The value of qualifying was on display on Monday as the first round of the US Open Junior Championships began on the outer courts at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center.

With all seeded players receiving byes in the first round this year, the buzz from a developing upset was absent as fans jammed the grounds on the picture-perfect Labor Day holiday, yet there were plenty of Americans to garner their attention.

One player drawing local interest was New York's Theadora Rabman, who was making her Junior Grand Slam debut after winning two qualifying matches over the weekend. Rabman came from 5-1 down in the first set to defeat Laura Hietaranta of Finland 7-5, 6-2.

"My confidence was definitely pretty low before qualies," said the 16-year-old, who lives in Port Washington, a half-hour drive from Flushing Meadows. "I'm really happy I got the qualifying matches in, because they gave me more experience. I was so nervous at first, but I was like, you've been on these courts before; USTA tournaments are held here, so I was thinking about that; breathe, stay focused, one point at a time, and I got through it."

Rabman, who was the top seed in the 16s National Championships last month in San Diego and was upset in the first round, said that loss will stay with her for a while, but picking up what she ranked as her career-best win on Monday was a big step forward.

Rabman, who was cheered on today by her family and by her teammates at Schreiber High School in Port Washington, faces another challenge on Tuesday, when she plays top seed and 2020 Australian Open girls' champion Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra.

"I think it's going to be a great experience," said Rabman, who is playing in just her third tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors this week. "I'm definitely going to learn something; I'm really excited. I'm going in as the underdog, so I think that's definitely less pressure on me, so I'm going to see if I can do something."

For Reese Brantmeier, the qualifying results that gave her confidence came in the women's event, where she won two matches before falling to No. 2 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the final round. In today's first round match in the juniors, the 16-year-old from Wisconsin defeated Radka Zelnickova of Slovakia 6-3 6-1.

"Obviously I was definitely upset," Brantmeier said after her loss to Schmiedlova. "But after that initial frustration with it, a couple hours later, it really set in that it was an amazing experience and there were a lot of positive things to take from it."

Brantmeier, who received a US Open women's qualifying wild card as a finalist at the 18s National Championships last month in San Diego, knows that perceptions change when she moves from the pro level back to the juniors.

"Obviously I could play really free in qualies," said Brantmeier, who trains at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona Florida. "I'm the underdog there, I'm a lot younger and I think that really helped me. Coming to juniors, I do feel there is a little bit of expectations following that tournament. But I also gained a lot of confidence in where my game's at, so I think it kind of evens out."

Another player benefitting from a local cheering section Monday was France's Max Westphal, who starts his freshman year at New York's Columbia University Thursday.

Westphal, who defeated Peter Privara of Slovakia 6-4, 6-3 in front of his coaches and several teammates, decided early this year that he wanted to continue to pursue both tennis and his studies, a combination that led him to Columbia.

"I was at a certain point in my tennis career where I wanted to do studies and play tennis," said the 18-year-old, who grew up in a small town outside Paris. "I didn't want to go on the tour with no school background. When I made the decision to go, I started to talk with Columbia and other universities, but I really liked the feeling I had with the coaches, the facilities."

Westphal knew the academic reputation of the Ivy League, but soon learned the Columbia tennis program was attracting top players from the US and internationally.

"It's Ivy League so people think it's less focus on tennis, more on studies," Westphal said. "And it's true in school I'm going to have to work, but in tennis, we can have a good team, a lot of good players, so I was surprised by the level. So I think it's a very good choice for me, I don't regret it at all."

On Tuesday, the 16 seeded players in each draw take the courts for the first time, facing opponents who had the chance to work out the nerves and ready themselves for that challenge.