament held in Argentina for South American players. Sabrina Balderrama of Venezuela, a 16-year-old with a current ITF junior ranking of 169, won the girls’ play-offs, while Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil, also 16 years old and with a current ITF junior ranking of 111, won the boys’ play-offs.