Kuhlman surprise winner

Josie Kuhlman entered the 10th annual Smash Junior Cup as something of an afterthought. She ended up having a walk in the park at Family Circle Tennis Center.

Unseeded and unknown, the 15-year-old from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., yielded a total of 15 games in six matches on her way to securing the Smash Cup's wild-card berth in the Family Circle Cup's qualifying tournament in April.

Kuhlman made fifth seed Leyla Erkan of Hilton Head Island her sixth victim in Monday's girls 18 final with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

"Actually, I just found out about the tournament last weekend," Kuhlman said.

She thought the Smash entry deadline had passed, but her coach, former ATP Tour standout Brian Gottfried, encouraged her to give it a shot. As it turned out, the rest of the field might as well have skipped the event.

Kuhlman was that dominant over a three-day period of two matches a day.

From great court coverage, to excellent racket control on touch shots such as half volleys and drop shots, to a strong backhand and consistency, Kuhlman is quite a prospect for the future.

"I just played every point . . . and came out on top," she said.

When Kuhlman gave up only two games to top-seeded Caroline Price in the round of 16, heads started turning. And the heads never turned back, all the way through her 6-1, 6-1 semifinal win over fourth seed Taylor Davidson of Statesville, N.C., in Monday morning's semifinals and then the final.

Erkan, bound for Florida State, eliminated UCLA-bound No. 2 seed Kaitlin Ray of Little Rock, Ark., 6-4, 6-3, in the other semifinal.

After winning the third game against Kuhlman to close to 2-1, Erkan dropped the next seven games to fall behind 3-0 in the second set. By then, she was ready to try something different, pounding big forehands when Kuhlman gave her balls to hit. Only then did Erkan win three of the last six games.

"She could hit any shot," Erkan said. "The last few games I was just trying to make something happen."

Kuhlman mixed in a variety of shots, but as she said, "The backhand has been my bread-and-butter. I love my backhand . . . I'm trying to love my forehand, too."

The Family Circle Cup qualifying tournament will be Kuhlman's first pro event. She was scheduled to receive a wild card into the qualifying tournament for last year's WTA tournament at Ponte Vedra Beach, but an injury sidelined her.

Reach James Beck at jamesbecktennis@gmail.com. See his columns on pro tennis at ubitennis.com/english.