Huntington's Jack Kennedy captures U.S. Open junior boys doubles title
Long Island's Jack Kennedy and doubles partner Keaton Hance pose with their trophies after defeating Noah Johnston and Benjamin Willwerth in the U.S. Open junior boys' doubles final on Saturday in Queens. Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier
After losing in the third round of the singles tournament on Wednesday, Huntington’s Jack Kennedy bounced back in a big way Saturday to win the U.S. Open junior boys doubles tournament with partner Keaton Hance. The pair defeated the duo of Noah Johnston and Benjamin Willwerth in a championship tiebreaker 10-8 after the teams split the first two sets.
“It's really awesome,’’ Kennedy, 17, told Newsday. “It's a really special moment that I get to have, especially being a New Yorker, an American, for me and Keaton. And yeah, we're really happy to get this win. You know, this means a lot to us.’’
Kennedy and Hance, of Torrance, Calif., won the first set 6-3, but lost the second set 6-1. The two, who have been doubles partners since 2022, trailed the tiebreaker early before rallying from 8-5 down to win the final five points and take the match.
Kennedy said winning the doubles did a lot to make up for the disappointment in losing in the singles tournament. He lost to Luis Guto Miguel, of Brazil, 6-4, 6-4.
“I definitely didn't have the result I wanted in the singles but yeah, after I lost in the singles, I put all my focus into the doubles,’’ he said. “And me and Keaton, before playing our first round match, thought we had a good chance of getting deep into this tournament. Obviously, winning was obviously [the goal]. Me and him didn't have the best weeks of singles, so we really were focusing on the doubles.’’
Kennedy said he planned on celebrating with his family at home Saturday night with his father Bryan cooking chicken cutlets for the family (“that’s the specialty in our house,’’ he said). He plans on relaxing for a day or two before he gets back to work. He plans on entering several pro events, and perhaps some Challenger events, in the hopes of getting professional experience and perhaps building an ATP ranking. He said his next tournament will be in Winston Salem, N.C., at the end of September.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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