Tennis Atlantic

Who loves New Orleans?  What’s not to love? Jazz Hands Up!

Tulane Coach Taylor Fogleman knows what in the heck he’s talking about. A former All-American and UNC Chapel Hill Captain, he knows. He just does. And we believe. We asked him his thoughts about the US Open Men’s Wild Card field, and like a southern gentleman, he kindly obliged. Scout away, Coach!

Sandgren/Wiliams

Rhyne Williams is a “stud”, having  turned pro out of High School and winning Futures events immediately thereafter. Fogleman lost against him in doubles, though never played him in singles.

Sandgren “really came out of his shell at 15 or 16”, Fogleman explained. “He played a lot and won two Futures back to back”. Most of Fogleman’s match/practice experience with the Sandgrens came against Davey Sandgren, his very slightly older brother.

Kudla/Fratangelo

Coach played Denis Kudla twice in doubles and finished with a 1-1 record against him. “He’s very good. He has phenomenal groundstrokes and I’m impressed with the work he puts in. He’s a phenomenal player. No question.”

Fratangelo has a “pretty big forehand for a young kid” and is “explosive”.

Reynolds/Klahn

On Reynolds: “When I was in high school , he came down a couple of times when Vandy played Tulane before turning pro. Any way you dice it, he gathers every ounce of his body into his game. I have nothing but glaring thoughts about his play. Unless one of the other guys step up and have the weekend of their life, I’d bet on him”.

On Klahn: “I was a Senior when he was a Freshman. We hit a couple of sets in College Station. As a lefty, he had a game you wouldn’t expect. A big, big forehand and a super-nice guy who was quiet” off the court.

Kosakowski/Frank

On Kosakowski: “The guy is an enigma. Highly-touted UCLA recruit. Then he took a little time off, wins two Futures, qualifies for the tour in LA and wins in the first round.”

Frank: “He’s the nicest kid you could ever meet. Doesn’t look very flashy and some people have a prettier game, but he works harder than they do. He’s like a back board, and he’s not going to miss that ball”.

Based upon the inflections, pauses and proclamations that only a print reporter gets to hear, we are going to heed the wise advice of a tennis sage in his 20’s. Tennis Maryland likes underdogs, but we are going with the 1-2 Exacta Box here: Williams and Kudla to a Saturday three-setter. Too close to call. Look, we picked Petrova over Peer at CitiOpen days before it happened, and Radek Stepanek to upset Gaels Monfils at Legg Mason. Based on what we’ve learned, this should be a 1 vs. 2 affair. Coach knows.